Thursday, August 26, 2010

Guides In Singing With Playing Another Instrument

By Jack Flagg

Many singers can belt out a melody while playing the guitar, piano, and even the drums. They make it look easy, but it's actually a learned skill that can be very difficult for beginners.

Singing while playing has been likened to patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time: It's difficult, and it might feel uncomfortable at first, but you can learn to do it with several practice.

If you'd want to play an instrument while you sing, here are a few tips to make the process much easier:

Memorize the Lyrics

If you don't learn the words to the song, it will be practically impossible to play and sing at the same time. Do yourself a favor and learn the lyrics by heart to ensure that you can focus on playing the notes.

Read and sing the lyrics until you can sing them without reading. Then sing the song several times a day until you can do it without very much conscious endeavor.

Think about how easy it is to sing nursery rhymes you've heard for years. You can sing those without really thinking about the lyrics because they are so familiar to you. It takes many, many repetitions to make a song adhere in your mind like that, but it's worth the time used practicing.

Start with Easy Songs

You're basically trying to combine three skills: Singing, playing an instrument, and singing while playing an instrument. Don't make matters more difficult by choosing a very technically challenging song.

Begin with songs that have simple lyrics, chords, and beats. These are much easier to memorize, and much easier to play through even if you don't have the music memorized yet. Songs that are easy to sing and play separately will be less challenging to sing and play together.

Focus on timing your words and music. If you need help generating the rhythms match, make use of a metronome to help you. Many people find it easier to sing while playing the rhythm only, including in the melodic notes and chords when they are more acquainted with the song.

Build Up Speed

When you begin, you might have an much easier time playing through the song at a reduced speed. Try doing half speed until you get the feel for singing while playing. Then increase to two-thirds speed.

After a while, you'll be able to play the song at full speed. Building up to full speed helps you find out how it feels to play the song while singing, without overwhelming you with the need to play fast notes.

You can also play along to the song's original track by using sound mixing software to lag the song. Then try playing the song on your own, and roll yourself so that you can respond to the playback.

Practice, Practice, Practice!

You want in order to sing the lyrics from memory and play the notes with muscle memory. To do this, you'll need to practice - much!

Set up a weekly practice routine, and make yourself stick to it. You might not always feel like practicing, but do it anyway. Consider how proud you'll be when you can accompany your own vocals.

Practice singing and playing the song whenever you have extra time. If you've got a busy schedule, set other activities aside so that you can practice your singing and playing. It takes much work, but the end results will be very impressive!

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