No it's not a cat being strangled...

[fitchmeister]

....It's me tryin to sing and play at the same time. I'm finding this v hard to get the hang of. Is it just a matter of perserverance?Or are there ways to approach this? I have a song i can play pretty easily now but have been tryin to sing and play it for about a month now. Please tell me it gets easier. I'll have about 3 songs under my belt by the time im 60.

[Sonya]

Hi fitchmeister!

We were discussing this very thing yesterday at the Swindon weekend. I'm a beginner at this, too!

General consensus of advice was 1) to start with pick a song with a really straightforward guitar accompaniment that you can play in your sleep. Then you can concentrate on the singing. 2) Always start the song slowly, 'cos you can bet you'll speed up throughout the song. 3) Just keep doing it and it'll get better.

One of our party, who is an experienced performer, also reminded us that singing a song is about communicating to your listeners, and we shouldn't be too hung up about trying to achieve perfection in our singing. Many singers don't have 'beautiful' voices but they can get the emotion of the song across!

Recording yourself is really helpful too. It may be cringe-making but you learn a lot from listening to yourself.

Keep at it! ;D

[robn]

Hi,

Rory Block's DVD on playing Robert Johnson's songs has some advice on this that I have found helpful. She recommends learning to sing the song (by listening to a CD and singing along) and learning the guitar part separately. Get both fully wired befor you bring them together - then (importantly) work on keeping them separate! Blues singing sounds great because its phrases are out of sync with the guitar yet both complement each other. But it is a skill that requires the P word (practice!) - work on just short phrases at a time. Think how awkward it felt when you first learned to finger pick or even first picked up a guitar. Don't expect it to be easy - but do expect to improve. Work at it and you'll soon sound great!

Robn

[nickysplendid]

this might sound daft but - i too have always found it really tricky to sing and play at the same time...when my daughter reached 2 years of age she was always keen to "sing-along" and i found that by singing nursery rhymes with her my singing and playing ability improved quite a bit.
so i guess that "start with the basics" worked for me.

having said that - i'm still a crap singer ;D

[Michael Messer]

NickySplendid is spot on there! I reckon that starting with the basics, simple songs with simple melodies. Don't try & perform a Robert Johnson song when you are not able to sing a simple song. Also...something that many learners have problems with - is pitch the guitar to your voice (using a capo), not your voice to the guitar. Once you find a key that feels comfortable, try singing simple songs and playing the chords and some melody.

To get a feel for singing melody - play a tune on one string of the guitar and sing the notes along with it.

Shine On,
Michael.

[BigBadDom]

Fitchmeister, I'm right with you on this. For my 40th birthday, some friends have bought me some time in a recording studio to record 2 or 3 songs and get a professionally produced master CD. Awesome!.... well, yes it is, but now I gotta produce the goods and everyone at my party is looking forward to hearing the finished CD!

Although, I'd like to write & record my own compositions, I'm starting with what I thought was an easy cover - Walkin' Blues (loosely based on the Clapton unplugged version - sorry purists!) which I'm slowly getting there with. I play along with the CD, sing along with CD (separately) and then sing & play alone. It's starting to come together by playing over and over and over...

I didn't think Walkin' Blues was a particularly technically demanding song to sing, but the more I listen, the more subtle phrasing and nuances I notice.

Sorry I don't have any words of wisdom, but you're not alone in your struggle!

Good Luck y'all!
Dom

[fitchmeister]

Well some of you guys have heard me sing already. If you were at the 2005 Bluesweek, i was in the Gospel Choir lesson that performed at the end of the week. Ethel & Delnora made singin alot o fun.

Cheers for the tips all - my missus is lettin me sing along to songs in the car. She then tells me if i was any good

Hey Robn - it's nice to know someone is a Rory Block fan too - i saw her live in Brighton a while back.

rgds

Roj

[Richard]

Hi Flitch

If you have experienced the Ether\Delnora classes how threatening were they do I have to be brave to do it?

[fitchmeister]

Hi Richard

I turned up for one lesson to pick up some singing tips and then thought i'd sneak off to a slide class - before you know it you're in the choir . It abit like saying no to your Gran, you're not sure you want to be there but daren't say so but they are very encouraging and the class is alot of fun - and you can do that class all week as well as a guitar class and not burn out. In short i felt a pillock but had a laugh doing it.

Roj

[Richard]

Pillock... now that's the word I was hoping not to hear you don't say whether you had the stamina to last the week with them though.... whats the truth


Hhmmmmmm

[fitchmeister]

Ow do Rich

The truth is i enjoyed it and found it easy doing it all week - though i guess that depends on what time you went to bed, and after how many beers etc.. I wasn't in bed early and was talking rubbish in a socially confused manner most nights, so i would say it wasnt too hard to keep up.

Am looking forward to this year's Bluesweek - not too long now ;D ;D ;D

[fitchmeister]

By the way,

If anyone is wondering on a song to try - im trying Hound Dog by Elvis in a 12 bar style finger pickin. Though am still working on what key is best for me.