How to play guitar and sing at the same time…By Chris Beckett
Playing and singing, when done well looks very easy. Many people are surprised at how hard it is when they give it a go. The main thing to keep in mind when starting out, is that there’s several things going on at once, and you have to be sure whats going on with both the guitar or vocal at any point in the song. Here’s a few pointers to get you flying……
1: Tap your foot.
The rhythm of the guitar will be entirely different from the vocal, so you need something that’s going to ‘glue’ them together. The beat of the song holds everything together, without it the vocal is likely to ‘float’ over the guitar, not really knowing where it fits. When tapping your foot watch out for tapping to the rhythm of the voice NOT the beat. As with all learning, take it very slowly.
2: Break down the song.
You don’t need to attempt the whole song in one go; that’s too much. Try just the first couple of lines, very slowly. Once that feels smooth add in the next two lines, and so on. This is how to intimately learn the song: you’ll know how all the lyrics fit over the chord progressions, and you’ll gain more emotional depth from the song. It’s also the best way to learn the lyrics.
3: Don’t rely on tab sheets.
You know the ones with the words and the chord names above; they’re handy for getting the overview of the song, but you need to go into greater detail. When you’re learning the song line by line, you can write out exactly how many beats there are of each chord. Then you know exactly where you are. Often people remember the chord progression from the lyrics, not from the chord structure.
4: Joining words/syllables:
Once you know the exact chord structure, you need to remember the words that happen on the chord changes. If we take the start of Hey Jude by the Beatles. The capital letters show the sound on the start of each new chord change
– - – - – C G F C
Hey JUDE / / don’t make it BAD / / take a SAD song / / and make it BETTER
Those capital words are your joining words that will help to glue the song together. If you want to play around with a vocal and re-phrase the words, it’s easy as long as you keep in time with the joining words. If you sung Hey Jude, but sang the BAD before the change to G it sure would sound strange!
5: Once you’ve learn the song, experiment.
Try different chord variations (7th s are often the best), strum pattern, or try picking the song, playing it slower or faster. Remember you need to spend time on the song BEFORE you start experimenting…..
Some great beginner songs to try:
Knocking on heavens door Bob Dylan: probably the best song to try first.
Hey Jude: nicely laid out for the beginner
Lucky Man: The Verve: simple yet effective.
Heart of Gold: Neil Young: more complex chord progressions, yet not too hard.
Tambourine man: Bob Dylan. Actually quite hard, the vocal and guitar create a complex syncopated rhythm.
As an established music teacher of guitar and vocals, Chris Beckett has developed teaching methods that are a sharp departure from the ‘traditional’ values of music tuition; struggle, perfection and rigidity. My philosophy is simple: once the student begins to relax and let go into their playing, they begin to feel the sheer joy of creating music. In this positive state progress becomes effortless, stress and strain evaporates. The old ethos of dogmatic hard work is replaced by aware practice.
“ It always amazes me how fast students with a positive attitude progress, and how much they enjoy playing. Those with a less open approach are often caught up in stress and struggle, and never get the satisfaction from playing they truly desire. My role is to cultivate the idea that music is fun and enjoyable”
As well as teaching, chris has recently written and ebook: How To Be A Great Musician; helping any player getting the most from their music, avoid injuries, have more fum and progress quicker.
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