singing and playing bass at same time

[Rich]

I've always sung and played, mostly BVs but some lead, so to be honest I find it's second nature these days. Although it does definitely depend on the complexity of the bass part. Quite how Mark King does it sometimes is beyond me -- whether you like his playing style or loathe it, you have to admit that his ability to sing over complex bass parts is second to none.
But [i]talking[/i] and playing? Forget it. I find it next to impossible.

[paul_5]

Yeah, talking and playing is well nigh impossible, probably because when you talk, you're making it up as you go along - relative to whatever someone else has said. This adds weight to the argument that it comes with practicing (lots and lots of it) - once you know both parts well enough then you can put them together.
When I played piano (time ago) I would rehearse the LH part separately to the RH line, then put them together.
Once you've nailed these two skills simultaneously then you can start to play keyboards with your feet...

[Bilbo]

I think that it is likely that most people who do backing vocals in bands don't spend any time at all working on it and expect it to fall into place quite easily (which it does on some tunes). Its bound to depend on the complexity of the bass lines etc but, in my experience, its a case of some parts are easy, some are hard, the harder the parts are, the harder you need to practice the dual role before you can pull it off.

[Scoop]

I can sing pretty well but certainly struggle to do them together. With BVs I find that I have to slightly simplify the basslines I'm playing so that I'm on autopilot and if I [b]have [/b]to sing lead vox then I'll switch to play riddum guitar.

On the other hand, and I have no rational explanation for this, I find some Beatles songs really easy to sing and play, without simplification. "Taxman" and "Come Together" are two that spring to mind, but they're the exception not the rule. Perhaps it's because I'm a scouser...

On the whole I think you need to USB an outboard brain. I agree that some drummers find this easier as they already have that "division of labour" thing in place. The drummer with The Bare Naked Ladies plays drums with both feet and one hand, sings lead vocals and uses his spare hand to play keyboards. The man is clearly an alien.

[mrtcat]

Two years ago I'd have sworn blind I'd never be able to sing and play but bought a mic and practiced little BV parts. It was b@st@rd difficult at first and my missus used to laugh her head off at me. These days I add bv's in the band all the time and it keeps getting easier and easier so I'd say practice is the only way forward!!!!

[Deep Thought]

I'm the frontman in our band, I've been doing it a while now and mostly it works OK. Often slower stuff with longer gaps between notes is harder than faster, more complex stuff, but it's mainly down to practice. One of these days I plan on having vocal lessons, when I have a few spare quid lying around.

[tomb]

if Lemmy can do it how hard can it really be?

[ThomBassmonkey]

I can't really sing at all, I do do the odd bit at some gigs though. Just joining in through the mic on crowd participation bits really.

I find the best way to do it is to break down the beats in your head and take note of where they all lie in relation to each other, then you can try and merge them into one action. So you have it in your mind "when I play that E, I'm singing a note, then on the beat between the two offbeat Es, I change vocal pitch." that kinda thing.

If it's straight beats on bass, it's pretty easy, it's when you have different rhythms, there's one song we do where I'm two hand tapping (nothing flash, just a melody) and singing a different rhythm, that one's always interesting.

[Jacqueslemac]

At my last gig I realised I was singing my basslines.

By the next one I hope to learn the proper words. I'm not mic'ed up (the only time I hit the right note is when I'm passing it), but it probably looks a bit less silly if I'm at least singing the words to the song.

[daz]

[quote name='tomb' post='1165974' date='Mar 17 2011, 04:46 PM']if Lemmy can do it how hard can it really be?[/quote]


Oh surely not a dig at [b]King Lemmy[/b], no?! The man is a living legend. Also one of the most honest down to earth righteous musicians on the planet. Strangely i do a good impression of him (ace of spades, natch!) where i sing and play bass at the same time and i never even thought about it