If Sting can do it, I can too!

September 7, 2008 4:22 PM

Can anyone offer some good advice on how to sing while playing bass or drums? I play bass, but it seems like advice from drummers would be in tune with what I'm trying to do.

Even if I can play the bassline in my sleep whilst not singing, and sing the words backwards and forwards as long as my hands are empty, I just can't get it together. "Just practice it a lot" isn't working for me.

My suspicion is that it's the singing part that's stumping me most, not the playing. Are there tricks that will help me use less brainpower when I sing?

posted by freshwater_pr0n to media & arts (11 answers total)

Bass is more difficult, in my opinion, to sing while playing than guitar. Depending on the style/song, there can be syncopation, runs that may occur at odd places in the meter, or harmonization with the melody that throw even good vocalists for a loop.

Unfortunately, it really is a "more practice" answer. There's no "secret hint" that will make you a badass at it all of the sudden.

Then, (and don't take this personal), there's always the harsh fact that you just might not be expert enough at both to do them simultaneously. Nothing wrong with that, but you just pick one and be a badass at it. I sure as hell can't sing at what I'd consider a performance-ready level, AND play at the same time and be comfortable with it.

(So, I stick to playing. I know people who are better singers.)
posted by chrisfromthelc at 4:29 PM on September 7, 2008

Make sure you truly understand the rhythm of each part. This means you can clap the rhythm while speaking the count, or perform the part while tapping the beat. Ideally you'd also be able to notate each part. I've seen many players that are confident they know a part because they can play the right notes, but when they try to play the part while tapping the beat it falls apart because they don't actually know the rhythm.

If you know which beats all the notes of each part fall on, it shouldn't be too hard to put them together. Just start slowly and use a metronome, gradually increasing the speed, and always play in time.

Let me know any of that isn't clear.
posted by ludwig_van at 4:38 PM on September 7, 2008

Have someone sing as you play, then join in with them. This helped me immensely with learning to sing and play guitar, and a similar concept helped me learn to play drums. I couldn't get the hi-hat working independently of the snare and bass until I had someone else play the hi-hat rhythm for me as I did the snare and bass beat. After a few run throughs they handed me the stick and I haven't looked back. YMMV.
posted by fire&wings at 4:41 PM on September 7, 2008

Have you tried breaking it down during practice? Try singing + left-hand motions only, then singing + right-hand motions only. It's simply not an easy thing to do. I took me years before I was able to sing + play guitar (which is probably easier) at the same time with any reasonable proficiency. "Just practice it a lot" is the first half of the answer, the second half is "for a really long time".
posted by 0xFCAF at 4:42 PM on September 7, 2008

fire&wings has it. I was just teaching my dad something on the drums today, and that's the way to do it. I taught myself drums by playing along to the radio; copying a rhythm in real-time makes it so much easier to do on your own later. I can't sing and drum simultaneously very well, but if I was going to start, I'd learn by the same method.
posted by Chris4d at 6:43 PM on September 7, 2008

I used to play along to CDs and sing when learning how to play the drums, and I didn't have too much of a problem. I imagine that doing this with bass guitar would be more difficult.

With drums, it's a lot about muscle memory once you really find a groove. Once you master what you're trying to play, adding the vocals would be much easier. Practice, practice, practice until you can play parts without really thinking about them. Then concentrate on adding the vocals.

Also, playing at slower tempos can really help dissect the music. Play and sing together at slower tempos and gradually get faster.
posted by alligatorman at 7:00 PM on September 7, 2008

Have someone sing as you play, then join in with them.

True dat. Another thing that I've found helpful is practicing super super slow and than gradually speeding up. But I play guitar and like ChrisfromtheLC said bass could be trickier to do depending on the song.
posted by BrnP84 at 7:56 PM on September 7, 2008

Try this: Begin with the simplest song you know how to play that requires the least amount of changes.
For instance, just plucking an E on 4/4 time, and sing the verse until that is down. Now play it again with just slightly a bit more complexity and sing a verse to that. Start again from wherever you trip up.
In other words, just slowly build up the complexity and changes.
posted by artdrectr at 8:00 PM on September 7, 2008

For some reason, I think playing drums and singing is much, much easier than playing bass. Mostly I think it's a practicing thing. Like pretty much everything in music.
posted by sully75 at 6:59 AM on September 8, 2008

Get Rock Band and play both the drums + vocals OR bass guitar (or guitar) + vocals. Just having a game actively forcing you to do both simultaneously -- you can't just sing and sorta fake the drums as you could in real life, for example -- really helps drive you to learn quickly... in private if you choose, WITHOUT losing the confidence of your band-mates. (My bands were always ADHD, and if something wasn't pretty decent after 2 or 3 tries, they'd get discouraged and give up on it.) Use the head-mounted mic (it plugs into the RB guitar) or a proper mic stand to keep your hands free.

You'll need to start out with simple songs that you already know the words to (Creep or In Bloom, for me), because you'll have to watch the "instructions" for drums or bass/guitar, leaving you no time to read the lyrics.

Singing while playing drums is pretty surreal for me, feels like the body is performing independently of my will...
posted by LordSludge at 11:45 AM on September 8, 2008

Playing bass and singing at the same time has an extremely steep learning curve. It took months for me to get the hang of it, but once it came together it was never a problem again.

"Just practice it a lot" is the first half of the answer, the second half is "for a really long time".

Truer words were never spoken. Seriously, just keep hacking away at it and don't get too discouraged. Practice in ten-to-fifteen minute increments, if that helps. Try slowing things way down, or try just saying the words while playing--don't worry about the particulars of singing for now.

Trust me, you can do it. I tell you this as someone who had a hard time learning to just stand up and play.
posted by corey flood at 12:19 PM on September 8, 2008