I can't help but sing whilst I play guitar.
And i could never sing that well, but like over the past year, I've noticed I can sing songs that I couldn't sing before. Your voice most definitely improves with practicing. I sing alot now when I play, but I do often have to transpose the song to a different key to sing along properly, which I don't have a huge issue with to be honest.

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Turn the drums up in the umm, ear goggles

I guess I can sing but never liked to.

As far as the singer being the leader of a band? I never believed any one person was a band leader. Every band i ever played in it was voted on what would or wouldnt be done. In fact in the late 70s I played in a band that joined the Musicians Union and we forced the bass player to sign as leader (we had to have a leader and no one wanted it)

Jimmie

Coming from an acoustic background it came easily to me. Like Dgonz I only have trouble when the rhythm of the lyric and the the rhythm of the music are syncopated. It doesn't work unless you practice until its an unconcious act.

That being said since I took to playing lead guitar I do not get the opportunity nor do I have the skill sets to do both without messing one of them up... I'm a 2 on the competence scale.... see below.


1. unconcious incompetence: You're oblivious to your own stupidity...
2. concious incompetence: You're stupid and you know it...
3. concious competence: You can do it if you think about it.
4. unconcious competence: You do it without thinking.

The paradox of this scale is no: 4 and no:1 can both be the same...

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I'm not slow... and I'm not fast... just sort of halffast...

It was a very complicated situation that involved lots of band politics. The rhythm guitarist, who could sing, wanted to change to a completely different song that we hadn't practiced literally ten minutes before the show. He wasn't comfortable with the song we were doing, even though we spent quite a while practicing it and we had it tight. The rest of the band was comfortable with it, and we all thought that he was too.

I wanted to keep the song we had practiced. So he ended up forming another band to play his song, in which I played rhythm guitar, and he still sang for my band. But he tried to turn my band into his because he thought he was the leader because he was singing even though I was the one who arranged the song, brought the charts, and led the practices and basically worked my butt off.

Usually I'm not the band leader, and usually I'm perfectly OK with that. But that one incident has convinced me that I really don't want to deal with singers anymore.

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Well, this has been very enlightening. I have learned that there are players out there that can't sing a note, but can figure out the guitar just fine. Some folks say that singing is something they have to work at. Also some have issues with playing and singing at the same time.

I have always worked very hard at getting better on the guitar...and I do progress but very slowly. Singing on the other hand is super easy for me. I don't need a monitor for a live gig. My short fall with vocals is harmonies. Anybody that has been in a band with me knows that if I don't get a harmony "naturally", right out of the gate that a weeks practice won't change a thing.

I can sing and play (trivia: BB King can't) most any chord pattern, but stumble with a simple Jimmy Reed bass line rythum with a vocal.

This has really put my guitar playing efforts in focus for me and I thank you all. We all have our abilites and things that are challenges for us. This gives me an idea for another thread...

Also: Thanks for saying hi vinny, it is a pleasure to meet you too.
mondo: I took a few of the test and did well. Better than I thought I would on the Visual/musical abstraction.

I cannot sing at all. With that being said, no I cannot sing and play at the same time.

RK

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

Having only recently learned to play guitar (3+ years) the only instrument I was ever proficient at was my voice. I was the singer in bands as a college kid but I always envied my bandmates who could play guitar/drums/bass. My problem's not with my singing; my problem's with my guitar playing. But I'll keep practicing until I can do it well. One thing is for sure, singing whilst playing is VERY difficult. I'll stick to chewing gum and walking when I feel the need to multitask.

Just for the record: my singing is awful. Hideous. Terrible.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

I've always been uncomfortable about singing. I wish I wasn't but I am. I can carry a tune, but I've recorded my singing voice many times and I can't stand to listen to it. So much so, that I would never let anybody else hear it.

Niki I have to disagree with you on the Clapton vocals. I think Clapton became a very competent vocalist and like the way he sings. Jimis voice was just OK and Dylan well thank god for lyric sheets.

well look at bob dylan he has a terrible voice but they adjust the key of the song to match his voice (they can do the same thing for you) and Yes I can figure out chords by ear if given some time.

I just turned 59yr. & when I first stared on the guitrar at 12yr my folks would tell me to sing & play so I did what I always did when my folks told me to do something I didn't, should have listened to my folks, I can sing about 3 songs & wish I could sing more, so to you I say sing, find a simple song & sing the sooner you get started the better.

sparky

I'm not a great singer, but I'm not real horrible either--some people claim to like my singing voice-BUT I just can't sing & play at the same time.

When I was taking lessons I had a teacher who made me count out loud while I played--I had trouble playing & counting out loud together, never mind singing things that might be a completely different rhythm.

And it's been many years since then, so it's not like it's something that will come later. I just can't sing & play at the same time.

I guess I could do a BB King thing if I had his fingers...

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It wasn't Willy-Nilly, it was at crows.