Tips for Playing Guitar AND Singing

Singing while playing guitar can be a daunting challenge for any guitarist.  You need both a good sense of timing, and the ability to sort of "split" your brain in order to pull it off.  But like everything else you've learned to do on the guitar, it CAN be mastered with practice.

It's important to remember that playing and singing aren't two separate things--in both cases, you are tied to the same key, tempo, and (in many cases) rhythm.  The trick, then, is just combining two bodily actions! Just like walking and chewing gum at the same time!   Here are a few tips regarding this type of "multi-tasking":

1) SOS--Start Off Simple!  Start off learning easy songs that you like and know well. Songs that only have a few chords, a simple strum pattern and lyrics you can easily remember, like "Happy Birthday." Or you can Google "Great songs with 3 chords or less" and find an easy song to start with.  Your guitar teacher can also help you find songs.

2)  Know your basic chords like the back of your hand.   Trying to remember how to finger a B7 chord while playing is going to make singing at the same time virtually impossible. Your guitar playing must be at a level where chord changes are effortless. You need to be so comfortable with your strumming that you don't even have to think about it. This will free you up to concentrate singing.

3) Practice strumming with a metronome. For better timing and rhythm, practice with a metronome. Although it will feel a bit restrictive at first, a metronome will make you a more consistent player. Spend 10 minutes a day practicing a simple strumming pattern with a metronome, and you'll notice significant improvements in your timing within a few weeks.

4) Start by playing through the music by itself first--later on, you can hum the lyrics, or start slowly adding them in as you get more and more comfortable with the chord changes.

5) Take it easy (start out at a slow tempo):   It's far better to sing and play correctly and slowly, than to be fudging rhythms at full speed. Go through the song measure by measure, line by line, until you can play and sing it all the way through without errors. Speed will come once you iron out all the kinks.

***A note on finger-picking. If you're playing a song that uses finger-picking, you might find it helpful to take a few steps back to start. First, sing using a simple strum pattern to play the chords. Once you got the song down perfectly this way, move on to a more complex strum pattern, and then ultimately to the finger-picking. pattern.

Of course, perfecting any guitar technique, and adding singing takes time and PRACTICE.  But if you work a little each day, you will find that playing and singing becomes easier each day.  

Good Luck--and Happy Pickin' !!

TO SEE VIDEO--CLICK ON THIS LINK