geoham Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 Wonder if any of you have any advice... My covers band has recently lost our drummer - who did all our backing vocals. The replacement drummer can't sing at all! I can actually do most of the harmonies well enough, until I try playing bass at the same time! If I'm playing something really simple (Gimme All Your Loving for example), or if the vocal is the same rhythm as the bass - then I'm fine. Anything else - I'm rubbish! Either my bass rhythm starts following the vocal or I just stop singing! Can anyone else's brain only deal with one rhythm at a time? Has anyone got over it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crez5150 Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 Perseverance I'm afraid....practice with basic rhythms and songs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 You just have to keep doing it until muscle memory kicks in. You'll probably find at fist that the bass suffers while you concentrate on singing, but eventually it'll come back up to par. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbayne Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 I used to practice while singing along to the tune while tapping the bass line rhythm with my fingers to keep time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 [quote name='geoham' timestamp='1470427961' post='3105991'] Wonder if any of you have any advice... ... [/quote] Slow it all down. Try half-tempo, or even less. Sing (yes, in slow motion..!) and play; if it still doesn't work, slow down further. Gradually (over the course of a couple of weeks, for instance..?) bring the speed up. Guaranteed; cannot fail. Going slowly is the fastest way to get up to speed. Try it..? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoham Posted August 5, 2016 Author Share Posted August 5, 2016 Cheers guys! I guessed practice was the key... Always the way I suppose. My hopes for a lazy solution dashed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kusee pee Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 Good advice so far. Practise bit by bit and work out how the rhythms of the bass and the vocal fit together. I used to think I couldn't do it. Now, I can do pretty much any vocal part with practise. It will come together! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivansc Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 (edited) Either your singing or bass playing has to go on autopilot whilsdt you concentrate on the other. Only you can dfecide which is going to be the easiest thing to get "auto" on. For me it usually winds up being a mix of both, depending on which bit is the hardest at a particular point in the song, but I have been simultaneously singing and playing for a very long time. Edited August 5, 2016 by ivansc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zbd1960 Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 Yep, but like playing the piano - left and right hand doing different things in different rhythms. Practise separately then practise together. Initially slowly... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Japhet Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 Yolanda Charles did some good stuff on this subject. It's probably on Youtube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 [quote name='geoham' timestamp='1470427961' post='3105991'] Wonder if any of you have any advice... My covers band has recently lost our drummer - who did all our backing vocals. The replacement drummer can't sing at all! I can actually do most of the harmonies well enough, until I try playing bass at the same time! If I'm playing something really simple (Gimme All Your Loving for example), or if the vocal is the same rhythm as the bass - then I'm fine. Anything else - I'm rubbish! Either my bass rhythm starts following the vocal or I just stop singing! Can anyone else's brain only deal with one rhythm at a time? Has anyone got over it? [/quote] It's hard , it takes time and practice. I sing background vocals. It was gigging that got me up to speed with singing and playing. Your sort of forced to learn. Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 It's like getting to Carnegie Hall... practice. And practice, and practice. It comes eventually but there ain't no shortcuts. The one thing I still can't do is [i]talk[/i] whilst playing. Sing, yes. Talk? no chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockfordStone Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 sadly, its practice practice and a large chunk of confidence. i generally front bands now whilst playing bass... its hard, often you have to comprise one to make sure the other isn't suffering, but it takes practice to work out in which order you have to work. it is hard work, but it is rewarding as hell once you get it working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number6 Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 I'm affraid this one is practice, practice, practice.....i normally sit down and home playing the bass accoustically and just keep singing along to myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 [quote name='RockfordStone' timestamp='1470439225' post='3106086'] often you have to comprise one to make sure the other isn't suffering, but it takes practice to work out in which order you have to work. [/quote] This. [quote] it is hard work, but it is rewarding as hell once you get it working. [/quote] And this. I love singing BVs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigAlonBass Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 [quote name='Rich' timestamp='1470438367' post='3106082'] It's like getting to Carnegie Hall... practice. And practice, and practice. It comes eventually but there ain't no shortcuts. The one thing I still can't do is [i]talk[/i] whilst playing. Sing, yes. Talk? no chance. [/quote] I thought I was the only one! I can sing the full Set whilst playing, with no problem, but trying to tell an audience what song's coming next, while playing the Intro - forget it. I start 'talking in time' and my voice tries to follow the notes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckydog Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 [quote name='Rich' timestamp='1470438367' post='3106082'] It's like getting to Carnegie Hall... practice. And practice, and practice. It comes eventually but there ain't no shortcuts. The one thing I still can't do is [i]talk[/i] whilst playing. Sing, yes. Talk? no chance. [/quote] ^ what he says. Also, there's a temptation to think that bvs don't have to be great - but they do ! Like anything in a band you can hear, it has to make the grade. Not just pitch with bvs but sounding good, blended sounds and emotive content. It can take someone objective to tell us I reckon, and I know I can't do it well simply because I can't sing that well - plus enough people tell me ! A big clue is when the band don't ask the soundman for a mic ! So I just mime, saves all that hard practice LD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthurhenry Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 If it's possible without spoiling the song/rhythm, try filling in the gaps in the bass part - I actually find it easier to sing over a busy part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom skool Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 On trickier sections I work out what syllables land on particular notes. For example you might need to hit an f as you sing the 'lo' part of the word 'hello'. If that makes sense Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spencer.b Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 I find it way easier if I play with a plectrum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Sharman Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 As all above; practice, practice, practice is the key. I have had to go from no vocals to backing vocals to now lead vocals on a couple of tracks and it was all down to practice. One thing I have noticed is that if I go back from finger playing to playing with a pick it is easier to learn the whole singy/playy thing. Whether that is because my brain is doing less work controlling digits I don't know but I find playing pick lets me learn to play and sing together until the singing becomes natural enough that I can then ditch the pick. Maybe worth a try or I may just be wierd... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Sharman Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 [quote name='spencer.b' timestamp='1470604624' post='3107097'] I find it way easier if I play with a plectrum [/quote] beat me to it whilst I was typing mine. Guess I am not wierd then (or at least not alone) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonzodog Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 (edited) I read somewhere Geddy Lee used to practice by playing a bass line while reading the newspaper at the same time. Edited August 7, 2016 by bonzodog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 Was the newspaper Pravda? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gafbass02 Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 It's all been said, but it really is a muscle memory thing. You just have to build it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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