Playing the bass and singing at the same time

[ondray]

I just finished reading whole 4 pages of the "True/False, Bass players don't sing" thread.

 

I would love to play the bass and sing harmonies at the same time. Things were easier when all the bass notes were droning notes and mini off beat rhythms throughout the song.

 

But we have grown as a band and we are getting more rhythmic and challenging riffs.

 

Is practise the only way? Does making sixteenth drum beats in the head helps? cause there are lots of syncopation going on when the bass and vocal are together. It's either i screw up the vocals or end up playing the bass to the vocal rhythm.

 

I am currently practising with simpler songs from bands that have been able to do it.

 

I would love to hear from you guys, your experience in this.

 

Thanks!

[suspendedindusk]

I'm a pretty analytical person, and I just can't reason around it. For me, one of the two has to be automatic. I can do both at the same time, but my mind can only do one at a time. I practice heavily so that I can do most of both automatically, so when I have to concentrate on one, the other practically goes on by itself.

[NickT]

Auto-pilot is the way forward. Learn one of your parts really well so that you can play it without thinking about it. That will make your life alot easier.

 

Also try and find little links between your bass part and vocal part. See if you can work the starting note for the vocal into your bass part a few beats before the entry so that you can pitch off it. This may not always be possible if you're dealing with weird key changes.

[bubba upright]

First of all, ondre, I'm sorry that you spent so much time reading that kooky thread.

 

Secondly, the only way to get your singing and bass duties in synch is to practice, practice, practice.

 

Finally, If you play fretless, good luck, singing + fretless is tough.

[73 P Bass]

Practice, practice practice. I usually try and get the bass part down pat, and then add the vocal (I'll practice the vocals solo, just so I have the words down). The more comfortable you get with your bass playing, the better you are at doing all the other things important to playing live.

[Rik]

Yeah, practice, practice, practice. And I'll concur with what others have said - get one part or the other on autopilot.

 

For me, this is the bass line. Since I'm the lead singer in my band, I have to concentrate on the lyrics, on my delivery, and on singing to the crowd. So I make sure I can play my bass parts in my sleep. I can't afford to be wondering what the next lick is. And I definitely can't look at my fingers while I'm singing into the mic. That bass part has to be there, and be correct, and almost be memorized more by my fingers than by my brain. That way, I don't have to think about it.

 

Believe it or not, I'm more likely to make a mistake on the bass on one of the 4 or 5 songs my guitarist sings lead on. Why? Because when he's singing the lead, all I have to think about is my bass line, and when I start thinking about what I'm playing, I start to think too much and everything goes to hell

[Bartolini]

I can only sing 'Drive' by Cars when I'm on Bass.

[jeremy c]

Any decent pianist can play one thing with one hand and something else with the other.

 

There's no reason at all why a bassist can't sing and play at the same time.

 

It requires splitting your brain into two halves.

It requires knowing exactly how the two parts fit together harmonically and rhythmically.

And it requires being able to either play or sing without having to think about it too much.

 

All of the above takes practice and nothing more.

[...]

Yogi (on this forum occasionally) told me that he writes out the music notes that he's playing (guitar or bass) and the line that he's singing to see how they line up to help him overcome the ridiculously hard stuff. It helps. I've done it and it works.

 

Others have stated the obvious that you were maybe overlooking or just didn't try hard enough at. PRACTICE. Lots. One part of what you are doing has to be so automatic that you simply don't think about it at all. Once you've got that bit down, you can concentrate on the other bit.

[69tele]

again, as said b4 practice is the key.

 

learn the bass part 1st of by heart, then learn the vocals off by heart.

 

then learn to do both at the same time

 

rinse & repeat until it sounds right !

 

seriously how ever much you practice I always find that until the 3rd or 4th time the song is performed live the 2 never quite gel together.

 

Ernie

[321xyz]

I also record the bass line and / or record the whole band minus my vocals and practice vocals sans bass. A LOT. I also learn the rhythm guitar part and practice the vocals whilst playing guitar.

It takes a lot of work and I'm no where near where I want to be in this skill, but you will see a lot of improvement if you are determined and don't give up.

[Nicklab]

I do things much the same way a lot of other people do here. Get the bass part totally engrained in your head. Do it to the point where it's basically just muscle memory doing the work. Then I learn a vocal part. If the bass part is just automatic, then it's easier for me to work on vocals and actually have them sound good. It can definitely be tough, since some bass parts are diametrically opposed to vocal parts in terms of rhythm.

[g.]

Didn't we just have this thread? Ah, I see we did. Even the starter of the thread sees we did. So why are we having this thread again? Hmmm, could have practiced and playing songs instead of still looking for a new shortcut through tau-space ; }

 

Thumbs down ; }

[Nicklab]

I think this one has more to do with the actual process, rather than asking why.

[Chito]

Originally posted by Rik:

Yeah, practice, practice, practice. And I'll concur with what others have said - get one part or the other on autopilot.

 

For me, this is the bass line. Since I'm the lead singer in my band, I have to concentrate on the lyrics, on my delivery, and on singing to the crowd. So I make sure I can play my bass parts in my sleep. I can't afford to be wondering what the next lick is. And I definitely can't look at my fingers while I'm singing into the mic. That bass part has to be there, and be correct, and almost be memorized more by my fingers than by my brain. That way, I don't have to think about it.

Hey! I admire you. I tried singing lead in one of the songs we do, I ended up giving up. I was playing the right notes but kept missing the licks and whenever the vocals had a rest or different rhythm than the rest of the song I was either singing it wrong or playing it wrong. Looking at the crowd, I didn't even get that far...I'm now singing harmony in some parts and that's also difficult, not just because of the rhythm but because of hitting the right note on the voclas. Singing and playing bass at the same is tough, but duable with practice

[g.]

Nicklab: I think this one has more to do with the actual process, rather than asking why.

Could'a swore that the other one had plenty of process talk in it as well as the typical INTERMINABLE LIST OF NAMES [non]discussion approach this forum seems so fond of ; }

 

If not that last one, maybe it was the one before that ; }

[Nicklab]

Well, if the repetition of topics seems to vex you so much greenboy, why are you wasting your time with responding in, according to you, redundant threads? Do you want to be a moderator in these forums, and try to make it more organized? Or, are you just that bored that you need to play message board commando? I say help if you're so inclined. But if you don't have anything positive to post, perhaps it's better left unsaid.

[g.]

Thin skin there, Nicklab. Just having a larf. Tough luck if you didn't like the arrow's direction.

[Nicklab]

Just calling it like I see it. And I've seen it plenty.

[g.]

That's what I was doing too. See: we do have something in common ; }

[g.]

I look at it like this. If the music is dull-minded and non-moving and lazy too often, it's my job to poke it in the ass with an arrow shot from afar. If it's lacking in discipline and strength, it's my job to buttress it up and give it solidity.

 

We may disagree on architecture, but certainly I shouldn't be told to leave because under your definition I don't help. I do help. On a daily basis usually.

 

I expect more, and I give more.

[groovyjazzyfunky]

Back to the topic. . .

 

For the past year or so I've been working hard at learning how to sing and play bass well enough to front a band whilst doing both. I'm not quite there yet, but here are a few things I've discovered that have helped me immensely:

 

1) Prsctice with a drum machine. Besides improving my timing all-around, it really makes things "gel" when I'm trying to fit the puzzle pieces of the vocals and bass together. My fingers lock in with the drum groove, I don't have to think too much about where I'm at within the measure because the drums are doing a lot of the work for me (cheating?), and then I can put most of my concentration into my vocals. Plus, playing with a drum machine is just damn fun.

 

2) If I'm trying to get together I song that I wrote (which is my main objective), it helps a lot to record a simple demo with just the bass line and vocals, and then listen to that over and over again until it's ingrained in me just as much as any of my favorite songs that I know word-for-word, beat-for-beat are. This way, when I actually sit down to attempt to put the two parts together, I have something solid to reference to. I know exactly what I'm going for, instead of "making it up as I go along." It makes the whole process much less frustrating.

 

3) Learn Sting/Police songs! I remember reading an interview with Sting where he claimed that the vocals/bass deal still doesn't come "easy" to him after all these years, but he just works really hard at it and tailors his bass parts to fit around his vocals, or vice versa. So if I pick a Sting song to learn, at least I know that it's *possible* to get the bass and vocals together. Whereas there are a lot of other songs that I love (Chili Peppers' ferinstance) that I don't know if I'd ever be able to get the two parts together. So, yeah. . . practice Sting stuff if you're not opposed to his music. "Walking on the Moon" is pretty easy.

 

There's probably more I could say, but I'm late for work!

[vico]

If there is a song that you really really really cant

sing/play at the same time .. i suggest you take some time and transcribe it to midi (both the vocal melody and the bass line) , that way you can learn EXACTLY the way how the two lines connect... and you can drop the tempo to ridiculously low levels and gradually raise it.

 

it takes some time.. but that was the only way i could manage a really though bass/vocal combo that i simply couldnt follow.

 

i hope i made myself clear

 

saludos!

[Nicklab]

Originally posted by GrooveMouse:

3) Learn Sting/Police songs! I remember reading an interview with Sting where he claimed that the vocals/bass deal still doesn't come "easy" to him after all these years, but he just works really hard at it and tailors his bass parts to fit around his vocals, or vice versa. So if I pick a Sting song to learn, at least I know that it's *possible* to get the bass and vocals together. Whereas there are a lot of other songs that I love (Chili Peppers' ferinstance) that I don't know if I'd ever be able to get the two parts together. So, yeah. . . practice Sting stuff if you're not opposed to his music. "Walking on the Moon" is pretty easy.

 

There's probably more I could say, but I'm late for work!

I was always amazed at Sting's ability to sing and play "Spirits in the material world" at the same time. The bass part is playing totally off-time during the verses. Pulling that one off is very impressive.