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Any tips for an average guitarist and singer

bindy123bindy123 Posts: 210
edited August 2012 in Musicians and Gearheads
Am not sure how to measure this really but by my estimations I am a slightly below average guitarist and a slightly above average singer.

Am not looking to ever do anything other than friends bbqs and parties, the odd wedding for friends etc...BUT...

Please talented singers and guitarists excuse the fact I dont know any technical terms but hope I can explain this adequately, also know I have sososososo much respect an admiration for people who have developed their skills and become good musicians...you really are amazing

Anyway when I play certain songs that have a repetitive strumming pattern...that may be really easy to play without singing...when I start to sing along I find it so hard to keep the strumming pattern...Are their helpful tips to sorting this problem...or do I just keep trying over and over til I get it

EXAMPLE...am currrently trying to learn BIG HARD SUN...like I said, easy to play without singing...easy to sing without playing...put them together and I just cant maintain the strum pattern...any advice???
"God created surfing and Pearl Jam so that the truely gifted, talented and most intelligent people wouldnt rule the world"...adapted from my bumper sticker
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • hostishostis Posts: 441
    it just comes down to practice practice practice. And practice some more. And then practice. But also, practice.

    I would also say don't focus on getting one song perfect and moving onto the next but above all, practice.
  • mfc2006mfc2006 HTOWN Posts: 37,483
    hostis wrote:
    it just comes down to practice practice practice. And practice some more. And then practice. But also, practice.

    I would also say don't focus on getting one song perfect and moving onto the next but above all, practice.


    and once you think that you've finally nailed it...practice some more. get comfortable in your own skin & just let go.
    I LOVE MUSIC.
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  • the wolfthe wolf Posts: 7,027
    My tip, if you can call it that is this. I think no matter how good you become, there will always be songs that give you fits. The reason i say this is because of the song you mentioned. I can play the Hell out of it, and sing it even better. When i try to put the two together, for some reason i lose it.
    Some songs are just a bitch for some people.

    Just practice it over and over and over and......

    It drives me crazy that I have problems with Hard Sun, but I'm getting there.

    I've been playing awhile too, some songs just mess with me.
    Peace, Love.

    "To question your government is not unpatriotic --
    to not question your government is unpatriotic."
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  • BinFrogBinFrog MA Posts: 7,309
    Practice.
    Bright eyed kid: "Wow Typo Man, you're the best!"
    Typo Man: "Thanks kidz, but remembir, stay in skool!"
  • Guitarhero27Guitarhero27 Posts: 2,146
    BinFrog wrote:
    Practice.

    Tip: Don't listen to BinFrog
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  • BinFrogBinFrog MA Posts: 7,309
    Guitarhero27 wrote:
    BinFrog wrote:
    Practice.

    Tip: Don't listen to BinFrog



    suck it, Trebek.
    Bright eyed kid: "Wow Typo Man, you're the best!"
    Typo Man: "Thanks kidz, but remembir, stay in skool!"
  • bindy123bindy123 Posts: 210
    thanks so much for your responses, really appreciate it...wolf, its so good to hear I am not the only one...and hey my last name is wolfe, so we have something else in commom I guess.

    Anyway thanks again...I suppose I was hoping there was a short cut of some kind...I remember when learning to play the didgeridoo and not getting it, a guy told me to get a straw and glass of water, keep the bubbles going as you breath in through the nose...was a piece of gold...but alas, hard work is the only solution to this one.

    All the best
    "God created surfing and Pearl Jam so that the truely gifted, talented and most intelligent people wouldnt rule the world"...adapted from my bumper sticker
  • FrankieGFrankieG Abingdon MD Posts: 9,100
    bindy123 wrote:
    Anyway when I play certain songs that have a repetitive strumming pattern...that may be really easy to play without singing...when I start to sing along I find it so hard to keep the strumming pattern...Are their helpful tips to sorting this problem...or do I just keep trying over and over til I get it

    EXAMPLE...am currrently trying to learn BIG HARD SUN...like I said, easy to play without singing...easy to sing without playing...put them together and I just cant maintain the strum pattern...any advice???

    BUMP for more tips?

    I have heard to sing while strumming but not fretting (Just mute the 6 strings with your fretting hand.) Once you get that down then add the fretting hand, but I don't think this works for me very well.. :?
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  • DriftingByTheStormDriftingByTheStorm Posts: 8,684
    "10,000 hours"
    If I was to smile and I held out my hand
    If I opened it now would you not understand?
  • BinFrogBinFrog MA Posts: 7,309
    Practice.
    Bright eyed kid: "Wow Typo Man, you're the best!"
    Typo Man: "Thanks kidz, but remembir, stay in skool!"
  • justamjustam Posts: 21,412
    When parts r hard to put together I often find it helps to find a way to put one pArt on automatic pilot somehow or to chunk the Two parts together somehow.

    Are u finding it difficult because of the movements of your hands or because of how the voice moves rhythmically on top of the background?

    Sometimes if u can figure out what's causing the difficulty you're halfway there to solving the problem.
    &&&&&&&&&&&&&&
  • rollingsrollings unknown Posts: 7,125
    go slow as hell





    I mean at first, obviously
  • bootlegger10bootlegger10 Posts: 16,026
    bindy123 wrote:
    thanks so much for your responses, really appreciate it...wolf, its so good to hear I am not the only one

    Well, it is just you two. ;)

    Just kidding. I suck at singing so I won't ever have to learn to sing and play at the same time.
  • acutejamacutejam Posts: 1,433
    What the "practice, practice, practice" is getting at is ... muscle memory. Eventually you don't even have to think about strumming, it just happens and you can lose yourself into the songs...

    So I like Chordie.com for just basic chord music and lyrics, might have to flesh out some of the lyrics -- but if it isn't evident (and this took me YEARS to figure out) ... MAKE A BINDER OF MUSIC! Really, print out stuff and put it in a binder, then every time you pick up the guitar, flip through the binder song by song by song. You'll be suprised how good you'll get!

    And as I see you're in my orbit of performance venues ... make another binder or two (or just stapled pages) of JUST LYRICS! Then hand those around. Around the campfire, let others sing along, the backyard bbq, gets even more fun with more voices. Sing-alongs. Which means, add some songs you might not normally gravitate to, stuff everyone kinda knows.

    I get invited to a lot of poker parties now just for the drunken sing-alongs! I think....
    [sic] happens
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