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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 153
Serious Contributor
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OP
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 153 |
In another year or two I would like to be able to perform my songs live. I am just learning to play the guitar and was wondering if there are any excercises I could to do practice sing/playing the guitar?
Thank you Jamie
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Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 988
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Top 500 Poster
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 988 |
Hi Jamie. I'd suggest practicing the guitar itself till you can change chords easily and without looking.Learn your major,minor,minor sevenths,major sevenths, the more the better.Practice till changing chords becomes second nature. And do yourself a favor and make sure your guitar is set up for max playability.Nothing will discourage a new player faster than a hard to play guitar. There is an excellent book, "how to write songs on guitar" by Rikki Rooksby. My local library has an excellent collection of songwriter books, and I've checked them all out. Rooksbys' is a diamond in the rough There are plenty of chord progression examples in the book. As far as exercises,you can always hum melodies as you practice changing chords. It is a technique I use to come up with ideas for song melodies. Hope this helps, and good luck [This message has been edited by TonyW (edited 10-08-2004).]
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Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 541
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Serious Contributor
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 541 |
Not quite sure how far along your guitar playing has progressed...
Once your fairly confident of various chord progressions;
Place a photo of your favorite person on the wall... start slowly singing and chording the guitar... while singing/playing/watching your honorary guest photo...
As you progress/get better... set up a metronome... and play strictly singing/strumming to the beat...
Break out a radio and play and sing along to top 40 radio... when you are advanced enough to keep up
If you really want to check what you would look like in front of a crowd... find a tall mirror to rehearse in front of... especially for those who get a kick out of seeing/watching themselves...
As you determine you can successfully sing and play the guitar... consider yourself in the upper 50%, or upper half of all guitar players...
------------------ "digging deep in the verbal sludge of society, for the gems of interest"
"digging deep in the verbal sludge of society, for the gems of interest"
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 169
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 169 |
I would seriously suggest that you learn some basic drumming skills! A djembe works very well for this as well as a drum kit. Work with simple beats to songs in the style of music you play, especially your own songs. Then try singing over those rhythms. Everyone I know who has learned to play drums (as a second or third instrument) has expressed that their ability to play and sing simultaneously has improved dramatically. Best of luck and have fun!
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 10,330
Top 10 Poster
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Top 10 Poster
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 10,330 |
Jamie,
you have to learn the pieces so well that you don't have to think about where your fretting fingers are going or the other hand as it picks or strums. Practice the songs until the movements are automatic and you don't even look at your hands.
Then practice singing the song with the pieces you've practiced. When I was first leaning to sing with my guitar, someone mentioned that I sang like my guitar was playing. Wherever there was emphasis or a break, that would appear in my singing. That's a common thing to happen I think. After a while I was able to sing independently of my playing.
I think it's easier to finger picking patterns while singing. Strumming is a bigger muscle movement and unless it's a laid back strum, it makes it harder to sing to.
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 823
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 823 |
This may not apply to guitar playing, so feel free to ignore. My experience is playing piano and singing.
I usually play very simply "under" my singing.
When I first tried to play and sing at the same time, I HAD to play very simply for the whole song because it was hard to think about everything at once. After a lot of practice, I got much smoother at it, but I still play more simply while I'm singing, so as not to have the piano compete with my voice. I put in more complicated stuff as fills between phrases, while I'm inhaling, I guess. When I listen to a recording now, I think, wow, how do I play THAT and sing THAT at the same time, because I now often improvise a melody on the piano that harmonizes with what I'm singing, without really thinking about it, just because I feel like it at the moment, and often my piano rhythms are very different from what I'm singing. It comes easy now, compared to when I started. I'm playing two instruments at once and my brain can handle it.
The only real drawback for me now is that I sing much better if I can stand up, and I like to sit at the piano. That's not about coordination, though.
It helped me a lot to simplify what I played when I was first starting to perform with piano and voice at the same time.
Maybe you've already come a long way--I notice you posted your question in April! If you've been practicing, I'm sure you've noticed how quickly it starts to get easier and better! --Jean
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Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 417
Serious Contributor
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Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 417 |
I suggest that you first concentrate on songs which have very simple chord progressions. Perhaps only two chords, a major and a dominant seventh. Jambalya is a perfect one. After you perfect that one introduce a third chord say F in the key of C. Try a song like "You are my sunshine" work at it until you have mastered those three chords C,G7,F. Then do the same songs in another key say key of G with G,D7,C. You may have to stretch your voice a little but you'll learn other keys that way.Work through as many keys as you can with just the three primary chords of the key. I, V7, IV. Good luck. Frank V.
Softkrome
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