My suggestion for playing and singing at the same time.
I'm a teacher ( NOT a guitar teacher ) so I've devised a method or useful tips that should help you with this fairly complex proccess. Remember that you are trying to communicate using two different paths that intertwine with each other in kind of awkward yet beautiful way.
This is how I'd do it.
1.- Learn about rhythm. I'd suggest borrowing a basic drumming method from the libary or buying one. There are some fairly cheap ones that work great.
Learning about rhythm, accents, pauses and stamina is arguably the most important aspect of guitar playing. It'll affect your rhythm playing but also your solo work and how solid you sound. A player with a weak sense of timing and rhythm will
NOT sound convincing ever in his/her playing life. Take it from me. I've been there for ages...
2.- Apply that knowledge to your rhythm playing; trying to play the simplest of tunes, enjoying and feeling every chord. Keep it as simple as possible and as mistake free as possible. Play for looooong periods, ideally with a metronome, listening to your rhythmic playing and be brutally honest with yourself. Is it groovy or is it dead?
Example of something
very simple played
really badly;
YouTube - Bill Murray and Eric Clapton - CrossroadsAwful isn't it? The vintage guitar, the good amp and the sympathetic crowd could not help a really foul performance. To be fair Bill is not a guitar player but still....
3.- Next step; Put your guitar down. Stand in front of mike. Get some vocal tuition material and practice some singing technique like breathing exercises & mouth position. Sing clearly. Try to sing as if you were trying to speak to somebody across the street. People want ot be able to tell what you are singing/saying. Do it carefully. Be aware of timing and try to be in tune. Relax and practice over a good length of time, in the sense of a good few months. With singing is more important little and often practice rather than long sessions.
4.- When comfortable carrying a tune with your voice pick your guitar again. Play rhythm as you practised before. Your guitar playing should be steady and characterful.
Start singing a simple melody over the guitar playing. At first it’ll feel weird as you have learnt both disciplines separately. Don’t give up. Keep it simple and slow and build up your speed and confidence.
5.- Listening to the greats might not be advisable at first though. If you listen to the few great players /singers you might be discouraged as being fully competent in both disciplines at once is hard.
6.- Be honest and DO NOT RUSH. Don’t give up and keep it simple and steady. When you can do it fine without mistakes allow yourself some freedom and emotion. Then let yourself go and don’t look back.
7.- If everything else fails take the BB King approach; sing while not playing and play when not singing. :lol:
