I'm playing guitar for a few years and my playing skills are good, but when I try to play the guitar and sing simultaneously it just won't work. I can play and sing songs with simple strumming but when I try to sing over more complex stuff like Rock or Metal riffs or Jazz harmonies I get confused and everything falls apart. I look at singers/gutarists like Mikael Akerfeldt from Opeth, James Hetfield from Metallica and Alexi Laiho from Children of Bodom and I just can't understand how the hell they do it!

I'll be glad to get some tips and advices.

I m sfraid i am as clueless as u are..

Its just practice, man...practice practice practice...oh and I think some parties of Opeths songs mikael åkerfeldt are playing easier guitar stuff to be able to sing at the same time...but its all about practice and finding the right coordination between your instrument and your vocals

Singing and playing can be tough, especially with technical riffs and fast rhythms. The best thing to do I've found is to practice the hell out of the riffs that you want to sing over. Practice them so that when you play them, it seems effortless and very easy. Once you are very confident with the riff, then you can start little by little practicing your vocal line on top of it. It may not come easy at first, depending on the difficulty of the riff, but the better you can play the riff without really thinking about it, the better you will be at singing over top of it. Hope that helps. If you need help on a specific song let me know, I'd like to help you out as best as I can.

I guess Hetfield's secret was practice practice practice. so that's what i'm telling you.. just learn the guitar parts so well that you get bored while playing it and need to do something else like.. singing

seriously, i won't say it's easy or something, i myself am having some problems and there's many many songs i can't say i can sing over even mildly complex things.

Why is this linked to Death again? I got an update from Death's profile that redirected me here...

Written by Linak on 09.06.2010 at 20:29

Why is this linked to Death again? I got an update from Death's profile that redirected me here...

yea Ô_o !!!!

Written by Linak on 09.06.2010 at 20:29

Why is this linked to Death again? I got an update from Death's profile that redirected me here...

Same here...but for Opeth.

Please don't do that again.

I think singing and playing guitar is hard. Needs a lot of practice. But playing keyboard and guitar at the same time is more difficult (see Sadist).

It's pretty much practice yeah. I did (still) had some problems myself. I tried to learn a song on the guitar. And gradually became better and better at that one particular song. I don't have a "nice" voice so I don't sing. I did however try to sing as I played when I JUST had learned the whole song from my head on the guitar... Didn't go so well. But now I can play the guitar stuff, while singing..

I think that by playing the same "shit" over and over, your hands begin to go on a form for "autopilot". Like J. Hetfield, picture yourself playing "One", "Battery" and "Master Of Puppets" for 50 shows per year for a long long time. Your hands becomes "automatic". It's like driving a car. At first you have to pay a lot of attention to just simply driving the car, but after some time you just "do it". Weird examples.

But to sum it, just focus on playing the same thing over and over on the guitar. Helps a lot to listen to the songs on your MP3 player. Your sub-mind keeps thinking about the guitar notes without actually thinking about it. Soon you'll sing your heart out while playing perfect : )

The secret to singing and playing at the same time is simple. the instrumental parts have to be so easy for you that you can do it automatically, without thinking, so that while your hands do one thing, your mind focuses on the singing

..or vice versa

I am both a guitarist and vocalist, but I have not focused on singing and playing guitar simultaneously very much. It is a skill that I would recommend myself to gain for future use. I think the advice on here is helpful.

I have the same problem! All I can say, as some others have said, is practice, practice, practice! The key is practicing a song/riff, to the point were you could play it in your sleep. If the riff is easy to play, so much so that you can play without having to look very much at what you're doing, then you will find it easier to sing over the top of your playing. It is very hard to sing while playing complex riffs. At least it is for me. I do like singing and playing guitar at the same time, but it definitely isnt easy. I have such an admiration for guys like James Hetfield, Dave Mustaine, Mille Petrozza etc, who can play such fast and complex riffs, and sing at the same time. Im like, how the heck is that possible?! :lol

I was just able to do it. came naturally.

Well i can sing while i play melodies but it is easier to play if the rhythm is even.

but i LIKE to play rhythm guitars and lead guitars EQUALLY so that will never be a problem (if it isnt something like bards song, fade to black.....)

My friend , with a lot of work and training your experience gonna get better , and they did the same , as a matter of time , soon to hear ur music !

Practice singing and playing seperately first. Once you get each part pefect (or as close as you can) then merge them, and practise and practise until you get it right. Also, practise humming the tune of the melody while playing before adding the words, so you get the melody right without trying strain your brain to think of the lyrics. after you've got the melody with the guitar right, then add the lyrics.

Also, don't start with stuff like opeth that changes time signatures and keys, or even metal, which can be hard. Start with a song (you don't even have to like it) in 4/4 in say... the key of C and practice it and move up to the hard stuff. For example: hardest button to button by the white stripes, or Title and registration by dcfc. that follows the same rythm as the guitar, is really simple to sing, and the pitch doesnt vary a great deal... then work your way up.

You have to be able to play the riffs instinctively. Then you can start singing without screwing the rhythm. As it was said hundreds of times, the only way is practice. The first step is to play without singing until the riff is in your muscle memory, then let your voice out!

Well, even some of the greats have had problems with this! Kai Hansen for instance has only recently became comfortable with singing and playing at the same time. He stepped down as vocalist after the 1st Helloween album because he found it difficult playing and singing at the same time. This is also the reason he chose not to be the lead vocalist in Gamma Ray when he first formed the band. In a recent interview, he has said he is now comfortable doing both, but for a long time struggled with it. It made me feel a bit better, knowing that one of my heroes had problems singing and playing as well. xD

Cos its not just the fact Hetfield, Mustaine, etc can do it, they make it look so easy as well, thats what gets me.

Yeah, i have that problem

btw, oroboros, love the SP-Immortal avatar

Well just check Muhammad vocals\gutarists of Necrophagist the techinal death metal band you well get stuned!! he is the best in the simultaneously thing...

I play the guitar since I am 10, and I could never sing at the same time unless it was some really simple rhythm. And I don't sing well at all,
so I never made the effort of singing, and I concentrate on my playing (which not surprisingly has lead me to only write instrumental tracks...).
But yes, i guess all you need is to practice a lot.

I can't help you as I can not play. But I know somebody who might be able to. MetalStorm has some unexplained/unreasonable (to me) grudge against the man, Brendan Small. It was reported that he had a lot of trouble with this when first taking the Dethklok show on tour. The reason I suggest him to you is that he's pretty responsive to his fans. I've sent E-Mails to him and he's always responded personally. I've seen the Dethklok show on both tours and noticed a significant increase in comfort from him on the stage.

So again, I say Brendan Small is your man. Just google him and you can find his contact info from his website. Best of luck.

Of course, I'm willing to bet good old fashioned practice is your route to success.

Start slow

I think the trick is to memorize the song by heart, when it is "imprinted in ur mind" you'll find yourself singing along while focusing on playing ... OR, vice versa... practice the instrument like there's no 2moro so that you'd be naturally playing without giving it much focus, and you'd focus your concentration on the lyrics.. so, you pick the easier technique for you.. but both have the same concept

Dude you Just Need To Feel The Song. Know it. Remember it by Heart. Know why you play it.
And um.. Practice alot hehehehe. Bur seriously man don't try to play something your not into.
Well You CAN try but dont lose hope. it's very easier if it's your own songs or very familiar songs.

Written by Puff on 15.06.2010 at 05:46

Dude you Just Need To Feel The Song. Know it. Remember it by Heart. Know why you play it.
And um.. Practice alot hehehehe. Bur seriously man don't try to play something your not into.
Well You CAN try but dont lose hope. it's very easier if it's your own songs or very familiar songs.

Yeah, but don't go and try and play something like dream theater, you got to start with easy stuff. Something easy on both guitar and vocals.

I've read somewhere you can train yourself to focus on two things at the same time in order to be able to play and sing simultaneously, like playing and reading aloud at the same time, or trying to talk with someone while playing. Do you think it can actually work? Because from what you people said above, the only way to play and sing simultaneously is to memorize every song you would like to play. That means no matter how much I'll practice, I'll have to memorize every song I would like to play.

P.S. Sorry for the linking, I won't do it again.

Of course, practice the song slowly at first, (as mentioned above), practice a lot (also mentioned above) and keep in mind that having the guitar and Vox match rhythmically will make it a million times easier.
I've just had to start getting over this issue myself recently and what worked for me was just making sure that guitar and vox both landed on downbeats, then throw in some galloped rhythm on each instrument alternating each one and work from there on incorporating more and more difference between the rhythms and complexity of each instrument.
Hope this helps.