Originally Posted by Wade Hampton
Sure. The more you do it, the easier it'll get.
When I was first starting to sing and play at the same time, I would play whatever new song I was working on over and over and over again, so that it got to be sheer muscle memory. The way I would progress on it was this: first I would play the accompaniment pattern while silently "singing" the song in my mind, usually while reading the words at the same time.
Over and over again. Then I would start to sing the words.
Something that I found to be vital was to keep playing the accompaniment part even if I stumbled over the words. Don't stop. At this point, the words aren't as important as being able to keep going playing the chord progression. So if you mis-phrase something, don't stop. Keep going. Sing "la la la" nonsense syllables if you have to, or just hum, or whatever. But keep your hands going, then jump back onboard and start singing the next time the words come around.
What I always taught my students is that the biggest mistake you can make when learning a piece is to stop when you make a mistake. You need to keep it rolling so you can try to get it right the next time it rolls around.
The natural instinct is to stop, then start over. But all that does is reinforce the mistake, not correct it.
So keep going. Don't stop, no matter how badly you muffed it.
Sing the words in your mind as you play the chord progression over and over, then start singing as you're able. Pretty soon it won't be nearly as difficult.
You can expect to play these songs for twenty, thirty minutes at a time as you're getting used to them. Which can obviously drive the folks around you straight up a tree. But the more you do that, not only will the song become ingrained, but the less you'll have to do that with other songs.
Pretty soon it'll come close to being automatic.
But at this stage repetition is your friend. So play the songs over and over many, many times until you get them.
One last thought - particularly when I'd gotten past the very beginner stage but still wasn't as musically accomplished as I'd later become - one of the most valuable times for musical improvement would come when I was exhausted and ready to sleep. Right there at that cusp of unconsciousness, when your brain is almost totally disengaged but you're still (barely) conscious, you can make great strides musically.
So what I'd often do, when I'd practiced a piece that was giving me trouble but hadn't quite ironed out all the wrinkles, just before I went to sleep I would grab the guitar and play the whole thing through two or three more times.
It was often right then that I'd make the breakthrough I needed. The next day when I picked up and tried it again, I'd often have it down cold.
So those are my recommendations: practice and keep in rhythm even if you make a mistake, just keep going, while you "sing" the lyrics in your mind. After a while start to actually sing it, but keep the accompaniment going even if you mess up the words. Substitute "la la la's" if need be, then sing the words again the next time the chord progression comes back around.
Don't worry about expression or musical interpretation at this stage, just keep going over and over on the song. I find that, past a certain point, it even helps to think about other things as you're singing and playing. Just keep going, regardless.
Then later, when you're tired and really should go to bed, try playing the song a few more times. Let physical exhaustion disengage your brain while you play the song - it's amazing how helpful that can be and how much progress you can make.
Hope that makes sense.
Wade Hampton Miller
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