Player Only?

[davidd]

I'm in a band of dinosaur late sixties guys. 3 of the four of us sing and the other guitarist who doesn't sing claims that we are such hot dogs up in front of a microphone that there isn't enough mustard to cover us. I sometimes am nervous before a gig starts but that goes away with the first song. I used to claim that anybody can sing but in reality our bass players voice makes me cringe bit he insists on having a go at it.

My advice is to relax, and always have jokes ready for the inevitable clams you make. The audience wants to be entertained so be an entertainer!

[maguitar]

Just a solo guitar player doing instrumemtal versions of all sorts of songs from Queen to Johnny Cash to Bruno Mars to jazz and classical too. I wouldnt dare ruin it by attempting to sing!

Thankfully I find a decent amount of good paying gigs such as corporate stuff, private parties, wineries, weddings, etc. But I have to keep expanding my repetoire, which is part of the fun but a fair amount of work overall.

[Ed66]

As an exclusively fingerstyle player, I find it hard to even think of the words to a song much less try and sing along. I suppose that's partly from the way I play and also the fact I started playing relatively late (at 48). I do have a couple of songs that I'm planning to start to try and sing along with - I just haven't committed to it yet.

[WFO!]

Sing, gulp? <shudder>

[Ncbandit]

I picked up the guitar at 28 and was strictly a guitar player, no natural singing ability with permanent lyric writers block. Didn't play at all from 43 to 53 and picked it back up.

Once I realized I was not going to be the best guitar player on the planet, I simplified my playing and concentrated on composing songs instead of guitar masterpieces.

When I decided to write Christian songs the creativity window flew open. Catching up with the digital age opened up even more windows and I am in a permanent state of writing and recording.

In addition to guitar and singing I add MIDI drums, MIDI bass, MIDI strings, and MIDI flute to my tunes.

What fun!!!

[dwasifar]

Originally Posted by maguitar

Just a solo guitar player doing instrumemtal versions of all sorts of songs from Queen to Johnny Cash to Bruno Mars to jazz and classical too.

Now I'm imagining the Man in Black singing Bohemian Rhapsody. And it almost works. See what you've done?

"Mama... Just killed a man in Reno... Put my gun against his head, pulled my trigger just to watch him die."

[dwasifar]

Originally Posted by dwasifar

Now I'm imagining the Man in Black singing Bohemian Rhapsody. And it almost works. See what you've done?

"Mama... Just killed a man in Reno... Put my gun against his head, pulled my trigger just to watch him die."

I killed the thread. Melted everyone's brains, apparently.

[Inyo]

Originally Posted by dwasifar

Now I'm imagining the Man in Black singing Bohemian Rhapsody. And it almost works. See what you've done?

"Mama... Just killed a man in Reno... Put my gun against his head, pulled my trigger just to watch him die."

Originally Posted by dwasifar

I killed the thread. Melted everyone's brains, apparently.

No. But such an imagining regarding Johnny Cash should get the poster thrown into Folsom Prison for life.

[dwasifar]

Originally Posted by Inyo

No. But such an imagining regarding Johnny Cash should get the poster thrown into Folsom Prison for life.

Haha!

The thing is, though, I think he would have done it if he thought he could make it sound his own. Look what he did to Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" and Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus."

[catt]

Originally Posted by Joe Beamish

I think of the guitar as an accompanying instrument primarily. It "wants" a voice to lead the way.

I don't think I'd be terribly interested in listening to a solo guitarist without a voice in there. Pretty soon it would get old.

If I did, it might be Barney Kessel, whose solo guitar work holds my attention. Tommy Emmanuel is awfully good, but mostly in a "wow, he's good" way, rather than a transportive musical way. I'm thinking about the guitar when he's playing, as a guitarist. He's great. But what I care about more is being transported musically, a poetic voice of some kind. Which usually requires a human voice.

I love guitar. But I'd much rather hear, for example, Paul McCartney playing and singing "Mother Nature's Son" than some solo guitarist fiddling away on his fretboard with no vocal to hold it together.

The human voice is still the greatest instrument in my view.

I agree with you. Even Hedges, Kottke, and Hendrix felt the need to do something other than strictly instrumental work. Bert Jansch's magic is in song form. Etc.

(Acoustic) guitar as a melody instrument is pretty thin compared to bowed strings, winds, reeds, etc. (It's why these are often called "melody" instruments)

[Joe Beamish]

Originally Posted by catt

I agree with you. Even Hedges, Kottke, and Hendrix felt the need to do something other than strictly instrumental work. Bert Jansch's magic is in song form. Etc.

(Acoustic) guitar as a melody instrument is pretty thin compared to bowed strings, winds, reeds, etc. (It's why these are often called "melody" instruments)

Agree, but I think Bert Jansch was actually a helluva good singer (pre-illness.)

[Skip Ellis]

Originally Posted by catt

I agree with you. Even Hedges, Kottke, and Hendrix felt the need to do something other than strictly instrumental work. Bert Jansch's magic is in song form. Etc.

(Acoustic) guitar as a melody instrument is pretty thin compared to bowed strings, winds, reeds, etc. (It's why these are often called "melody" instruments)

I'm just the other way around - I don't care a whit about vocals (with few exceptions). I learned to play guitar because I liked the sound of the guitar and think it sounds just fine on it's own. I think the important part of a song is the melody and I don't care to listen to some 'singer' caterwauling about his love life or the fate of the planet. Granted, I do, sometimes, try to base my jazz chord solos on a version by a 'real singer' that I like, but only because of the phrasing, etc.. I couldn't care less about the words - they just don't interest me. Of course, to, me, 'real singers' are the likes of Sinatra, Bennett, Torme, Clooney, Ronstadt and Fitzgerald.

[dwasifar]

Originally Posted by catt

(Acoustic) guitar as a melody instrument is pretty thin compared to bowed strings, winds, reeds, etc. (It's why these are often called "melody" instruments)

I always thought those instruments were called that because you can't play chords on them. You can only play sequences of single notes.

Well, technically I guess you can play a pizzicato chord on a violin or its larger siblings, but then it's not a bowed string anymore.

[catt]

Originally Posted by dwasifar

I always thought those instruments were called that because you can't play chords on them. You can only play sequences of single notes.

Well, technically I guess you can play a pizzicato chord on a violin or its larger siblings, but then it's not a bowed string anymore.

Yes that's true for horns...although not for concertinas, accordions, pipes (with regulators), bowed strings (where dyads are constantly employed)... But, all of those "non-polyphonic" instruments are generally loud. Harp, guitars...not so loud, and don't shape notes as do winds, reeds, bowed strings.. and generally don't lead (in Irish sessions, for example, where this distinction is a traditional consensus).

Just generally speaking. Instruments are basically classed as chording type (polyphonic) and melody type.. although there is certainly overlap.

Even synths are classed as monophonic and polyphonic - although there's tremendous overlap.

[Peepaw]

I have a rather bad singing voice. That said, I have been trying to sing and play at the same time. The first few weeks it really messed up my playing.

After about three weeks, I finally figured out how to strum and sing Lying Eyes.
I have noticed that when I sing along that my playing suffers.

It is a work in progress. It's getting easier but my voice is still terrible.

Don't care as I'm only entertaining myself.