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#1
11-13-2003, 02:40 PM
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Singing while Fingerpicking!!!
Hi everyone, what a great forum.
I wonder if anyone has a comment on trying to sing while fingerpicking! say a JT song. How on earth does he do that? There is no continuous pattern of fingerpicking in most of his songs. So I am trying to play exactly as he does but the voice goes all over the place. I know a lot of you are saying practice, practice practice, but practice what. Can any of you who can manage this recommend something. Many thanks. 
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#2
11-13-2003, 03:47 PM
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Re: Singing while Fingerpicking!!!
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If you have the fingerstyle down, just keep practicing the singing while playing. You WILL get it . . . in time.
__________________
Joe "What's so funny 'bout peace, love & understanding?"
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#3
11-13-2003, 03:54 PM
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I think the trick is to get to the point where each part is independent of the other. Like walking and chewing gum, sort of. How do you get to that point? Well...um....practice. Really. You just do it so much that it becomes second nature and you can separate your left hand from your right hand from your voice.
--jam
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#4
11-13-2003, 04:07 PM
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Well, I sing quite a lot while being my own finger picking accompanist, and I think the main reason it is so easy for me is that I am doing my own material or arrangements and not someone else's. Trying to copy someone else, especially James Taylor, requires an awful lot of concentration and it is hard to concentrate on the playing while at the same time trying to put something into the vocal. It all kinda has to flow. That is not to say that it is wrong to try to do someone else's material, but it will require more practice, because you will have to have the instrumental part down before you can put any feeling into the vocal.
My opinion anyway.
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#5
11-13-2003, 06:25 PM
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It may sound far fetched, but one of the best things I ever did for my guitar playing was to take up drums...... Doing so gave me a better understanding of how to compartmentalize my brain.
You have to learn to be able to assign multiple parts of your brain to different, but related, tasks. It takes little time for some, and for others it's simply not attainable. Just study and practice. Peace. Doc
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#6
11-14-2003, 12:39 AM
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I do it all the time, its what makes life great! Maybe start with some Bob Dylan. His stuff is pretty easy to finger pick. Mostly 3-4 chords to remember. Then some Paul Simon. Then John Denver, and away you go!
__________________
freestyle Taylor W14ce Taylor XXXRS Taylor 110 GB Ovation Patriot
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#7
11-14-2003, 06:46 AM
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It will come -- practice, practice, practice. I could not play Blackbird for many years. Then I learned to play it, but I could not sing and play it at the same time. Now I can play it and sing it at the same time, but I still need to work on the details of my singing, since I know it does not sound as good as when I sing a song and strum. Another song I had the same problem with (and I know its not finger-picked, but it is a specific and complex picking pattern) is Here Comes the Sun. However, I just kept at it and now I can sing it and play it.
__________________
Steve 2003 Taylor 814cES 2000 Taylor K14c 2011 James Tyler Variax JTV-69, Lake Placid Blue JR Beck SHC-908 (ES 135 copy) Crate Powerblock and JDesign custom cabinet http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/stevefeinstein, The Tim and Bob Show buy our CD at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/timandbob http://www.feintuned.com
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#8
11-14-2003, 08:05 AM
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with any song, you have to get that finger pattern down SO well that you can, sing, dance, write, ride a bicycle, eat, or anything else and not miss a beat.
that's all there is to it. 
__________________
-Adam __________________ '02 314ce-LTD  Quote:
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#9
11-14-2003, 10:31 AM
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Singing while fingerpicking is at best foolhardy and at worst hazardous to your health
 If,however,you want to do it i echo the advice above,practice: build up slowly the intricacy of the picking pattern and like all the mysteries of the guitar neck it will reveal itself to you.The only other tip i can give is to try the picking while reading the words to the song as though it was just a book;when you are confident with that add the melody to the vocal.Failing that join an acoustic guitar duo with no vocals involved-it worked for me.
__________________
Taylor 414 RCE ES LTD 2003 Fender VG Strat 2007 Gibson Les Paul Studio 50's Tribute 2010
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#10
11-14-2003, 10:48 AM
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couple of things....
need an example.....but it doesn't really matter which tune... picking up that white greatest hits album tab book thingee... closing my eyes like kreskin (sp?)... thumbing through... noticing my neighbors septic system is possibly not working correctly... Daddy, that's not you, is it? no, it's not me!?!?!....what the h e dubble puck sticks do you mean 'is that me'...jeepers creepers.... and we've stopped flipping at Carolina In My Mind... forget the intro...move ahead to the singing part... it's key of E but apparently he plays key of D chord shapes with capo on 2nd fret...2 beats per measure cut time thing... Thing Number One... it's called fingerstyle but I know this bonobo has some thumbs...you probably do, too... 1a) Can you play the bass-line only? 1b) Can you alter the bass line ever so slightly on the fly? (Would you know how?) 1c) Can you play the bass line and sing simultaneously? Sound legit? Yes? No? Easy? Tougher than you thought it'd be? 1d) Can you alter the bass line ever so slightly on the fly and sing simultaneously? Still sound legit? Falling apart? Falling apart rythmically or vocally? if you are falling apart...don't think something like "jeepers mary and joseph, I can't even do the bass line and sing the tune...how am I ever going to fingerpick and do this????!?!?!??!"....that sort of thought is completely unproductive...don't beat up on yourself mastering a basic element of playing will have an effect on MORE of your playing than mastering some advanced concept of playing (i've reworded that last sentence 19 times and I'm still not happy with the way it reads) not sure the point is getting across...if you master something simple that you could not previously do, the result will be that virtually all of your playing will sound much more sophisticated and solid... master some more 'advanced' concept like playing a run of notes against a dim chord and it has an effect on a couple of measures of the tune at best....whipdeedoo and ladeeda...does not change your overall sound.... anyways... Thing Number Two... while it is true there is no single repetetive picking pattern used there is definitely some basic structure to much of the fingerpicking...can you identify it? How would you then practice it? JT certainly wouldn't pick the same exact notes each time.
__________________
Indeed, there is something in the current DC/NY culture that equates a lack of unthinking boosterism with a lack of patriotism. As if not being drunk on the latest Dow gains is somehow un-American. - Arianna Huffington May 11, 2009
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#11
11-14-2003, 11:05 AM
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Quote:
Nice to see you, master trees. Good advice, como siempre... Don't be such a stranger
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#12
11-14-2003, 11:05 AM
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Quote:
--jam
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#13
11-14-2003, 12:05 PM
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Thank you so much for all these great responses. They are all very valuable and as usual I'll keep on trying till I die!
There is another thread about how long does it take to master this instrument that we love so much. I believe that as with everything else there are milestones in our progress. Like barre chords was one for me, I was so happy when my Bm or Fmaj started to sound decent!! Then you work more at it, all of a sudden a whole new world of barre chords are open to you, then you work on the speed, clarity etc. Singing and fingerpicking must be another one of those milestones. I should have been more specific on the songs: one is "You've got a friend", I've been playing the intro and a few more lines as close as it gets since 2-3 years but the words just can't kick-in!! If I strum the rest and play the intro part in the transitions it doesn't sound so bad. Another one is "Somewhere over the rainbow" by Eva Cassidy (i love her version) there is so much fingerpicking to do!@# And on the good side: My "Fire and Rain" is starting to sound great, even my 12 year old perfect pitch! son says I've really improved on it! (my best critic) And what really helped is the part(s) where he hammers on the A chord quite often in the song which I perfected (trying since 2 years!!! or so). The good thing is you don't sing during that part which makes it easier. "master some more 'advanced' concept like playing a run of notes against a dim chord and it has an effect on a couple of measures of the tune at best....whipdeedoo and ladeeda...does not change your overall sound.... " this quote is a keeper, thanks. Can anyone think of other milestones in your playing? Thanks again. Proud owner of a Taylor 314CE Epihone LP
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#14
11-14-2003, 03:26 PM
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Quote:
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#15
11-14-2003, 06:57 PM
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Fingerpicking while singing is like singing harmony with yourself or playing a duet. Try recording the guitar part alone, then put down the guitar, rewind, playback and sing along with your full concentration. If you repeat this process 20 or 30 times, you will either (a) be able to play and sing simultaneously, or (b) fire the guitar player and hire a better one. Glad I could help.
__________________
GSnyde Guitars improve with age. The older I get, the more I like them. ---------------- I gots me .... some Martins some Santa Cruzes some Goodalls some T*****s Some other stuff
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