Probably stupid question...

[Cecil6243]

So how common is it to sing along with an arrangement that has the melody line arranged into the song as an instrumental? E.g. I found an arrangement for guitar I really like of Piano Man by Billy Joel that isn't just strumming chords (see below) Obviously there is an advantage as I can actually sing right along with the melody line but will it sound right?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlv1frGNcuY

Song is in Open G with a drop C (CGDGBD) capo 5th fret.

[Mandobart]

I don't usually sing the melody and play the melody simultaneously. When I played solo gigs I would work out the melody in a couple octaves to play as a break between singing the verses.

When accompanying a singer I never play the melody while they are singing.

[Silly Moustache]

Hi Cecil, thank you for showing us this musician. This was superbly played and I hung on to wallow in his sublime interpretation of Hotel California too.

to answer your question, in my own far more humble way, I'll work out the melody line using the chord progression as a clue and use this for an intro and outro and a break, but ease back to a chordal backing (with bass line) when my vocals take the lead line.

Hope that helps.

Rather than posting one of my guitar backed vocals I thought we should share this chap's playing a little more :



ad some might have heard of this number ::

[Cecil6243]

Thanks for the responses. Unfortunately due to copy write issues the Hotel California arrangement can't be seen in the U.S.


Can I take the above arrangement, play it the same way, but when the vocals and harp come in just leave out the melody line and singing then? Will that sound right? Or will I have to do some rearranging in the singing parts? Excellent suggestions on intro and outro and break Sill Moustache!

My apologies but I'm not the most advanced player, but I'm learning as much as I can!

[Andyrondack]

Originally Posted by Cecil6243

So how common is it to sing along with an arrangement that has the melody line arranged into the song as an instrumental? E.g. I found an arrangement for guitar I really like of Piano Man by Billy Joel that isn't just strumming chords (see below) Obviously there is an advantage as I can actually sing right along with the melody line but will it sound right?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlv1frGNcuY

Song is in Open G with a drop C (CGDGBD) capo 5th fret.

That sounds like a nice arrangement, it's not at all unusual in the folk tradition for a singer to accompany themselves with the melody, some old modal tunes just sound too modern when sung to a chord progression, problem is that playing a fingerstyle melody like that can take some concentration unless you are very familiar with your instrument in that tuning, you don't want to be looking at the fretboard and trying to sing, so you could start of learning to sing to the melody but switch to an easier chordal accompaniment during the harder bits, if your singing is anything like mine you want to be concentrating on the voice not the guitar part.

[The Bard Rocks]

It's called "Unison". It takes extra practice to pull this off. I do it on a couple of songs, just the guitar and voice, both doing the melody, no chords. it is very neat, provided you use this trick rarely. Use it too often and it will quickly get old.

(Note to self: next time, do this playing harmony on the guitar, not melody.)