Judy Rodman - All Things Vocal Blog

Training & insights for stage and studio singers, speakers, vocal coaches and producers from professional vocal coach and author of "Power, Path & Performance" vocal training method. Download All Things Vocal podcast on your fav app!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Do You Really Have To Play THERE?

So. You are having trouble singing and playing a particular part of a song at the same time. Many times this is caused by the particular rhythm pattern you need to play being different from the rhythm pattern you need to sing. When you perform insecure about getting both right, both your playing and your singing suffer. What can you do? I see you have three options:

  1. Practice doing it... until it no longer feels weird. Start by just practicing your instrument til the muscle memory is down pat. Then put your voice with it... slower than usual. Then speed it up to the right tempo and make sure it feels so natural you can put it on automatic, and focus on your audience.
  2. Don't play the trouble spot. Especially for guitar players... in performance, let your band carry the section and just rest your arms on your guitar. If you pay attention, you will be amazed at how many major entertainers do this, and make it look quite natural.
  3. Don't play that song at all... just sing. Let your band do without your instrument, go to the footlights and have some fun with the audience! You don't need to be able to dance... just connect and communicate. Do this effectively and authentically and they'll probably never miss your instrument!

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posted by Unknown @ 11:42 AM  

2 Comments :

  • At May 6, 2011 at 6:05 PM , Anonymous Anni said...

    Hi Judy,

    Thanks for the advice. This is exactly what I'm going through now! I've taken some advanced guitar lessons to improve my playing so now I'm learning songs that I am capable of playing. It's very humbling - - reminds me of when I started playing guitar!

    Anni

     

  • At May 6, 2011 at 6:08 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

    You're welcome... and congrats on upping the level of your instrumental expertise! You might want to remember to separate your practice. When you're focusing on learning something on guitar, only sing lightly. And vice versa. Then when you put them together, always be the singer first!

     

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