Does anyone here do backing / lead vocals?

[bassman2]

Wish I could..sigh!

No seriously, I think it is a bit of an assett when looking for
bands / gigs...

[Les Cargill]

So do it! You'll get farther singing than playing well. Both
is better, but still...

--
Les Cargill

[bassman2]

Les, I have tried in the past, but believe me, there are some people
that are best kept away from a microphone..:-(

[geoff]

"bassman2" <vince_an...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:3fe4d51a-809b-4ee5...@s18g2000yqg.googlegroups.com...

> Wish I could..sigh!
>
> No seriously, I think it is a bit of an assett when looking for
> bands / gigs...

Yeah I do. But the catch is - not at the same time as playing bass.
Slightly easier when playing a rythmn guitar. When trying both either the
bass, the vocals, or both just seem to wander apart then falter completely
;-(

Bloody Macca, eh ?!!!

geoff

[Sam Wilson]

In article
<3fe4d51a-809b-4ee5...@s18g2000yqg.googlegroups.com>,

I do, but only when both the singing and the bass part are easy ones.

Sam

--
The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in
Scotland, with registration number SC005336.

[bassdiva]

"Sam Wilson" <Sam.W...@ed.ac.uk> wrote in message
news:Sam.Wilson-A2975...@news.eternal-september.org...

I have found that I can sing and play most of the numbers that were around
between 1955 - 1975, that's from age 3 to 23. They seem to be embedded in
my memory so well that I can concentrate on playing and still sing pretty
well except that I lean more toward singing the harmony parts. If I sing the
basic melody, that's when it starts to go pear shaped.
People think its so easy being a bass player, they just have no idea what's
involved. ;~)

[BW]

I do it all the time, and am frankly surprised that I seem to be in
the minority.

I think that if you have the material (good playing skills and a
decent voice), and know the song in question pretty well (practice?
yikes- did I really type that word?), it's far easier, if it's
possible at all.

There's got to be an organized method to mastering this multi-tasking,
but I don't know what it is. I think part of it is subconscious. For
instance, hearing in your mind/imagination that a tonic is coming up
and having your fingers go to the proper note without having to think
"Now, where's that E?".

It's an interesting topic.

[klaw]

been doin it since I started playing at 15

[Pt]

I'm not much of a singer but the only time I can sing is while I am
playing.

Pt

[Oci-One Kanubi]

On Tuesday, May 7, 2013 9:50:07 PM UTC-4, bassman2 wrote:

> Wish I could..sigh! No seriously, I think it is a bit of an assett when looking for bands / gigs...

I don't have a good lead voice, but I can hear a harmony line pretty well, especially if the lead voice is pure and on pitch, and reproduce it adequately.

The rub is in the timing. The more complicated or syncopated the bass line, the less likely I am to be able to sing at the right meter.

On the advice of people here (the advice, in a nutshell, was "practice, practice, practice") I praciced and practiced, and I'm getting better.

My system is to work on the bass part until I can play it almost unthinkingly, but still I have to concentrate hard to keep everything from flying apart when I'm singing.

Sometimes I have to dumb down the bass line when I sing (I'm looking at you, "Mustang Sally"!) Eagles songs and other country crap are relatively easy because the bass parts are so easy.

Practice, Practice, practice!

-Richard, His Bassic Travesty

[*e#c]

Both, all the time. More lead than backing only becaue we don't have
another Singer. When in larger gigs, I do backup, if needed and if I
know the part.

[RichL]

"Oci-One Kanubi" <rho...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:1f54169b-8d63-48b5...@googlegroups.com...

And if there's more than one person doing backing vocals, practice with that
person. Back in the day, Bass Player and I (I played guitar in that band)
spent hours each week (just the two of us) going over backing vocals,
concentrating on new songs we were learning. We wanted to be as tight
vocally as we were instrumentally (and we were).

And for what it's worth, I think doing backing vocals is easier when you're
playing bass (as I was in my next band) than if you're the only guitarist in
a band (as I was in the first band I described), playing chords, riffs, lead
parts, etc.

[Rudolf Ziegaus]

The problem for me is - apart from having a good voice;-) - not so much to
think about the notes to play but more the rhythm f the voice and the
rhythm of the bass line - when they differ too much I get in trouble and I
can't concentrate on both of them.

Rudi

[BW]

Coincidentally, I was just approached by a drumber to join a trio.
Sounded good on the surface - no extensive rehearsal, all pros, one
get together to see how we fit, then gig searching.

BUT, it turns out I'm the only one who can sing lead. Drumber doesn't
sing at all, guitarist only sings harmony. I like singing, but not all
night. Sounds like it turned into a "no go".

Onward and upward.

[Les Cargill]

So hire a singer. Oh yeah - that would be a 33% pay cut across the
board, on that glorious $200 a night for the whole* band :)

*not accusing you of being a bottom-feeder, it's just tough
out there.

We're up to five and looking for a sixth. Two of the five are
singers ; one plays ( quite good ) percussion. We'll basically use
low-rent club gigs as a fancy rehearsal; emphasis is on private parties
and weddings.

Usually, when we audition a sixth, they say "six people is a
lot of mouths to feed" and we filter those people.


--
Les Cargill

[Brian Running]

> The problem for me is - apart from having a good voice;-) - not so much to
> think about the notes to play but more the rhythm f the voice and the
> rhythm of the bass line - when they differ too much I get in trouble and I
> can't concentrate on both of them.

Same for me, Rudi. It's a lot easier to play guitar and sing than play bass and sing, because you're not thinking about individual notes in two different lines at once. The song that always messed me up was the Doobie Brothers' "Depending on You" - the part where the vocal backup is "Someone to turn to, keepin' my feet on the ground," - two separate melodies, two separate rhythms - that was too much for my dense brain to process at once. Try it yourself! It's like a tongue-twister.

[Jay S]

"JimmyM" wrote in message
news:6hslo8dednesue6ib...@4ax.com...

I get more gigs out of being able to sing than my bass playing alone.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Bassists with the ability to sing are placed higher on the call list than
those that don't.

I get a lot of fill in work because I can sing.
I also end up having to cover the chick singer high harmonies.
Why is it bass players have to sing the high harmony?
Play low...sing high!

Jay S

[BW]

On May 9, 2:27 pm, "Jay S" <bass...@gmail.com> wrote:
> "JimmyM"  wrote in message
>
> news:6hslo8dednesue6ib...@4ax.com...
>
> On Tue, 7 May 2013 18:50:07 -0700 (PDT), bassman2
>

> <vince_angelon...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> >Wish I could..sigh!
>
> >No seriously, I think it is a bit of an assett when looking for
> >bands / gigs...
>
> I get more gigs out of being able to sing than my bass playing alone.
>
>
>
> Bassists with the ability to sing are placed higher on the call list than
> those that don't.
>
> I get a lot of fill in work because I can sing.
> I also end up having to cover the chick singer high harmonies.
> Why is it bass players have to sing the high harmony?
> Play low...sing high!
>
> Jay S

I add a lower harmony. Once they hear it, they usually like it.

[Les Cargill]

LIke rubbin' yer head and pattin' yer stomach. Or
that AT&T commercial .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0FL1AzCAJ8

--
Les Cargill

[The Taylors]

Yeah, but I was forced into it! lol
I used to joke that my college bandmates only let me sing one song, "By the
Time I Get to Phoenix".....but they wouldn't play it! haha
Fast forward to 2004....Classic rock...there were four of us, and four
voices tho I never sang lead.
Then the original drummer died, new guy could only screech (so we assigned
him to learn "Phoenix"!). Fired the high-chops rhythm guy. That left me and
the keyboard guy to do it all.
He's a good rnr singer, very durable voice, sings maybe a fourth above my
highest, and him in no strain. I'm a baritone without much in the way of
high-end chops, and the morn after a gig my voice is an octave lower than
God's!
Still. I love to sing. If the bass line is tough (read: syncopated, or at
counterpoint to the melody. Cream's "Born under a Bad Sign") I gotta do the
due diligence practice thingy. I can't even speak to someone while playing
if I don't rehearse it first. The guy who encouraged me to sing couldn't
sing a lick, but he did so lustily, and the crowd loved him for his energy.
When I told him I couldn't play/sing at same time he said "just play with
one side of your brain and sing with the other. HA! Back to the practice
thing. HE could do it, but not I.
I decided my voice was at least the equal of his, so down the vocal road I
went. It can be done, but it sure wasn't natural to me.
stipo