Singing While Playing Bass: How to Learn, How to Practice

Once you have mastered some basic singing skills (see previous post), it is time to learn to play your bass while singing lead.  This has been a tough for most bass players.  It is difficult to play bass lines while singing lead.  You can get confused very quickly.  We can't all be the bass genius that Paul McCartney is, who does this with ease.

My band was playing at a Beatles Tribute, and I made up my mind I wanted to finally start contributing to our vocal effort.  Listening to Beatles tunes, I found that "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" was well within my range, and there seemed to be no bass part.  I could sing this song and not have to worry about playing bass (or so I thought).  I sent my karaoke recording to the band and they agreed I could do the song.  At the next practice, I sang it live and the band was enthusiastic.  However, over the next week I learned that there was indeed a bass part to the song, and I found a couple of YouTube videos where the bass players demonstrate how to play the song.  I had to rethink my approach, but I knew one thing, I would not give up!  I was committed to singing and would do whatever it took.

I learned to play the bass while singing this song in four steps:

1.  I learned the bass part without singing, just playing along to the record.
2.  I learned the singing part without playing the bass.
3.  I started putting the two together. This was done by taking each lyric in the song, singing it slowly while playing the appropriate bass part.  In this way, the two different activities were cemented into one in my brain.  I slowly increased my speed until I could play and sing it at the same time, all the way through, and then I started recording it.
4.  I listened to the recording and learned where there were rough spots, then concentrated on smoothing those out.

There is nothing like playing and singing the song live, so I began doing that at band practice, developing more confidence with each try.  Finally, the Beatles Tribute event arrived, and I sang my song to a live audience.  I was nervous -- this was my first singing ever to an audience -- and the song was mostly good, with a smooth tone and on key.  There were a couple of rough spots, but they weren't disastrous.

And the bass part, that I played simultaneously with singing?  It was flawless.  I had proven to myself that I can sing and play at the same time.

My next step will be to identify several songs I want to sing with the band and begin learning them and the bass parts.  I can do this -- and so can you.  My first effort is below.

Singing While Playing Bass: It Can Be Done

This week I had my debut as a singer at a gig with my band.  I have always been a bass player, and I have found singing and playing bass simultaneously to be difficult.  So I never bothered developing my singing skills.  I could occasionally sing some back up, but even that was rare.

Our band had a great female singer, but she left after a short time, due to her new marriage and career, and once again we had to rely on our musicians to provide the vocals.  I decided to start singing for practical reasons:  if the musicians in the band also supply the singing, the band is not dependent upon a single lead singer.  Any band that wants to grow and prosper must develop the singing skills of everyone in the band.  Everyone must row the boat, there can be no idle passengers.

I began practicing singing to karaoke songs I found on YouTube, downloading the videos using iSkysoft iTube Studio software, converting them to MP4 self-playing video files, for ease of access.  Then I would sing to the YouTube videos and record the singing with Free Sound Recorder, available on the web.  I could then send my efforts out to other band members for feedback.

Further, I searched the web for websites that teach singing skills, and found great teachers like Roger Burney and TVS Training, both of whom provide a number of free singing lesson videos on the web (and more intensive training for a reasonable price).  I also bought Jaime Vendera's book, "Raise Your Voice," 2nd Edition, and downloaded lesson vids from the web.  With these tools I found some important ways to improve the tone, range and power of my voice, and  I am not working on becoming a credible singer.

Another thing I do to improve my singing voice is to sing along to CDs in the car, practicing the techniques I have learned from the aforementioned resources.  The major lessons are how to sing in the soft palate, how to avoid putting strain on your pharynx, how to breathe, how hit the high notes.  Singing with CDs helps to strengthen your vocal muscles, which must be developed like any other exercise.

Next article:  the method I used to start singing and playing simultaneously.

What Factors Determine Successful Singing?

It's difficult to determine why one singer sounds really great and another just so-so.  However, if I were to list the factors that make for successful singing, I would include these:

1. Did you sing on key?  (If not, the rest of the items don't matter, you blew it.)

2. Is your voice even, i.e. not choppy or of uneven quality, throughout?  (You should be able to move from chest voice to middle voice to head voice smoothly and seamlessly, and your voice should not break.)

3. Does your voice have warmth, timbre, resonance?  (Are you learning to use the natural resonators in your throat, nose and chest?)

4. Does your voice have strength and stamina?  Does your voice sound strained, or do you hit those high notes with ease?

5. Do you sing with feeling, i.e. do you express the message of the song convincingly, as if you really feel the emotions the song tries to impart?

6.  Do you have "the IT factor," some attribute to your voice that sets it apart from everyone else, probably from a combination of tone, technique and all of the above.  (If not, then you probably aren't going to be a rock star, but you can still sing successfully with your band.)  You know when someone has this factor; when you hear them sing for the first time, you will exclaim "Man, that guy (or gal) has a terrific voice!"

I think "the IT factor" may not emerge until the first five items in this list have been fully mastered.  

To Learn To Sing, You Must Expose Yourself to Ridicule

Learning to sing is a lot like learning public speaking.  Most people are terrified of doing either before an audience.  However, practice and experience are the only route to your goal, and so you must be willing to expose yourself to criticism.  The ridicule you fear is largely imaginary.

I received this note from a friend who actually has a nice singing voice, but doesn't realize it.  He writes:

You see, I am very self conscious and really hate hearing the sound of my own voice.  To me everybody else (you included) sound better to me. I am happy to do BV [backing vocals] and stay in my comfort zone.

Here's my reply to him:

It’s good to know that I am not the only self-doubting, self-conscious beginning singer!! They say everyone is their own worst critic; we tend to be harder on ourselves than we are on other people.

You have a good voice, far better than most who sing with bands.

When I listen to myself, I hear a hillbilly from the Ozarks wearing overalls, smoking a corn-cob pipe and carrying a jug of moonshine. Even when people say that they like it, I suspect they are secretly retching into the nearest potted plant. However, I won’t quit until I get it right. (I won’t quit even then.)

One thing I have learned is this: if you want to be a singer, you have to drop your drawers and moon the world, and do it without embarrassment. You have to be willing to screw up, to blow it, to make a fool of yourself, to expose your precious ego to ridicule, and let the chips fall where they may. For years I resisted any attempt to sing with bands, because I was protecting my ego. Now my attitude is, hey, throw tomatoes if you must, but I am trying to get better, and you can only do that by effort. Learning to sing well requires practice, time and effort, and a lot of experimentation to learn what works and what doesn’t. Feedback from trusted friends is very important. You have to know if you are on the right track, and it is almost impossible to be objective yourself, concerning your own voice. Some people will be too self-critical, and others will be too self-delusional.

Trust your voice, trust your talent. Put it out there!! You are better than you think.

I Sing "That's All Right Mama," a High Key Elvis Tune

I've been practicing singing exercises for about two weeks now and I can feel my voice getting stronger.  My latest challenge was to sing Elvis's great hit "That's All Right Mama."  This song is in a high key, but I wanted to be able to sing it and hit all the right notes without my voice cracking or changing radically from one register to another.  I think I succeeded.

At first I was hitting the highest notes all wrong -- going up a whole octave when such a jump was clumsy and unnecessary and produced a harsh, strained sound.  Finally, I listened to the actual Elvis recording and studied how he sang these most difficult parts, and then I copied him.  It worked.  Of course, I can't sing like Elvis, but listening to his singing certainly helped me in hitting the high notes properly.

This recording was made through the built-in computer microphone and the quality is only so-so.  I have ordered a soundblaster sound card for my laptop  that should allow me to both play and record simultaneously from the sound card, thus eliminating the noise you get by recording from the built-in computer microphone.  It should result in significant improvement in the quality of the recordings:  better balance, clarity and consistency.

Have a listen:



Self-evaluation:  Roger Love in his book "Set Your Voice Free" talks about commanding your middle voice, and indicates it's tricky to get just the right sound.  I think my voice in this recording needs to be brought down just a bit more towards chest voice.  Right now it is a tad too much in the direction of head voice.  I am not talking about changing the key, I am talking about changing the timbre:  a slightly lower voice (but in the same key) would add warmth and resonance.  I will work on it.

A Plan for Learning to Sing With the Band

Being a good musician isn't enough if you want to have a steady source of gigs.  You have to sing.  You don't have to be the lead singer, but you must contribute vocally.  That raises considerably your value as a band member.

Here are some ways to go about it.

1.  Buy a book about singing and learn what it is all about:  the different kinds of voices, the myths and the facts about singing, common problems and solutions, posture, breathing and vocal exercises.  Any good book on singing will come with a CD of vocal exercises.  You can't learn to sing by reading about it, but reading about it will help you form an effective practice plan.  I recommend Singing For Dummies by Pamelia Phillips and Set Your Voice Free by Roger Love.

2.  Avail yourself of free online resources, like eHow's series on singing, to learn about singing.  Watch this while waiting for your books to arrive from Amazon.  (The series instructor has some great tips on things to do and to look out for.)

3. Choose the vocal exercises from the CD's that you want to practice on a daily basis.  I used iTunes to store copies of all of the exercises, then segregated out those that I intend to practice daily.  I made a CD of just these exercises for practicing while driving.  When not driving, I just play the iTunes playlist from my laptop and sing along with them at home.

4.  Keep a practice log, to keep track of what you have done and to plan for what you want to do.  I just use Word in my computer to do this.  Writing down accomplishments and goals keeps them in your subconscious which targets those goals like a heat-seeking missile.

5.  Practice singing to karaoke recordings.  To do this, you need karaoke files, and you can buy them from many different sites on the net (see sidebar for some links).  These files are usually mp3 or mp4 files, and readily play in Windows.  The best karaoke files are those that scroll the lyrics while the music plays, highlighting the lyrics to sing at any given moment (these are mp4 files).  Other karaoke files (mp3 files) merely provide the backing instrumentals and backing vocals, and the lyrics are all up to you.

You can get a lot of free karaoke files off of YouTube.  Search for "karaoke" and a lot of them will queue up. You can download these as MP4 files using keepvid.com.  (Copy and paste the YouTube URL into keepvid and it will download the videos onto your own computer.)

6.  Record yourself singing along to the karoake files, for playback and analysis.  While singing along to the karaoke files, you can simultaneously record your voice using free recording software from the net.  The best of these is probably Audacity.  Once you've recorded your singing with Audacity, you can export it to an mp3 file.  An mp3 file (if you don't know) is a music file that plays once you click on it.  You can save it to disk or even email it to other band members for comments, criticism and suggestions.

You can even embed mp3 files into a website, as I have done previously in this blog, using a third party website that hosts these files.

Although it is shocking the first time you hear yourself singing, don't be discouraged.  Everyone feels that way.  They hear their own voice and say "Ugh!"  However, keep at it and the recordings will improve over time.  These recordings help you to know when you're ready to sing before an audience.

More About Learning to Sing

I left my band in San Jose to join one in my own home town of Hollister, exchanging an hour commute for one less than ten minutes.  This new band wants all members to contribute vocally, so I have been studying books and CD's on singing and practicing daily.  I have never sung before, except some minor backing vocals.  I am having fun with it.  My former band was very weak vocally, but the new band is quite strong with beautiful singing voices. My goal is to provide excellent backing vocals for the band, and sing a few songs as lead.

I have been scouring the net for song material:  chords and lyrics, karaoke files with which to practice singing, and trying to get my audio mixer to work with my laptop for better recording.  It looks like I will have to get a Sound Blaster soundcard, to allow simultaneous recording and playback from the soundcard (as opposed to recording from the speakers and picking up background noise, computer hum, etc).

I have been gathering my favorite songs of all time, and have found it to be an emotional experience.  Listening to these old songs brings many memories to life:  lost loves, lost youth, the time I courted my wife and the songs that helped me propose, and of course, a feeling of sorrow for great musical performers who have since died, like Elvis, Kui Lee and Vince Guaraldi.  Singing some cherished ballads is almost a spiritual experience, and puts me in a meditative mood, pondering the questions of life and death.


I've sung myself hoarse from yesterday's practicing, so I will give my vocal chords a day off today.

I Begin Singing Practice

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I decided earlier this week to begin practicing some of the singing exercises in "Singing for Dummies," a book that comes with a CD.  I didn't want to start at the beginning, so I chose two chapters with the most potential for improving my vocals.  They are Chapter 11, "Developing the Parts of Your Singing Voice" and Chapter 12, "Expanding Your Flexibility and Range."  I found the tracks on the CD that cover these two chapters and burned them to a CD using iTunes.

Today I had an hour's drive to San Jose to have lunch with a friend.  A car is a great place to practice singing exercises, because no one else can hear you.  So I sang Tracks 15-48, covering both chapters above.  I sang them as well as I could with sincere effort, even repeating some that I didn't quite get on the first time through.

I paid attention to how the exercises sounded and how they made me feel.  I became more conscious of my head voice, middle voice and chest voice, all of which are exercised by these recordings.

By the time I arrived at the restaurant in San Jose, I had finished all of the tracks and my voice was feeling a bit tired, like a muscle that has been exercised.  That's a good thing.

I now have a singing practice routine.  Knowing what to do is half the battle.

My First Vocal Efforts: "Scotch and Soda" and "All of Me"

I have been reading about learning to sing, and one of the first things you must do is lose your fear and your shyness. Let it all hang out, baby. Putting a recording of your own amateur singing voice on the web is like mooning a band of mad Apaches...with bows and arrows!

Nevertheless, here's my first effort, recorded after many unrecorded trial runs, using only my laptop's built in microphone to record it...but enough excuses, have a listen.

Here's "Scotch and Soda":



The balance isn't great -- my voice is too loud compared to the instrumentals.  I will work on getting a better balance.

Here's "All of Me":



My feeling is that it's a start, but only a start to build on.  I need better recording equipment and software.  My voice is too loud in these recordings and seems blaring and harsh.  I'd love to turn my own volume down a bit and add a touch of bass.    Anyone know of any good and not too expensive solutions to these problems?

Can I Learn to Sing?

One thing I like about the Shiloh Band, with whom I am currently practicing, is that they want a lot.  I feel challenged and I like that.  They more or less expect everyone in the band to contribute to the singing effort.  Up to now, I have only sang backup.

I sang some songs to Karaoke music yesterday and recorded it, and I am definitely not ready for prime time.  I can stay on key most of the time, but in the higher registers my voice sounds strained.

Today I started watching the free voice training videos on eHow (see sidebar for links under "Singing, etc").

The voice training instructor there says you can strengthen your voice and extend your range by practicing arpeggios with your voice, i.e. singing the separate notes of chords, ascending at half steps.  For example, sing C - E - G -C - G - E - C.    (The last C is the octave of the first).  You are singing major chords here, the first, third, fifth and the octave of the scale, up and then down again (see the C chord above as an example).  Then sing the next chord a half step up, i.e., C# - F - G# - C# - G# - F - C#, and so on.  You go as high up the scale as you can without straining your voice, and over time you will be able to go higher as your voice strengthens.

There's more to it than that, of course, and the instructor explains techniques and practice points.

This week I added singing exercises and practice to my regular practice time.  Now I not only practice bass, but singing as well.  For me, practice includes actually playing and singing, but also studying the theory behind it all.  That means reading, and you can find a lot on the web about your instrument and your voice.

I am interested in buying a software program to help me develop my singing.  Some of these, the ones that appear highest rated by users, are also the most expensive.  You get what you pay for.

Alvin the Chipmunk as Front Man for the Band

Great singing is a must for bands.  If you can sing on key, that's half the battle, but it isn't good enough.   Alvin the Chipmunk sings on key, but you wouldn't want him for a front man.  Ditto for Pee Wee Herman, Minnie the Mouse or the late Tiny Tim.

A great voice needs passion, warmth, what they call "soul."  It also needs strength.  I heard one of my new associates sing "Mustang Sally" at our last practice, and it was really good.  It was as if he had bass speakers in his throat.  He had volume and power.  He knew how to "belt."

I read something about singing recently, that said there needs to be a lot of vibration in your nose, vocal chords, lips, etc.  There are lots of tones and undertones and nuances that have to be there.

How do you get all of this?  If I knew that, I'd be a lead singer.

A Successful Band MUST Have Excellent Singing Voices

On Thursday evening last, I practiced with a local band here in Hollister, the Shiloh Band.  Actually, I only practiced with the two lead singers just to get acquainted, and I may begin playing with them on a regular basis, if the rest of the band likes me (and I like them).

One thing that impressed me was the quality of singing voices in Noelle and Steve Sladon.  You can't play and sing the Eagles' "Love Will Keep Us Alive" without really excellent voices.  You may get by in a pinch with a mediocre voice, belting out rough and guttural rock songs, but that isn't going to take you far enough.  The voices are the steak, the instrumentation merely the condiments.

I don't believe the band I am currently in will go very far with our current vocal abilities.  However, I don't contribute much to our vocal effort, so it's easy for me to say.  One thing is certain, however, I must sing more and I must improve my singing voice through training and practice. I must contribute a lot more than I am now doing, because problems don't fix themselves and merely griping about a problem won't fix it.

As a bass player, it is difficult to sing lead and play bass riffs at the same time.  It can be done, as Paul McCartney has proved, but I am yet to do that.  I will start including singing as part of my practice routine, recording it and striving to improve it.  In the vocals department, every member of the band must contribute.  Simply playing an instrument is not enough.

I will look into voice training and lessons as well, and let you know what I find out.