Today I start learning how to sing and play

Seventhson

So I chose a simple riff to learn to sing with.

The song is called descending angel by the misfits.

So far its a lot harder but I am getting there ?

deefstes

Great stuff man. So, next stop TJ's open mic night? ?

Seventhson

deefstes wrote: Great stuff man. So, next stop TJ's open mic night? ?

Yes. I will do an acoustic version of it. But one of you guys must lend me their guitar ? I don't have an acoustic

deefstes

Daniel Stuart wrote:But one of you guys must lend me their guitar ? I don't have an acoustic

Done ?

vic

Daniel Stuart wrote: So I chose a simple riff to learn to sing with.

The song is called descending angel by the misfits.

So far its a lot harder but I am getting there ?

Daniel some advice (if I may) ...you can make it much easier for yourself by NOT playing a riff and try to sing at the same time. What I mean is...sing a simple melody that you know and then just strum along...once you can do this well, then you can move on to the more advanced stuff like playing riffs while you sing. a Good example is Cream's "Sunshine of your Love" (you may not know it...youtube it) which has a nice riff to which you can sing while you're playing it. ?

deefstes

Vic wrote: Daniel some advice (if I may) ...you can make it much easier for yourself by NOT playing a riff and try to sing at the same time. What I mean is...sing a simple melody that you know and then just strum along...once you can do this well, then you can move on to the more advanced stuff like playing riffs while you sing. a Good example is Cream's "Sunshine of your Love" (you may not know it...youtube it) which has a nice riff to which you can sing while you're playing it. ?

Good advice. Receives my unequivocal +1

Seventhson

Vic wrote:
Daniel Stuart wrote: So I chose a simple riff to learn to sing with.

The song is called descending angel by the misfits.

So far its a lot harder but I am getting there ?
Daniel some advice (if I may) ...you can make it much easier for yourself by NOT playing a riff and try to sing at the same time. What I mean is...sing a simple melody that you know and then just strum along...once you can do this well, then you can move on to the more advanced stuff like playing riffs while you sing. a Good example is Cream's "Sunshine of your Love" (you may not know it...youtube it) which has a nice riff to which you can sing while you're playing it. ?

I am getting the hang of it. I can play the first part and sing. took me the afternoon but its getting there ?

Highway-Chile

That's great man. Good to learn a new skill.

Talking about learning to sing.

Somewhere around '86 or so I was living in Laurel Canyon, near Hollywood. I wanted to get prepared to be able to take a gig in a Top 40 band, and knowing I'd have to sing a few songs I set about learning a few. Money For Nothing, Forever Man, And She Was..... that type of stuff. I don't have a very high range at all.

So what I did was play the records on my hi-fi...... set up my little practice amp so I could play along with guitar and then I would try to sing along....all the while recording with my cassette boom box fairly close to me to pick up my un-amplified voice along with the backing and my amplified guitar. I worked out a setup that got a decent blend. I did this to be able to follow my progress as a new singer......an area that needed a bunch of work. ☹ ?

So one day I'm in my hillside guest house practicing away and my Irish friend Alice rocks up. She works as an au pair for John Mayall and through her I have got to hang out up at John's crib and get to know him and his wife Maggie a little and their son Zak. All excited Alice tells me "John's guitar player just moved on so he is looking for a new guitarist. You should give him a tape and try get an audition"

So I start putting together a demo tape...... using the Portastudio and finding stuff already recorded. A bit later, when I was all ready, I grabbed the tape and headed on up to John's house and rang the bell. John answers the door...

"oh hello there.."

" hi John, I heard you were looking for a guitar player, do you mind if I give you a tape of my playing for your consideration?"

He says okay so I hand him the cassette tape and head home just brimming with visions of me playing for the guy who broke so many great guitar players.

So at some point I went to go get back to my Top 40 practice..........HOWEVER........ I cannot find my practice tape. I'm going nuts looking for it....where could I have put it..... no that's not it on the bed, that's the tape I made for John........ ? ? ? ? ? .....that's the tape I made for.......OH SHIT!!!!!!!!

I had inadvertently given the shitty tape with my absolutely HORRIBLE vocals on it to John as my demo. So I rush off back up to John's house and ring the bell. He opens the door......

"oh hello there......"

" Hi John......er.......have you had a chance to listen to the tape yet"

"uh no not yet man, too busy"

"Really? GREAT!!!!!! Can I have that back? I just want to make some changes."

:roflmao:

I grabbed that sucker and lit a shuck outta there and the rest is history. I never did get the gig with The Bluesbreakers. 8) It was worth not having to live down the embarrassment though........well.........

Lethe

Highway Chile wrote: That's great man. Good to learn a new skill.

Talking about learning to sing.

Somewhere around '86 or so I was living in Laurel Canyon, near Hollywood. I wanted to get prepared to be able to take a gig in a Top 40 band, and knowing I'd have to sing a few songs I set about learning a few. Money For Nothing, Forever Man, And She Was..... that type of stuff. I don't have a very high range at all.

So what I did was play the records on my hi-fi...... set up my little practice amp so I could play along with guitar and then I would try to sing along....all the while recording with my cassette boom box fairly close to me to pick up my un-amplified voice along with the backing and my amplified guitar. I worked out a setup that got a decent blend. I did this to be able to follow my progress as a new singer......an area that needed a bunch of work. ☹ ?

So one day I'm in my hillside guest house practicing away and my Irish friend Alice rocks up. She works as an au pair for John Mayall and through her I have got to hang out up at John's crib and get to know him and his wife Maggie a little and their son Zak. All excited Alice tells me "John's guitar player just moved on so he is looking for a new guitarist. You should give him a tape and try get an audition"

So I start putting together a demo tape...... using the Portastudio and finding stuff already recorded. A bit later, when I was all ready, I grabbed the tape and headed on up to John's house and rang the bell. John answers the door...

"oh hello there.."

" hi John, I heard you were looking for a guitar player, do you mind if I give you a tape of my playing for your consideration?"

He says okay so I hand him the cassette tape and head home just brimming with visions of me playing for the guy who broke so many great guitar players.

So at some point I went to go get back to my Top 40 practice..........HOWEVER........ I cannot find my practice tape. I'm going nuts looking for it....where could I have put it..... no that's not it on the bed, that's the tape I made for John........ ? ? ? ? ? .....that's the tape I made for.......OH SHIT!!!!!!!!

I had inadvertently given the shitty tape with my absolutely HORRIBLE vocals on it to John as my demo. So I rush off back up to John's house and ring the bell. He opens the door......

"oh hello there......"

" Hi John......er.......have you had a chance to listen to the tape yet"

"uh no not yet man, too busy"

"Really? GREAT!!!!!! Can I have that back? I just want to make some changes."

:roflmao:

I grabbed that sucker and lit a shuck outta there and the rest is history. I never did get the gig with The Bluesbreakers. 8) It was worth not having to live down the embarrassment though........well.........

O.O Epic!!!

deefstes

Great story! Thanks for sharing.

flatfourfan

Someday I'd like to peddle a bit more with singing and playing as I really enjoyed it the little that I did and at one stage it really does just flow.

but stick with it bud..........

singemonkey

The Misfits don't have any licks ? It's just power chords. Unless it's some of the post-Danzig stuff which I haven't listened to. So it's a good choice. I've done Return of the Fly live a number of times. Always went down a treat - although we did a few more things than in the original. Surfed/Rockabillyd it up a bit.

If you are working on something rhythmically tricky while singing, I've found some success with breaking it up into beats at first and getting used to singing *this* syllable, hitting this guitar note, with *this* beat.

But yeah. First things first. Sing along with steady rhythms and riff in between, letting the bass carry the rhythm work. Be Hetfield when you're singing, and Hammet when you're not as it were.

edit: btw, I think you'll make a great frontman. Also, fewer musicians in your band in SA means more take home cash from gigs. This is why no blues bands in SA have backup singers or horns ☹

Seventhson

This is the song I am learning. Post danzig(I prefer the post danzig era)

=

flatfourfan

Nice song to practice on. Yeah it's only power chords, but there's nothing like a confidence booster like this. I learnt on Paranoid from black sabbath, it has a little lick in there between the chords that is pretty easy to do and sing at the same time. For whom the bells toll from Metallica is also a nice one, mainly power chords, but the timing is a bit off on the chorus and that makes it fun.

singemonkey

Daniel Stuart wrote: Post danzig(I prefer the post danzig era)

=

You are dead to me.

??

Seventhson

singemonkey wrote:
Daniel Stuart wrote: Post danzig(I prefer the post danzig era)

=
You are dead to me.

??

I love danzig but just did not like him in the misfits.