Guitar Gear Forum

A new band I'm in is badly in need of backing vocals. Nobody is good at it, so I feel I need to step in. I haven't developed the coordination however to play anything beyond hitting a chord and a word at the exact same time. What's the best way to develop the skill of singing over syncopated parts?

Oops, I posted in the wrong forum. Small phone and fat thumbs

For me it was all about practice. I'd sit there and loop a verse riff while trying to sing over it and kept it going until I felt comfortable. The more you do it the easier it gets.

Telephant wrote:For me it was all about practice. I'd sit there and loop a verse riff while trying to sing over it and kept it going until I felt comfortable. The more you do it the easier it gets.

Yep, this.

I'd pick songs you know the words to without thinking, to practice to. Even start with humming, then try and throw in the occasional hook line.

I've been truly frightened of singing and playing at the same time throughout the majority of my years doing music. I'm a decent singer and guitarist but was never either at the same time. The few times I kinda tried it all fell apart and I felt retarded and never tried again for years. I got my start by doing backups and harmonies on choruses in the last band I was in. It was good practice, simple 1-3 word choruses and backup lines, and after 4-5 jams it started to lock in. That was super super basic but the point is you kinda gotta just start even if it is just one part of a song. Like you rock the verse or chorus guitar riff and try a line while you loop and just stumble through that shit.

Also, believe it or not, it was easier for me to stumble through this kind of stuff with a band rolling forward. Something about not being able to stop and feel sorry for yourself helps you just fucking get over it and do it already.

skybluegary wrote:

Telephant wrote:For me it was all about practice. I'd sit there and loop a verse riff while trying to sing over it and kept it going until I felt comfortable. The more you do it the easier it gets.

Yep, this.

I'd pick songs you know the words to without thinking, to practice to. Even start with humming, then try and throw in the occasional hook line.

This, and the exact opposite of this: playing songs that your hands can play on autopilot while you are talking to someone else in the room, or thinking about what you are going to spend your next bonus on. The key is having either the chords or the lyrics down then adding the other side of it. Not gonna lie though, when you get into syncopated stuff or where the lyrics dont exactly go with the flow of the song, you can go full retard in a heartbeat.

Thanks for the advice. My voice alone is mediocre, but it would be better than no backing vox at all. Doing it while playing is very challenging right now

Well the good news is your rip the shit out of a six string. People will forgive a mediocre voice when it's followed by a face melting lead.

Yeah but it's tricky. I'm a little annoyed at myself for not getting used to it sooner myself.

For syncopated parts I have to slow way, way down, and then put in a lot of reps at that slow speed.

Then I can start speeding it up.