Play bass and sing?

hieronymous · Post by **hieronymous** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 3:14 am

A recent issue of Bass Player magazine (March 2005, with Juan Alderete of The Mars Volta on the cover) has a transcription of Jack Bruce's bass line from "Politician" from Wheels of Fire (pp. 92-96), and notes that the tune was written in the studio - the instruments were recorded first, and then the vocal was overdubbed. Regarding singing and playing "two completely independent lines" Bruce says:

"It was certainly the most challenging example of singing and playing completely independently I had met to that point, and in fact I had no harder task until I played with Tony Williams's Lifetime. I simply got as comfortable as possible with the bass part until I could play it on 'automatic pilot,' and then gradually added the vocal."

I played bass and sang simultaneously sometimes when I was playing actively, and since I'm a better bassist than vocalist, I tended to do the same - get the bass part down, so that I could put my energy into remembering the words!

iamthebassman · Post by **iamthebassman** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 3:22 am

Well luckily I've never had a problem doing both, the hard part with McCartney is the range, damn he can sing high!
The first tricky singing/playing tune for me was years ago a band I was in was taken with The Smithereens and decided to do a cover of "Blood and Roses". I sang lead on it while playing that cool bass part. Fun.
I always concentrate on the lyrics(in a Beatles band, everyone in the crowd knows when you mess up the words)and visualize my fingerboard hand in my mind. And on the tricky ones I try not to make eye contact with the crowd, it sometimes can be VERY distracting especially on summer, outdoor gigs.
We pulled out Paperback Writer, Rain, and Taxman for the shows over the weekend. They don't always make it into the list.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 5:14 am

Jack Bruce screwed up Politician live on the Goodbye Cream album in several places. I've tried that song a few times also and found it very hard to do. Regarding his own assessment of being a better vocalist than a bass player, I always thought his vocals were great.

roswellian · Post by **roswellian** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 6:01 am

Hello All,
First Post by a 1999 Ric 4003 fire-glo owner.

I met a guy in Thiensville, WI yesterday who told me about this forum.

I sing about half the lead vocals in my classic rock cover band and agree with many of the posts above. Knowing the song well is paramount to being able to play and sing at the same time. I have found that if there is a tricky part in a song it is best to focus on the vocals and simplify the bass line. Lets be honest, there are darn few people in our audiances that are listening to the bass line. The great unwashed masses only know the words and will only notice if you hose the words up.

If the guy in the Hohner Bass T-shirt that I met Sunday at the gig is on this forum, give me a shout.

Thanks All,
K.P.

wayang · Post by **wayang** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 8:29 am

There are a few players that excell at this combination of skills...I think of Squire, Lake, Roy Estrada, Tony Levin, Rich Danko, Ray Schulman, etc....but for my money, John Wetton is the 'King'...

charlyg · Post by **charlyg** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 8:41 am

Sounds pretty easy to play sing and bass, I mean, bass play and sing, I mean, sing bass and play. Oh well, some can, some can't!

foolycooly · Post by **foolycooly** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 8:56 am

I don't really find anything difficult about singing and playing bass at the same time. To me its no different than playing guitar and singing, but for me in my band situation it was something I didn't really have a choice to do. The rythm guitar player said "you've the better voice between us, you should sing" and yeah . . .
So its kind of just something you do and keep doing. =)

Boy is it good to be back on this forum.

charlyg · Post by **charlyg** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 9:05 am

I just had a FLASHBACK!

Suzie Quattro!

maccaguy · Post by **maccaguy** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 11:11 am

My band has a singer, but one of the guitarists and I help with backup vocals. There are a few Beatles/McCartney songs that are a little tough to sing and play at the same time, but it's all in how much you practice. If it becomes second nature, then it's not so hard to do both.

greg_mitchell · Post by **greg_mitchell** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 1:53 pm

I play and sing only two or three songs in my band. I am one of those unfortunates that play much better than I sing, and as we have two guitarists who sing very well, there is no need for me to do so. This lets me concentrate more on my playing which the audience seems to enjoy more, anyway.

simer4001 · Post by **simer4001** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 3:34 pm

I can do both...I just suck at both

nattiep · Post by **nattiep** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 3:39 pm

Honest man! Lol!

greg_mitchell · Post by **greg_mitchell** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 3:52 pm

Brian: that was sort of my meaning also. I just don't suck quite as bad at playing as I do at singing.

rickenrocker · Post by **rickenrocker** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 1:26 pm

I've played guitar for 42+ years and bass for 38+ years, and even though I shared lead guitar responsibilities with the lead guitarist of my old band, I consider myself to be primarily a bass player. I also shared lead and backup vocals when I was still playing in a band.

For some reason, I never seem to have a problem singing and playing lead/rhythm guitar at the same time, but occasionally I do stumble when singing and playing bass simultaneously. I attribute this to the differing rhythms of the vocals and bass lines. I find it quite difficult to sing while I am playing percussive bass lines.

Call me irresponsible, but where I would stumble, I would usually just hand off the vocals to one of the other singers in the band, because we were fortunate enough to have two singers who could sing lead, and two more who sang backups.

Like some of the previously mentioned bassists like McCartney and Geddy, Chris Squire amazes me because his bass lines can be extremely intense and difficult while he is singing, and Squire rarely misses a lick. I assume he can do it because he practices a lot AND because he doesn't have the brain limitations (of which I have many, lol) that would cause him to stumble. So, I think for some bassists, it is more than just a question of practicing a lot. I think one's brain has to be wired right, as well.

richardandjudy · Post by **richardandjudy** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 10:18 am

I've been singing and playing as long as I have been in a band just because no one else would. I found at first it was near impossible just to keep to root notes but over time it has become second nature. I can play fairly melodic lines will adding harmonies or lead parts, I find the best thing is just not to think about what you're trying to do.

I can't sing, but I do ...