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What you can also do, is find songs whose guitar rhythm is somewhat similar to the vocal melody. A good one to try is Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town by Pearl Jam.

Yeah, here comes the sun/the beatles is one song I don't really have any problem singing and playing at the same time because the strumming is almost completely in sync w/ the melody of the song.

I want to be able to strum more dynamically and in rhythm while singing though.

For theory, "The Complete Idiots Guide To Music Theory" Second Edition by Michael Miller is pretty much all you need. If you get that, read it and properly digest it (Take it in small doses, fully grasp concepts before moving on etc) I am almost 100% confident you will understand it.

How many lessons have you had? If you've had lessons since the start, and your tutor hasn't done any theory with you yet...that's a bad sign.

The song I learned to sing and play to is Alone by Downface http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_u_h-f7IK0

Sometimes the strum pattern is easier to sing along to than others and it really helped me. What I did was write out the lyrics in note pad and triple space them. I then listened carefully to the song and put the letter of the chord that was switched to above the exact part of the lyric it does it on, and played along.

I would personally recommend playing full speed and praciticing getting your vocal correct with the music, than the other way around. It's easier to correct vocal mistakes than mistakes you have comitted to muscle memory from playing guitar.

I hate to chime in with the seemingly unhelpful "it just takes practice," but it does. It's a skill all in itself. I used to be completely unable to do this and I eventually learned how to do it on "Can't Always Get What you Want," FWIW. Fairly simple strumming pattern (just skip the little hammer-on thing Keith does at the end of the riff until you get more comfortable) and a fairly simple vocal melody, which makes it easy. Today I sing about 40% of my band's repertoire, so it can be learned. Some songs still give me trouble today, and I find drilling the strumming pattern over and over until it's automatic is what it takes on the harder ones. And don't be afraid to simplify the rhythm part - nobody will notice. FWIW, Clapton says he still can't sing Layla and play the original riff at the same time, so I wouldn't beat yourself up too badly over it.

EDIT: Sweet, 1k post wasn't poker related!

I've been playing for about 14 years now. God help us all when I sing =). It's just practice practice practice. You'll eventually get to a place where it's all muscle memory and don't even have to think about the guitar parts, leaving plenty of room to think about the vocals.

Just my 2 cents.

How do I sing and play at the same time? I find myself wanting to just move my right hand along w/ the melody. I've been playing for about a year.

Emil you just need to invest in a guitar coach imo

One thing that helps for me when the rythm is tricky is to try hearing both the guitar riff and the vocals in your head at the same time, playing the riff and just hearing the vocals in your head, singing and hearing the riff in your head and eventually putting the pieces together

It's definitely just practice, go wrong a few hundred times before nailing it, trial & error will go a long way.

we need a music theory thread. 5 on AP test hollaaaaaaaaaa!

we need a music theory thread. 5 on AP test hollaaaaaaaaaa!

Haha .. go ahead and start it, I'll gladly donk around in a music theory thread

Haha .. go ahead and start it, I'll gladly donk around in a music theory thread

I'll read it.

Sorry to beat a dead horse here, but it just took a whole lot of practice for me. One thing I would recommend is to work on some simple strumming songs first before trying to sing over fingerpicked songs. What worked for me was just hours and hours of playing/singing to a simple Beatles chord book. Also, your voice starts to get a lot better after awhile too. Just make sure to keep it simple and fun.

Haha .. go ahead and start it, I'll gladly donk around in a music theory thread

don't really know how to go about it...but i'll start a thread and see what brews.

http://www.deucescracked.com/forums/4-General-Discussion/topics/173081-Music-theory-discussion

that was a good way to kill 35 minutes

Is there a good program for recording myself playing that will make it really easy to share random licks and what not I come up with with others?

Is there a good program for recording myself playing that will make it really easy to share random licks and what not I come up with with others?

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

OT I know, but I had to:

http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail36.html