Singing...While simultaneously playing!?!?

[Appfro]

another good tip is to make sure your strumming hand stays in the same rhythm. start w/ an easy song (i would no suggest ants marching). most people get off because they focus too much on playing to be able to sing. when you're playing and singing, you want most of your attention to be on your singing so do songs that you know really well and make sure you're not having to focus on your strumming hand. do that mainly by not letting it stop, but making sure it continues to move up and down.

that makes sense in my head. not sure it does typed out

[proudestmonkey41]

ive just started trying to sing and play recently, id suggest songs like Grey Street and Stay or Leave, mainly cause they are the first two that ive learned. grey street especially cause its very simple, but you can put alot of passion into it also. one question i have though, i read on the older posts about this topic that you shouldnt worry if ur voice isnt all that great, because it can get better the more you sing. is this true? because coming from someone who can't sing. that would be awesome!

[bighuk]

I picked it up rather easily, I just hum the song for about 10 minutes then I can sing it the entire way through the first time :/ Songs that i've noticed that seem to be fairly easy to pick up are Wonderwall, and Tonight Tonight.

[Mathis]

i have the same problem, i've been trying to sing #41 or dancing nancies for a while, with no luck or not a lot. on the other end, i tried singing french songs and it was a bit easier. did any of you ever tried to sing in another language that you can speak? if yes, did you have to work harder on it? ... i know #41 by heart and it's not the hardest to play, but can't seem to sing along

[gravesRR7]

play the song until there is absoultely no way you're going to fuck up the guitar.

you should be able to play it without thinking
then maybe try talking a little bit
add the lyrics

[onid41]

i hummed the lyrics before i really actually sang them along with the guitar. start out with an easy song, or a song that you know really well.

[Festivus]

I'm fairly new around here too, but have foudn that everyone has been great. It's not a minefield like Nancies. I agree with most people on this board. It's best to start off with an easy song. Frankly, I don't think DMB is a good way to start. Too many rhythym changes, odd chords, etc. I remember using Knocking on Heaven's Door. Easy Chords, Easy Lyrics, No changes.

Good Luck! Let us know how it works out for you

[littlefriend]

Good Riddance by Green Day is an easy song to play and sing, and Wish You Were Here is pretty easy also. Plus there's the bonus of playing Floyd.

[wayward_blue]

Practice your guitar skills first, get the song where you can play it front and back without thinking about it and then try puting the words to it. Maybe try just singing it in your head and then work your way to actually singing it. Try something easy also like What I Got by Sublime a simple D and G progression.