Hello Everyone! Let me introduce you to a great guitar teacher and the author of this guest post- Jeffrey Thomas.
First off I would like to say thanks to Meghan for hosting my post!
This article will spell out some of the advantages for singers who play guitar, bass or ukulele. I need to let you know that I am not a vocal instructor, but I am very good with pitch and rhythm.
I would say about 70% of the students on my schedule sing and play and I’ve worked with many female and male vocalists in songwriting/recording settings.
Feel free to visit my pages for the 3 instruments I teach:
How To Sing And Play Guitar
Ok, here we go:
1.) Playing an instrument helps you target pitch (sing more in tune). This is where I spend a lot of time with singers. The guitar, bass or ukulele helps the vocalist target melody notes. I sometimes voice chords a specific way to keep the melody note on top.
For example, say you have a A minor chord and the melody note for the singer is a E. The basic first position A minor chord has a E note open on the first string of the guitar! This way you can keep your melody note in tune by referencing this target note.
2.) Developing playing skills on a instrument will help you with music theory! This subject comes up over and over again. It is really nice to work with singers who have natural ability and also understand music theory.
It helps you communicate with musicians about key changes, scales and target notes for your melody. By learning to play guitar you can start learning your Major and Relative minor scales, Key Signatures, Intervals and Triads.
Imagine being able to accompany yourself with solfege warm-ups in all 12 keys!
3.) Solo performance is more complete if you can accompany yourself. This is a obvious point but I wanted to explain something about realistic playing goals.
Most of the singers I work with are better at singing than playing the guitar, bass or ukulele. Of course we are working on improving their playing ability but there is a limit to what they can play an sing at the same time.
I tell them all the time that I do not want to compromise their vocals by choosing a difficult strumming pattern or chords. The arrangements that I come up with are simplified and meant to support the singer so they don’t struggle.
So, in conclusion learning how to sing and play guitar, bass or ukulele has many advantages for the vocalist. Let Meghan help you with the details of proper vocal technique and contact me if you would like to try a free Skype lesson for guitar, bass or ukulele.
Jeffrey Thomas
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