I have issues playing bass and singing lead vocals, yet I have few issues with backing vocals. I think it's partly the difference in rhythm and timing of playing and singing. No issues with guitar and singing for almost 40 years. That seems pretty natural
My issues come with thinking melodically while singing, and then thinking rhythmically on bass. Kinda like patting your head and rubbing your belly at the same time.
Great video. Your so talented. I try to think of it as one. Muscle memory helps me fumble along as well. What blows me away is when I'm watching Geddy Lee playing three lines at once, singing, bass line on his foot pedal's and a keyboard. Crazy!
Fender should really give you an artist model.I watched the reviews and was not impressed until you gave your approval.I hope fender appreciates your influence.
GREAT video and topic mary! my tips from 10 years of playing+singing (after 13 years of trying and giving up) -understand youll sound terrible for the first 2 years. if you can commit to that youll make progress with way less pressure on yourself. -start SIMPLE. even if youve been playing or singing separately for years, start learning with as simple songs as possible-songs with only 2 (horse w/ no name etc) or 3 chords max. -IMO playing and singing at the same time is the equivalent of learning a whole new instrument and thats how you should expect to progress. just because you could sing and play guitar separately you wouldnt automatically assume you could learn piano or drums from scratch in a few weeks and thats the same kind of expectation you need for learning to play and sing simultaneously. -start SLOWWWWWWWW dont try and jump in at the record tempo. if your using a metronome dont go above 100 bpm and its fine if you have to go as slow as 50 or 25. similarly pick slow songs its much easier to learn to play and sing something like moon river than ace of spades. -Learn songs by singer/guitarists first. These have the natural advantage that theyre already designed to do both simultaneously and youll learn/notice little tricks others have put in their songs to make them easier. -Learn from the simplest version of the song as possible. learn songs that already have solo accoustic covers online that way youre not sabotaging yourself by trying to bring in complex lead lines -FINALLY TRANSCRIBE the songs yourself. once youve got tabs videos recordings etc. write down the lyrics+chords together yourself like you would an original song. this will help you learn from your own interpretation of the song instead of trying to translate someone elses.
Great vid thank you👍. I'm an amateur keyboard player. During a piano lesson a couple of weeks ago my teacher made me have a conversation with him whilst I was trying to master a walking bass on my left hand. It was making my little bird sized brain work at full pelt but I found it was an excellent method for absorbing the musical information. 🙂
Iam so jealous of your playing(I’ve struggled for longer than I like to admit) ,singing (well I’m not a singer at all but still) ,but now mostly of how even you with what I assume are normal girly hands can wrap her thumb easily around the top of the fret board when my normal (med-large/usually xtra large glove) size man hands can’t without muting at least one string…usually more …..broke my fret hand so many times without having it set or set properly that i can’t even mute the low E on most chords never mind fret it cleanly ..
I watch a lot of music education conent, several hours every day. This is easily one of the best lessons I have seen. That whole idea of thinking about the audience experience is so important and so often missed. Thank you Mary.
I was asked to lead Praise and Worship at church and needed an electric acoustic and played many and ended up buying the Highway Mahogany Dreadnought guitar and I am so impressed.
I commend you for this video. I would recommend this to anyone who is ready to make that transition to add singing to playing and even playing to singing. The tips are spot on and your presentation is genius with ur song behind it. You have a voice that is as beautiful as you are. I wish you continued success and thanks again for such an informative video.
Great video as always, Mary. "Happy Birthday" is a great song for people to start with because pretty much everyone knows it. "The Alphabet Song" is great too because they can play the matching chord through G and then start the chords over or do the minor versions, and then repeat til you run out of letters and chords, or just keep going til your fingers bleed and your voice goes horse. Ok, don't do that last part. But there are tons of 3 & 4 chord songs that they can sing in a drunken sleep.
I like you/your channel but I've come to mistrust RU-vidr gear reviews. There's an inherent conflict of interest when they're sending you free gear to keep. And often they add a fee on top so it's undeniably at that point an advertisement, not an impartial review in the journalistic sense. I've had personal negative experiences with a purchase of a disappointing Orangewood that was massively hyped by RU-vidrs
Agreed. Have watched Mary for years, and feel as if I can tell when she's "just being nice." A new Tone Master Pro might make me say nice things about a Highway Series, too!
Notes from the video: 1. Take easy songs in the beginning. Songs with easy chord progressions. Songs that you love. 2. Master each thing seperately. Learn the lyrics by heart. And learn your chord and chord changes till a point, you can switch chords without looking. 3. Timing is super important. It will take time but worth putting the efforts as a musician. Learn to groove. Train the internal body clock 4. Concentrate on each part equally. Don't start the song from the beginning each time. Learn each verse, chorus well. 5. Balance your vocals and guitar. Don't have one too loud. 6. Film yourself. Improve your presence. As a performer it's important for you to make your audience feel comfortable and you can achieve that by only making yourself comfortable and confident first. Film yourself and make sure you're presenting yourself well. (if you see this comment. Can you please leave a reply and ask me if I'm practicing everyday on not 😅 pls)
It can definitely be challenging to be abel to play more difficult songs and have full control of the voice at the same time. John Mayer is also my biggest influence and singing and playing songs such as no such thing and why georgia have proved to be challenging. Im currentley working on playing the chorus of stop this train. So far the verse has been the trickiest part to play. To anyone struggling keep working away and you will eventually get to where you want to be.
It's about practicing until it is largely committed to muscle memory. Then you can sing while playing because it doesn't demand your attention. Think of how driving is automatic and you could have a conversation or sing along with the radio while doing it. Same.
Awesome! Ive been singing and playing for years and knowing how to play and sing a song separately is key so that way combining both parts is more seamless. Playing songs with simpler progressions help a ton too so thay way you're aren't wrapped up trying work through a super complicated pattern as a beginner.
This is all great advice! I've found that songs which have more time between chord changes are easier to get started singing and playing, since you can keep the rhythm going without having to worry about switching chords every measure.
Roy Clark was a monster player and singer but admitted in an interview he could never do both at the same time. he would turn his volume down on his guitar when singing and kind of move his hands around then roll the volume up and make crazy faces when he was soloing and roll it off and start singing again. i am in that group of players (without the great singing ability).
Great video Mary, Perfect example for me is learning to play Friday I'im In Love by the Cure. The verses feel quite comfortable. Then you get to the bridge "Dressed up to the eyes, it's aa wonderful surprise, to see your shoes and your spirits rise." Several long verses in a row like that. When I get to that point it sort of falls apart. Phoebe Bridgers covered it (slow), David Gray and a few others as well. That's a perfect example of where I'd need to break the parts down..... especially with so many words plus the chord changes. Good example of a place to apply that. Thanks for the video.
Thank you, Mary Seems like that new Fender would make a good traveling/ jam guitar when packing a full-size acoustic would be cumbersome. As far as singing and playing, I grew up listening to folk and solo artists in the early 70s. I just thought that was how it was done. I learned to sing by singing along with my mom singing along with vinyl records. I picked up the guitar around 15 years old, and knew it was the right thing for me. I struggle a lot singing lead and playing bass, yet backing vocals are rarely an issue.
Here’s my thoughts: as a guitar I’m not impressed. I’ve tried these types of guitars before and i wasn’t convinced. As a marketing ploy yes, they work. People want something different, people want to see technology be pushed forward and be part of the movement that uses these tools or be the first to use it. However, pushing technology is successful only when it’s better than its predecessor which in this case it’s not. It’s pretty simple actually- if you want an acoustic, get an acoustic and if you want an electric, get an electric. Btw, i can see you’re a fan of Casino guitars 😉
Ya know... I have been looking at these for a month now. I have not played out since the late 90's / early 2000's. I played out 2 times a week just open mic nights I am in my mid 50's. I met so many people and they used to come to my house and jam. I have been looking at this guitar for a while now. Mary, I respect you the most as independent "RU-vid" sensation. It was "Sultans of Swing" that made me say "WHOI IS THIS?" No one really says these are bad guitars on reviews (Exlucding mean comments that Fender sucks). Then Mary pops on my feed with it. And honestly the Mexico vs USA doesn't even faze me anymore. I think you have convinced me. They are only 999.00 in the US. That's nothing! I am going to use this guitar to play some open mics again. If I buy it I have to go and do it. That's the rules! 😀My best friend died a few years ago now. We where brothers not friends and I miss the old days sooooooo much. I met him in the lunch room in 10th grade. I'm doing this! There is no HIGH in the world that beats rocking a song and watching the crowd love it! None and I have tried a few I grew up in the 80's. 😛
Love the sound that you're getting from this acoustic and the Fender Tone Master Pro, you really have it dialed in nicely, love the chord progression as well. You're brilliant Mary, always love listening too you !
Hi Mary! I generally prefer much noisier music - prog, grunge, punk, classic rock - but your guitar playing is quite relaxing, and your voice is SO beautiful! Thanks for this video. Singing while playing has always been very hard for me, and you provided some great guidance for my practice. ❤
I still can’t figure out what this guitar does better than an actual traditional acoustic with a built-in pickup (acoustic-electric). You said it’s “getting close” to sounding like an acoustic - so if that’s the sacrifice (not sounding as good as an acoustic when play acoustically) what’s the upside to it vs an acoustic-electric? I want to like it - I just don’t get it yet.
Gr8 advice, but pick up a pick & strum that guitar & scream to you hearts content & stretch those vocals to the point of death & its the last breath you will ever scream....haven't you learnt anything from Covid19? Love you Mary, love yr angelic stuff, but you should get raunchy & down right dirty occasionally, you know you got it in you.
Been playing for over 20 years and I can do both over simple chords, fingerpicking and arpeggios but some advanced lead parts get me all mixed up, I lose the melody and the timeing goes out the window, I guess practise makes perfect as long as it's good practice.
I thought dreadnought refers to a certain volume of guitar - a big one. And that Fender is not hi volume guitar. It is thin and at will never have the sound of a dreadnought. Further more those chamfered edges may make it ergonomic but it cuts the surface top area which eats sound power especially at the low end. No way going around it.
Fender calls it dreadnought because of the body shape. I’ve seen one of these in person and size wise it is comparable to a dreadnought in every dimension except the thickness of the body. Does it sound like a dreadnought? Is a completely different question. The answer is it sounds as much like a dreadnought as a Gibson Chet Atkins SST or a shallow bowl Ovation.
well done, thank you. I have only one bit of advice. A wise person once told me that, "practice makes permanent." If you practice incorrectly, then it will always be incorrect. Therefore, practice does not make perfect, it makes permanent. Love your videos, thank you for sharing your wonderful talent.
I like the guitar. Sounds good. Songs have always been easy for me. But talking while playing, not so much. I used to play Alice’s Restaurant but I had someone else do the talking because I just couldn’t do it even though the music was such a simple thing. I can see you really concentrating while you are doing this. Are you reading a script? I could see that it might make it easier.
I think the most complicated thing I do is Suzanne Vega's "The Queen and the Soldier". Couldn't say how I do it, I just do. It's a sad story with finger motions at certain syllables. What I absolutely cannot do is talk over even the simplest couple of chords. If you want to be completely humbled, look up James Hill's version of "Billie Jean". He does chords, melody, and percussion on a ukulele, and EXPLAINS what he is doing before singing the part. Yes it's a uke.
I struggle with singing, but generally do ok, I work on songs for a long time, trying to get the meter...but a lot of it is the verses, some simple phrases just tie my tongue ..smh ....Thanks Mary, for all you do...everyone should have an acoustic, I lost count of mine....still like electrics :)
I feel like what you are saying could apply to playing Bass and other instruments too. For me it’s easier to play Guitar and sing but playing Bass and singing is difficult when playing finger style. This is one of my favorite videos that you have made! Please make more videos like this? That guitar looks and sounds amazing!
Amazing not to sing but to talk while playing. I always wondered why I couldn’t even sing or learn my band’s songs after like 10 years playing them (I’m not the vocalist of course). What I found out is that in fact I’m singing on my brain while I play but… I sing what I play in my guitar!! and not the lyrics or even the vocal melody. It’s the same when I listen to music, I never pay attention to the lyrics, for me the voice is just another instrument playing the melody and I don’t care what the vocalist is saying at all.
Love the bit about making videos of yourself, Mary - I’ve begun doing that to check how I’m doing. The presentation bit is often neglected, and I’m as guilty as the next person. Well done! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Talking while playing is sooo hard! When I still lived at my parents', they were coming into my room all the time, asking me what I was playing. Like nooo, I'm trying to concentrate here xD I mean they also could have told me to not make so much noise, but I'd rather had they don't talk to me at all while I was playing lol
I remember when I was "so much young than today", I surprised one of my best friends by singing and playing The Beatles "Day Tripper" at the same time. Years later, I still have a little trouble with "Here Comes The Sun" but I am almost there!
