I've been playing bass "professionally" for about 10 years now in Austin. I started late in life at around 45 years old. Singing and playing at the same time has been the biggest hurdle I've had to overcome. This is great advice for young players. I've lost plenty of gigs over the years because I have a hard time singing harmonies. If your young in your 20's learn it now. It's a LOT more difficult to learn after 50. It will definitely make the difference between getting a gig or losing it to another player that can sing. Thanks for the videos, Brad! You're spitting out great advice and knowledge on this channel.
The key is to find your own voice. I hear so many young guys trying to sound like someone they are not. I know I tried to do the same thing and it never worked. I did not get it everyone told me I couldn't sing, so I didn't. I just kept trying to sing until it finally came to me. It was my own song that let me find my own voice. Then it finally clicked I could sing the other songs in my own voice and it worked as long as I found the right key for the song..Oh well I hope this helps someone. Thank you Brad for what you are doing.
As a guitar player, one of the shifts that happened when I started to sing and play - and it took some work - was I began to develop a greater appreciation of the song. It was in me at a deeper level. When improvising, I began to shift from just playing notes in a particular scale, to playing more with the songs melodic and harmonic structure. Also, I could express mood of the song while playing more clearly because it was in me, with the words, melody and harmony. It sounds kind of dumb but before I started singing I'd often be in my own little guitar playing world, not paying much attention to the vocals, other than the cues for changes in the song that I needed to make while playing.
im a decent guitar player, i have always fronted 3 piece bands, me bass and drums, i get picked for gigs over better guitar players because i can sing and play lead/rythym at the same time, not many of us can do that, i agree learn to sing
This was a good 1 Brad. I played with a Filipino drummer Robert Dela Cruz in the 80's and his harmony work was spot on. Learning to sing will make anyone's musical journey more enjoyable and enlightening! Keep on rockin in the free world everyone!
A friend and I were talking about this very thing yesterday. A player being able to sing a few songs a night is a great asset.Some people can sing pretty good but won’t even try. You are right on Brad. 👍🏻😉
I totally agree Brad!! I struggled early on thinking I didn’t like my voice..but I learned the basic fundamentals on how to control my breathing and using my diaphragm..the difference between using my head sound and chest sound.. I started with simple songs like Gloria..to The Doors Soul Kitchen..to where I’m at now with Chuck Berry’s Nadine!! That’s not an easy one playing guitar and singing in a three piece…but it’s a real trip now and I’m probably singing half of our song lists..we all share my bassist sings his songs also along with our drummer who carries the main load!! Thanks Brad great video
Singing is an essential skill. I took lessons and worked it, and it paid off in spades. I went from drummer to Mick Jagger! By the way the Amazon Wig still looks great! ha ha! I know it's your hair, but I love the "wig confession". Love the channel Brad.
I’ve noticed that my favorite singers are not the ones that are technically perfect but they have a unique and appealing tone and they sing from the heart!
Learn Harmonies! I grew up listening to my father's band in our garage and was shown the importance of harmonizing not just 5th above but also the 3rd below. My brother and I became great at harmonizing with out using monitors. If he took the high I would take the low and vice versa. So important and makes you more valuable to a band
BRAD I GAŔYLEWIS LIVE 1978 GAINESVILLE FLORIDA. 3 PIECE IN A CONVERSION VAN. STILL HAD IT. GARY PLAYED DRUMS GUITAR . I'M A 45 YEAR DRUMMER. I PLAYED HIS ALBUMS IN THE EARLY 60S .GOT A COCKTAIL NAPKIN AUTOGRAPH 😂 GREAT SHOW. LOVE YA BRAD 🎉
So true. Every band I was ever in no one else could sing. Or barely to the point if being virtually useless. It used to piss me off because I really wanted to include harmonies. I so envied Alice in Chains the way Layne and Jerry could harmonize on almost every song.
Brad, I got goosebumps when you were talking about the Gary Lewis gig in the Philippines! You might know my brother Mike, he played drums for Gary Lewis a few years ago. Great video, great advice! Thanks Brother.
One of the reasons i got better at singing was just singing in my car every day and all the time. Sounds funny to say that because everybody does. Lol. But i paid attention to the phrasing, the notes, the style of genre i could handle better, etc. I would learn by repetition what my range was. Then after getting better my buddy put my name in a karaoke contest for my first public singing. Never thought I'd get up to do that ever. Lol. Now i love it.
The song that taught me to sing and play was Jimi Hendrix "Hey Joe"! I was so familiar with the progression I just kinda started doing it! My voice isn't great, but It is possible! Cool vid as usual BB!
great topic Brad and great comment on the nasal-y bro- country singers of today ( like Morgan Wallen ;-) - who I abhor to be subjected to 🙂 - give me George Jones, Charlie Rich all day ( and I'm a rocker at heart) . Singing ability will always win between " similar" guitarists. IMO thats what make players like John Sykes , Richie Kotzen stand out
I’ve been singing for pretty much my whole life since my pre school choir singled me out when I was like 5 years old. My parents put me into singing lessons after that. I really go back and forth with it though. I play other instruments but vocals are the most temperamental easily. For me it’s all in my head and confidence is everything. I’ve had some difficulties trying to record my songs recently. One song I worked on the vocals for literal weeks, singing it over and over again and just didn’t feel like I was getting it right. When I don’t feel confident I can’t sing worth a damn. In the other hand when I am confident singing is the easiest part of the whole recording process. There’s a song on my channel called “The rest is over”, it has 3 different vocal parts running through it and I recorded all the vocals for the song in one afternoon. I also just found a demo I did about a year ago where the vocals were literally done in one take no warmup and they’re basically perfect. What’s the difference? Mainly confidence and the situation. There was no pressure on the demo, I wasn’t tensed up or afraid of screwing up. When I sang on the rest is over I was feeling good and confident in what I was doing. When I’ve been trying to get the lead vocal down for two weeks and can’t get it, it’s totally the opposite. So anyway sorry for the long comment but for me it’s all mental.
Hi Brad, I can tell you that in the Bluegrass world, singing is a hige plus and frankly, it's expected. Thanks for the great videos. I would add that singing harmony is a big deal too. Thanks brother! John
That was amazing that you stepped up on vocals on that tour, especially when you were kind of covering ground made by big name singers for the Artist. Elvis was a good choice to figure it out. On a national tour situation.
Ok,sing the note not the scoop...Sing Elvis records,the night before a gig...find your singing voice...this is the stuff I like to get from you,Brad...Thank you,Sir
Late at night having an acoustic guitar and being able to sing 2 or 3 songs even halfway decent could get ya a basehit or more back in the day. Was also a great way at small parties and gatherings to get all the females to ignore the muscle heads as they surround you and start singing. Women love to sing and can't help themselfs especially after a few drinks. Play the first G from take it on the run and utter "Heard it from a friend who" and they will finish it for ya. We all know this to be true.
When I was 16 I couldn't sing a note if my life depended on it. I had no control of my voice. I made Bob Dylan sound like an opera singer I was that bad. I had a band at 16 and was doing a lot of bar gigs back then but I hired singers. I got tired of the drunks and head cases real fast so I decided to teach myself how to sing. I had to work very hard at this because I was starting from zero. I was an accordion player and we did a lot of standards. I could play the accordion very well and that helped a lot. I could be a very average singer and get by with it kind of like Eric Clapton or Jimi Hendrix. Over the years my voice improved and I could sing some heavy metal songs. I'm 62 now and could step in for Rob Halford and sing a song like Green Manalishi note for note like him including the very high notes at the end. I can still hit some extremely high notes like Milly of Steelheart today. I agree with you. Having a dependable voice could certainly get you gigs.
I can play anything on bass, but I can't sing anything to save my life. I even took lessons, but nothing ever worked. My only consolation is there are other players like Eddie Van Halen, Mick Mars, Neil Peart, and Ian Hill who can't sing to save their life.
Duuude, I did not start out singing and playing guitar until our singer, who was amazing, demanded that we back her up, so I wound up singing the highest parts of all our cover tunes. I did it just fine, but I wanted to be a lazy ass guitar rocker. In hindsight I really learned a lot in that process and it was really cool to be able to do two things at the same time. No regrets and learning is great! Harmonies are beautiful!
Brad if you know about Ken Tamplin your take? Two things, he has a singing course and was caught lipping live, FIL from Wings Of Pegasus busted him thanks.
When it comes to singing backup parts, there are three types of performer; each one is a certain athlete: The Puck Chaser: Ever seen mini-mite hockey? No teamwork, no passing; everyone chases the puck. The puck chaser gravitates to the melody. TAKE AWAY HIS MIC; he's useless. The Solid #2 Wide Receiver: Just like in football, this guy is not a diva. He runs his routes correctly, and shows up where the ball is, doing his share to help the team. This athlete is the standard. The Shortstop: This is the rarest of athletes in my context. The shortstop can sing high or low harmonies; always covering the open base to help the team. With a 3-octave useful range, and the gift/curse of perfect pitch, I AM a shortstop, and there's even a vid on my meager YT channel that proves it. I literally go from a high part to a low part in the same chorus of Sweet Home Alabama, as the chick singer was working the crowd when it started. Draft your team wisely by learning how to spot what kind of "athletes" you are dealing with.
good advice and another..... learn theory then learn drumming and guitar. both will train your brain the idea of rhythm. beast way is to understand how notes work on a piano.
Every talks about Hendrix and SRV being bitchin guitarists and respectfully so, but they wouldn’t have achieved the success that did if they didn’t sing their own songs.
I can sing to all the first six albums to van halen. I cant sing to all the sammy songs. Sammy is a great singer. Dave really isnt. Those first vh albums kick ass. I was singing dr love at six years old too
I spent 6 months in the Philippines and you’re right, everyone can sing there. No joke.
Sing their butts off.
I've been playing bass "professionally" for about 10 years now in Austin. I started late in life at around 45 years old. Singing and playing at the same time has been the biggest hurdle I've had to overcome. This is great advice for young players. I've lost plenty of gigs over the years because I have a hard time singing harmonies. If your young in your 20's learn it now. It's a LOT more difficult to learn after 50. It will definitely make the difference between getting a gig or losing it to another player that can sing. Thanks for the videos, Brad! You're spitting out great advice and knowledge on this channel.
Thank you so much!!!!
The key is to find your own voice. I hear so many young guys trying to sound like someone they are not. I know I tried to do the same thing and it never worked. I did not get it everyone told me I couldn't sing, so I didn't. I just kept trying to sing until it finally came to me. It was my own song that let me find my own voice. Then it finally clicked I could sing the other songs in my own voice and it worked as long as I found the right key for the song..Oh well I hope this helps someone. Thank you Brad for what you are doing.
You’re absolutely right! Finding your own voice is a real journey.
As a guitar player, one of the shifts that happened when I started to sing and play - and it took some work - was I began to develop a greater appreciation of the song. It was in me at a deeper level. When improvising, I began to shift from just playing notes in a particular scale, to playing more with the songs melodic and harmonic structure. Also, I could express mood of the song while playing more clearly because it was in me, with the words, melody and harmony. It sounds kind of dumb but before I started singing I'd often be in my own little guitar playing world, not paying much attention to the vocals, other than the cues for changes in the song that I needed to make while playing.
No that’s a great observation! Absolutely
Love your channel! You are so relaxed and not trying to prove anything. People who share experience are so generous!
Thank you for the kind words, I appreciate it!
im a decent guitar player, i have always fronted 3 piece bands, me bass and drums, i get picked for gigs over better guitar players because i can sing and play lead/rythym at the same time, not many of us can do that, i agree learn to sing
Thanks Brad! Great video. Kudos to you, for keeping your vocal chops up.
Thanks BRO!
This was a good 1 Brad. I played with a Filipino drummer Robert Dela Cruz in the 80's and his harmony work was spot on. Learning to sing will make anyone's musical journey more enjoyable and enlightening! Keep on rockin in the free world everyone!
You know! Thank you.
A friend and I were talking about this very thing yesterday. A player being able to sing a few songs a night is a great asset.Some people can sing pretty good but won’t even try. You are right on Brad. 👍🏻😉
You know it.
I totally agree Brad!! I struggled early on thinking I didn’t like my voice..but I learned the basic fundamentals on how to control my breathing and using my diaphragm..the difference between using my head sound and chest sound.. I started with simple songs like Gloria..to The Doors Soul Kitchen..to where I’m at now with Chuck Berry’s Nadine!! That’s not an easy one playing guitar and singing in a three piece…but it’s a real trip now and I’m probably singing half of our song lists..we all share my bassist sings his songs also along with our drummer who carries the main load!! Thanks Brad great video
Thank you!!!🙏
Singing is an essential skill. I took lessons and worked it, and it paid off in spades. I went from drummer to Mick Jagger! By the way the Amazon Wig still looks great! ha ha! I know it's your hair, but I love the "wig confession". Love the channel Brad.
😂 thank you!🙏
I’ve noticed that my favorite singers are not the ones that are technically perfect but they have a unique and appealing tone and they sing from the heart!
Yes perfection isn’t always the best singers. Individual style rules.
Learn Harmonies! I grew up listening to my father's band in our garage and was shown the importance of harmonizing not just 5th above but also the 3rd below. My brother and I became great at harmonizing with out using monitors. If he took the high I would take the low and vice versa. So important and makes you more valuable to a band
That’s the way to do it!
Learning how to sing harmonies is one of the most important skills.
👍🏻 yes!
My first singing + guitar solo gig next week (normally just a lead guitarist) - so many doors are going to open
I always wanted to do that,I would have gotten more gigs for sure or hired ,I have guitar skills but sometimes that wasn’t enough
It def. helps if you can carry a tune.
Spiller to me right now is one of the great singers out there today.
Singing "Blue Moon" by Elvis Presley indeed helped me found my singing voice, although I'm not the greatest singer
Singing to a lot of Elvis helped me too-to where I though I sounded like him ❤
BRAD I GAŔYLEWIS LIVE 1978 GAINESVILLE FLORIDA. 3 PIECE IN A CONVERSION VAN. STILL HAD IT. GARY PLAYED DRUMS GUITAR . I'M A 45 YEAR DRUMMER. I PLAYED HIS ALBUMS IN THE EARLY 60S .GOT A COCKTAIL NAPKIN AUTOGRAPH 😂 GREAT SHOW. LOVE YA BRAD 🎉
Those were the days.
So true. Every band I was ever in no one else could sing. Or barely to the point if being virtually useless. It used to piss me off because I really wanted to include harmonies. I so envied Alice in Chains the way Layne and Jerry could harmonize on almost every song.
Oh man I hear you
Brad, I got goosebumps when you were talking about the Gary Lewis gig in the Philippines! You might know my brother Mike, he played drums for Gary Lewis a few years ago. Great video, great advice! Thanks Brother.
Of course I know Mike Arturi played many shows with him and Gary. Love that dude. Tell him I said yo!
One of the reasons i got better at singing was just singing in my car every day and all the time. Sounds funny to say that because everybody does. Lol. But i paid attention to the phrasing, the notes, the style of genre i could handle better, etc. I would learn by repetition what my range was. Then after getting better my buddy put my name in a karaoke contest for my first public singing. Never thought I'd get up to do that ever. Lol. Now i love it.
That is actually very good advice. Good for building strength
The song that taught me to sing and play was Jimi Hendrix "Hey Joe"! I was so familiar with the progression I just kinda started doing it! My voice isn't great, but It is possible! Cool vid as usual BB!
I know what you mean about the progression, it's a classic!
great topic Brad and great comment on the nasal-y bro- country singers of today ( like Morgan Wallen ;-) - who I abhor to be subjected to 🙂 - give me George Jones, Charlie Rich all day ( and I'm a rocker at heart) . Singing ability will always win between " similar" guitarists. IMO thats what make players like John Sykes , Richie Kotzen stand out
Nasal bros world tour.
I’ve always had respect for natural vocalists. It’s a rare gift. The rest of us have to work at it.
I think we all benefit from working at it.
I’ve been singing for pretty much my whole life since my pre school choir singled me out when I was like 5 years old. My parents put me into singing lessons after that. I really go back and forth with it though. I play other instruments but vocals are the most temperamental easily. For me it’s all in my head and confidence is everything. I’ve had some difficulties trying to record my songs recently. One song I worked on the vocals for literal weeks, singing it over and over again and just didn’t feel like I was getting it right. When I don’t feel confident I can’t sing worth a damn.
In the other hand when I am confident singing is the easiest part of the whole recording process. There’s a song on my channel called “The rest is over”, it has 3 different vocal parts running through it and I recorded all the vocals for the song in one afternoon. I also just found a demo I did about a year ago where the vocals were literally done in one take no warmup and they’re basically perfect. What’s the difference? Mainly confidence and the situation. There was no pressure on the demo, I wasn’t tensed up or afraid of screwing up. When I sang on the rest is over I was feeling good and confident in what I was doing. When I’ve been trying to get the lead vocal down for two weeks and can’t get it, it’s totally the opposite.
So anyway sorry for the long comment but for me it’s all mental.
Great post and I agree. The mental part is a huge part of the process.
Damn if Batman can sing, I can too
😂
Hi Brad, I can tell you that in the Bluegrass world, singing is a hige plus and frankly, it's expected. Thanks for the great videos. I would add that singing harmony is a big deal too. Thanks brother! John
Thank you! 🙏
That was amazing that you stepped up on vocals on that tour, especially when you were kind of covering ground made by big name singers for the Artist. Elvis was a good choice to figure it out. On a national tour situation.
It was a wild ride for sure.
I LOVE THE WHISPER LIKE ON A BUS TELLING THE STORIES. 😅
Man you know it! Don't let the boss in the back lounge hear us.....
Raindrops...I used to love that song too. BJ Thomas. No Love at All is another good oldie.
Ok,sing the note not the scoop...Sing Elvis records,the night before a gig...find your singing voice...this is the stuff I like to get from you,Brad...Thank you,Sir
You got it.
Late at night having an acoustic guitar and being able to sing 2 or 3 songs even halfway decent could get ya a basehit or more back in the day. Was also a great way at small parties and gatherings to get all the females to ignore the muscle heads as they surround you and start singing. Women love to sing and can't help themselfs especially after a few drinks. Play the first G from take it on the run and utter "Heard it from a friend who" and they will finish it for ya. We all know this to be true.
Yeah those are great party tricks for sure!
Great advice for everybody cheers.
Cheers!
When I was 16 I couldn't sing a note if my life depended on it. I had no control of my voice. I made Bob Dylan sound like an opera singer I was that bad. I had a band at 16 and was doing a lot of bar gigs back then but I hired singers. I got tired of the drunks and head cases real fast so I decided to teach myself how to sing. I had to work very hard at this because I was starting from zero. I was an accordion player and we did a lot of standards. I could play the accordion very well and that helped a lot. I could be a very average singer and get by with it kind of like Eric Clapton or Jimi Hendrix. Over the years my voice improved and I could sing some heavy metal songs. I'm 62 now and could step in for Rob Halford and sing a song like Green Manalishi note for note like him including the very high notes at the end. I can still hit some extremely high notes like Milly of Steelheart today. I agree with you. Having a dependable voice could certainly get you gigs.
I can play anything on bass, but I can't sing anything to save my life. I even took lessons, but nothing ever worked. My only consolation is there are other players like Eddie Van Halen, Mick Mars, Neil Peart, and Ian Hill who can't sing to save their life.
Eddie can sing harmony parts.
I practice on Smule … then out every weekend doing it for real.
Right on!
Bad Brad.. can you look into the Ken Tamplin controversy and give us your opinion?
Oh man that is a can of worms.
How about talk about frauds and rip offs.. don’t mention names?
Great advice man (Ad Voice)
Thanks!
Duuude, I did not start out singing and playing guitar until our singer, who was amazing, demanded that we back her up, so I wound up singing the highest parts of all our cover tunes. I did it just fine, but I wanted to be a lazy ass guitar rocker. In hindsight I really learned a lot in that process and it was really cool to be able to do two things at the same time. No regrets and learning is great! Harmonies are beautiful!
Yes indeed!!
Brad if you know about Ken Tamplin your take? Two things, he has a singing course and was caught lipping live, FIL from Wings Of Pegasus busted him thanks.
Bad Brad, just be careful as this guy loves to threat other UA-camrs with lawsuits when they say anything negative about his vocal academy.
Yeah I think I’ll sit this one out…
@@badbradNo worries do not want an issue!
When it comes to singing backup parts, there are three types of performer; each one is a certain athlete:
The Puck Chaser: Ever seen mini-mite hockey? No teamwork, no passing; everyone chases the puck. The puck chaser gravitates to the melody. TAKE AWAY HIS MIC; he's useless.
The Solid #2 Wide Receiver: Just like in football, this guy is not a diva. He runs his routes correctly, and shows up where the ball is, doing his share to help the team. This athlete is the standard.
The Shortstop: This is the rarest of athletes in my context. The shortstop can sing high or low harmonies; always covering the open base to help the team. With a 3-octave useful range, and the gift/curse of perfect pitch, I AM a shortstop, and there's even a vid on my meager YT channel that proves it. I literally go from a high part to a low part in the same chorus of Sweet Home Alabama, as the chick singer was working the crowd when it started.
Draft your team wisely by learning how to spot what kind of "athletes" you are dealing with.
I would assign the puck chaser to group vocals for those football choruses
"Wooly Bully"....Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs..........!!!
👍🏻
I sing sweet & low ….far far away 😅.. being asthmatic doesn’t help either .. unless you want a wheezy Tom Waits sound 😂
Hey that sound can work for some things
Bad Brad was a "Playboy"?! Gary Lewis and the Playboys... how many times did you play "This diamond 💎Ring💍 "? and "Everybody Loves a Clown 🤡 "?
A million
good advice and another..... learn theory then learn drumming and guitar. both will train your brain the idea of rhythm. beast way is to understand how notes work on a piano.
That is a great way to do it.
Not a lick! But wish I could
Right on.
MY DAUGHTER WOULD SAY " DADDY DON'T SING " HEE HEE Y😅
mine says that to and I can carry a tune.
Every talks about Hendrix and SRV being bitchin guitarists and respectfully so, but they wouldn’t have achieved the success that did if they didn’t sing their own songs.
VERY TRUE!
I can sing to all the first six albums to van halen. I cant sing to all the sammy songs. Sammy is a great singer. Dave really isnt. Those first vh albums kick ass. I was singing dr love at six years old too
Any so called musician who has not developed the instruments they carry with them daily is suspect and lazy.
Boom!
That must be why Eddie Van Halen was such a "stellar" vocalist. 🤣
Eddie could sing his harmony parts and together with Michael Anthony they sang great harmonies.
Eddie was the lead singer before Roth.