Playing Guitar for a Friend

play the rythm if she sings the melody.
simple.

dynamics are important. dont play too loud, vary your strumming to reflect the singers pauses etc, appeggiate at times.
work out a start and ending.
thats all I have.

Thanks!
until we get a drummer, bassist - another guitarist etc, We want to focus on Acoustic type stuff.. if going to electric I will have to vary between Lead and Rhythm (which is why I was asking about books for learning lead etc).

Thanks for the tips! :)

Playing for singers.

Rule number 1 - don't play so loud you can't hear the singer over the guitar. Nobody's listening to the guitar; they're listening to the song

Rule number 2 - see rule number 1

Best,

A :-)

Thanks for that Alan!

Practice listening to the overall sound. Once you've spent sometime practicing together you'll get the feel to were to add dynamic's with the guitar to accent certain parts. Use you head but follow your heart.

Joe

You might eventually want to look into a drum machine. I have a Rythmn Dr 550 which allows me to play drums synth, and bass tracks (I can create 4 total tracks) along with my guitar while i sing. The rythmn tracks are played in stereo thru 2 channels of my PA. The drum machine helps alot with timing, and can fill in the gaps if you play some lead fills between versus.

PK

I have a good friend who plays the drums - I'm not sure him playing the drums would take away that "acoustic" feel though?

I have a good friend who plays the drums - I'm not sure him playing the drums would take away that "acoustic" feel though?

It's hard to beat a drum kit softly, but congas and other percussion instruments can work very well with acoustic guitar.

PK

A drummer goes fine with acoustic IF he plays with brushes and doesn't insist on beating the hades out of his kit

I find that the best accompanists never (or hardly ever) take their eyes off the singer; sorta like orchestral musicians are always glancing up from their music, at the conductor. There's that scene in Harvey (the James Stewart movie about the pooka) where the one woman is singing 'hip hip hip hip hippity hop' - about a rabbit - and I always tend to look at the piano player behind her, watching the singer's every move. I think of that scene actually whenever I'm trying to comp somebody.

Best

Thanks for ALL the advice!
I really can't wait for tuesday :D

I find that the best accompanists never (or hardly ever) take their eyes off the singer; sorta like orchestral musicians are always glancing up from their music, at the conductor. There's that scene in Harvey (the James Stewart movie about the pooka) where the one woman is singing 'hip hip hip hip hippity hop' - about a rabbit - and I always tend to look at the piano player behind her, watching the singer's every move. I think of that scene actually whenever I'm trying to comp somebody.

Best

That really is a great movie, I'll have to look out for that piano player now!

Back to the question, I play guitar for my cousin a fair bit. At about 30 or so different functions at least in the past three years. People always comment on how well we go together. Just last night her music teacher, who I had never met before, said "It's not hard to tell you guys have played together before." She later said that we went together beautifully. That's a great confidence booster as Erin is a much more decorated musician then I could ever possibly dream of.

Things that I find that work are rather simple. Practice, communication, and a bit of a connection. Often times if there is a mistake one of us covers for the other, or find some way around it. You should keep your eye on her, not all the time, but just for dynamics, sometimes from the emotion the singer is putting into the song, you know wheter or not you should play harder of softer.

Just be observant. Keep an eye open for changes, and don't be afraid of things not going exactly as planned.

Best of luck!

Paul

I once accompanied one of my best ever friends for a rendition of Bette Midler's The Rose. It was for Philadelphia chapter of The Rose of Tralee Festival, and each girl in the event needed to have a talent. So she wanted to sing, and I played me ole Martin. I made sure the music I wrote (or made up, whatever you wanna call it) was very simple and just provided a background. it's really just 4 chords, barre shaped, with a constantly open and droning b and e strings at the top. had a nice chime to it. all the advice here is good. ALWAYS keep your eye on the singer. it's nice to see her lips move so you know where you are in the song. don't bash on the guitar. play softly, smoothly and cleanly, but make sure your chords/notes are heard. but above all, just relax!!! I did this in front of 400 people and newscameras, so it was pretty intense, but once we started the song, i was in a groove and it went well. We have played together a few times, at college music showcases and coffeeshops. or sometimes on the dorm lawn at 1 am on a warm saturday night. great times. have fun man.

Hey Amnesia! Make sure you tell us how it goes!

Paul