Who Sings?

I sing badly, with or without a guitar in my hands.

A :-)

I sing while playing, I didn't find it that difficult to do, but I can't sing in tune or on key, so that makes it even. :lol:

I can't sing without a guitar in my hands! The whole lead-singer/frontman thing doesn't sit well with me. I'll sometimes stop playing the guitar, but it's always there.

I can strum chords and sing, but it is still difficult for me to do any complicated rhythms

So far all I can do is sing while playing along with iTunes on the computer. And so far that's limited to Sundown and Proud Mary. I've tried playing and singing without the recordings, but no can do.

I can play (strum) and sing, but sometimes I strum to my singing and not necessarily the "correct" strum or timing. I have worked hard on getting the timing correct and singing along with that.
I started playing guitar as an accompaniment to my singing and not the other way around. I do find it more difficult to do complicated finger style and sing, though I am working on this aspect of my playing as well.
It seems to me that all it takes is dedicated and focused practice to achieve your goals.
Keep Playing.

I learned to sing and play bass first so singing while playing 6 string came without too much problem.

The trick is to learn the guitar part first, and practice it until it is pretty much automatic, and then add the vocals.

Eventually you will be able to improvise on the guitar while singing.

Notes

I play guitar and sing as well...do it all the time. It's kind of fun! =D

I play and sing. However, when singing I stick pretty much to simple strumming. David Hodge is starting to cover the topic of singing while playing in his podcasts. I think he just posted the first one here recently- number 23. looking forward to digging into that.

I sing and play a little too. The toughest part for me was to get used to my voice. I used to hate the sound of my voice on recordings. I'm much more accepting of it now than when I first started. I'm in an off-again, on-again garage jam band. I play bass in that. They would let me sing and play there but I'm still working on playing bass and guitar. I think it is so much more fun to sing and play. :)

I found that when I first started, I had to slow *way* *way* down and get my brain to do both at the same time. It was also real practice and got me started. I slowly work up from there.

I really want to get a repertoire of a few songs together that I can sing at parties. Say, three songs really down. I love the lessons here that David Hodge has done. So far I've got most of "Friend of the Devil" down, and I'm starting on "Dust in the Wind". I want to do "Folsom Prison Blues" too.

Part of the problem is that I see songs that are not in my range and I need to transpose them. I'm not sure how to do that yet, but I really haven't work on it. :?

I sing and play a little too. The toughest part for me was to get used to my voice. I used to hate the sound of my voice on recordings. I'm much more accepting of it now than when I first started. I'm in an off-again, on-again garage jam band. I play bass in that. They would let me sing and play there but I'm still working on playing bass and guitar. I think it is so much more fun to sing and play. :)

I found that when I first started, I had to slow *way* *way* down and get my brain to do both at the same time. It was also real practice and got me started. I slowly work up from there.

I really want to get a repertoire of a few songs together that I can sing at parties. Say, three songs really down. I love the lessons here that David Hodge has done. So far I've got most of "Friend of the Devil" down, and I'm starting on "Dust in the Wind". I want to do "Folsom Prison Blues" too.

Part of the problem is that I see songs that are not in my range and I need to transpose them. I'm not sure how to do that yet, but I really haven't work on it. :?

Throw a capo on there.

Using a capo works for me.
One of my favorite songs to sing is House of the Rising Sun which I believe is in the key of Am.
(I'm guessing because it starts and ends in Am)
Anyway, sometimes I have a hard time singing the low notes strongly or loudly.
I find it helps if I play with the capo on the first or second fret . . .

it raises the key to what?

A#m (1st fret) and Bm (2nd fret)?

Never used a capo and probably never will. Capos throw your guitar out of tune, making it sharp.

I learned "bar chords" first, and find bar and other movable chords much easier to play than those open string "cowboy chords" so if I need to transpose a song, it's simply a matter of sliding my hand up or down the neck.

While I have bitten the bullet and learned a number of open-stringed chords, I only play them when absolutely necessary for the sound of the song. I really think movable chords are MUCH easier. I don't play a lot of old country or folk, so I don't have a lot of need for open-string chords (thankfully)

But that could just be me, my brain, and my fingers dictating my personal preferences.

Insights and incites by Notes

A good capo won't throw your guitar any more out of tune than your fingers.