I've seen some singing threads, guitar threads, we did a tab draft, so I thought I'd make a thread where all fellow musicians can talk about music, instruments, bands, etc.
I play guitar, and play mostly heavy metal, but me and my friends are thinking of starting up a Rage Against the Machine cover band for fun.
For those who can sing and play guitar at the same time, how long did it take you to learn? I am having a difficult time doing complicated riffs and singing at the same time.
It's not normal that you'd be doing riffs/soloing while also singing. Many people stick to playing chords, even professionals. Leave that to the guy who plays lead.
I play guitar, a bit of classical, jazz, rock, acoustic. Whatever sounds nice. But I've hit the wall and haven't progressed at all in 2 years.
I'm trying to teach myself piano (by starting out with jazz piano which is kind of stupid as I can barely read sheet music).
Used to play the flute but dropped it like it's hot.
Hello. My name is James Hetfield. I'm really good at playing guitar while singing. Good day to you.
EDIT: I guess I should contribute to this thread. I played trombone in junior high. I was really bad at it because I never practiced. One time I emptied my spit valve on the shoulder of the guy playing french horn in front of me.
Last edited by Komskies; 01-15-2010 at 03:10 PM.
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I've seen some singing threads, guitar threads, we did a tab draft, so I thought I'd make a thread where all fellow musicians can talk about music, instruments, bands, etc.
I play guitar, and play mostly heavy metal, but me and my friends are thinking of starting up a Rage Against the Machine cover band for fun.
For those who can sing and play guitar at the same time, how long did it take you to learn? I am having a difficult time doing complicated riffs and singing at the same time.
My buddy plays in a cover band in Calgary and he plays lead guitar/vocals. It's pretty cool to watch someone sing and pull off complicated riffs at the same time. BUt it definitly took him a long time to be able to do that.
I was in Guitar Works the other day and started fooling around on a bass (having never played one before), and damn are the first 3-5 frets ginormous. How someone like Malcolm Young (AC/DC, he is like 5'6") can play that is beyond me, I can barely play them, haha.
I can do death growls for those interested in Metal. Took me a few weeks of tooling around listening to my music to figure out how to do it and what to do, but now I do it all the time! When I first got into metal I hated harsh vocals (like Alexi Laiho on Hatebreeder, or especially death growls), but now I can't listen to anything BUT harsh/death vocals, I love 'em!
I want to be like Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth, harsh death growls, and a nice singing voice. As well as Alexi Laiho, to be able to sing over crazy riffs, melodies.
I am getting their with the vocals, just need to practice singing overtop of my playing.
Unlike Stang when I start to sing over my playing my hands don't stop, I just lose the timing. I play the right notes, but I don't do it in proper time, that is why I can do easy songs, but I struggle on stuff like Creeping Death, Damage Inc. and Battery.
Woo I'll probably the only one on here but I produce electronica music.
Over 25,000+ listens on Newgrounds and 2,000 downloads. Very, VERY unhappy with my stuff right now so I haven't really put up anything new in a long time. I'm working really hard on a house song right now and using a lot of Guitar in it.
I played Guitar for about 5 years before I moved on to electronica, I just got bored of what rock music had to offer and now I'm trying to mix things up. I wasn't all that technically sound with guitar, but I could move my fingers fast and rip a scale pretty well. However I wasn't all that creative.
as you can see, mostly positive feedback but some very harsh reviews as well. Anyway, I just like mixing it up and never seem to be happy with my stuff.
Woo I'll probably the only one on here but I produce electronica music.
Over 25,000+ listens on Newgrounds and 2,000 downloads. Very, VERY unhappy with my stuff right now so I haven't really put up anything new in a long time. I'm working really hard on a house song right now and using a lot of Guitar in it.
I played Guitar for about 5 years before I moved on to electronica, I just got bored of what rock music had to offer and now I'm trying to mix things up. I wasn't all that technically sound with guitar, but I could move my fingers fast and rip a scale pretty well. However I wasn't all that creative.
as you can see, mostly positive feedback but some very harsh reviews as well. Anyway, I just like mixing it up and never seem to be happy with my stuff.
That's why I play metal. I love the diversity from Melo-Death to Thrash metal, to classic stuff like Priest and Maiden.
I'm trying to write my stuff but I don't know enough theory to know the scales and what sounds good together so I just tool around, haha.
I don't quite understand the genre of death metal. Can someone explain to me the appeal of thrashing chords and voices where it sounds like the guy is putting his vocal chords to a cheese grater right as he is in the process of murdering you and you can't understand a single word of it? Are they all trying to be Christian Bale's Batman or something? It's all just white noise. I might as well be listening to chickens thrown into wood chopper at 9000 RPM.
I love metal, but more the Judas Priest / Iron Maiden kind with lyrics I can understand and awesome melodies and riffs in the classic metal guitar scales (instead of just thrashing chords over and over). Man, I wish I could shred properly, especially performing sweep picking. At least I can tap pretty well.
Well, I am not into full blown Death Metal like Cannibal Corpse. I listen to them occasionally just if I need to listen to something heavy but I prefer melo-death, which is totally different. Melo-Death is much MUCH more technical and as the name suggests focuses on the melodies. Children of Bodom aren't Melo-Death, I'd say Melo-Black metal, but if you listen to their old stuff (listen to a song called Kissing the Shadows or Black Widow), you can definitely tell what I mean when I say melodic.
Judas Priest and Maiden are among my favorite bands, Glenn Tipton is awesome!
I am teaching myself to properly shred now and it is tough. I get super impatient playing so slowly so I often only practice for like 5-10 minutes at a time which isn't enough.
I don't know how to sweep pick yet, but I am learning and my suggestion would be to learn easy sweeps (like I am learning), then once you can play the easy ones, try harder ones, and then try the stuff from Jari Maenpaa (check his stuff out).
You may not like Children of Bodom but I suggest learning the song "Towards Dead End" which I am learning, as it has some easy sweeps (19-18-17h22p17-18-19 on the G B E strings respectively, as well as a tougher one, 14-15-12h17p12-15-12). I think if I can play these to speed that I'll get the rythem down to learn some harder stuff, which includes 4 strings, then 5 strings. My goal for the year is to learn the entire Hatebreeder album, and all it is is shredding. haha I can play most of the rhythms but no solos yet.
Also, for those wondering, I am trying to sing over "Holy Wars...Punishment is Due". I can almost do Holy Wars, but the Punishment is Due part is so freakin' hard to play and sing at the same time. I can almost do Headcrusher, except for the bridge part.
You may not like Children of Bodom but I suggest learning the song "Towards Dead End" which I am learning, as it has some easy sweeps (19-18-17h22p17-18-19 on the G B E strings respectively, as well as a tougher one, 14-15-12h17p12-15-12). I think if I can play these to speed that I'll get the rythem down to learn some harder stuff, which includes 4 strings, then 5 strings. My goal for the year is to learn the entire Hatebreeder album, and all it is is shredding. haha I can play most of the rhythms but no solos yet.
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That song is pretty awesome instrumentally and has some nice arpeggios but whenever the vocals come in I lose it and can't listen to it anymore. I guess I just can't take music when there is a guy going "blarrr arggh vaaaaaa va chowww aarrrrrrr blarr" constantly.
I really cherish really strong vocalists in rock, here's a ton of the classic guys going at it together for a cheesy but awesome charity song that's one of my faves.
Song's cheesy but 50% of the song is just guitar solos
Ha, when I first started listening to Children of Bodom I hated how he sang, I couldn't get past it either. It has really grown on me, but that's me, I know most people hate it and won't like it. That is why I want to sing as well as being able to do those growls. I would give my left nut to sing like Rob Halford or Ronnie James Dio.
I saw Ronnie James Dio a few years back with Heaven and Hell and my god is his voice ever epic. He is in his 50's (maybe even 60's?) he looks like a shriveled up grandmother, but has one of the best, I personally think the best voice, right now, which is amazing.
I don't quite understand the genre of death metal. Can someone explain to me the appeal of thrashing chords and voices where it sounds like the guy is putting his vocal chords to a cheese grater right as he is in the process of murdering you and you can't understand a single word of it? Are they all trying to be Christian Bale's Batman or something? It's all just white noise. I might as well be listening to chickens thrown into wood chopper at 9000 RPM.
LOL
I like the musical aspect of death metal more than the vocals, and I really enjoy bands that stretch progressively more than others. I'm with you (for the most part) in that many death metal singers wear me out. There are some that I enjoy, but for sure what I enjoy about the genre is the music. Having said that there are a few death metal vocalists that I like.
Musicians Thread
He still looks weird playing a guitar as it is so big. 
