Singing and Playing
This is my first time singing while playing a song, and it was a lot harder than I expected. I found my rhythm and timing got messed up often if I tried singing. The website was super beneficial to my progress because listening to the sing-along and following the chords made it easy to stay on track and not lose the timing.
I used the song “Don’t Worry Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin, and I found learning the chord progression and strumming pattern to be fairly straightforward. The strumming pattern stayed the same and I found myself following the timing easier than other songs I have attempted. This song was also a great introduction to singing as it repeated a lot of lyrics and it did not demand a large range of vocals.
To practice, I first practiced the strumming pattern, and then once I grasped the timing and proper melody I added in the chords. The chords were fairly simple so the transition to this step was relatively smooth and simple. Once I began to sing I found it almost impossible to keep the timing. While singing, I played slow at the beginning, and then as I got more comfortable I sped up my playing and lyrics. I honestly did not expect singing with the chords to be as challenging as it was, but I found when I sang I sped up my chords, and if I tried to slow my singing I just ended up speaking. I found the sing-along for this song so helpful because it kept me on time and showed me when to switch from chords, and it really helped me progress my sing and timing abilities.
Overall, this process was fun and enjoyable and I look forward to learning more songs and learning more strumming patterns. As I continue to practice and try to sing with other songs I find that it is a lot more challenging when you do not already know the lyrics and adding the songs to my playlist was a must if I wanted to learn to play it.
