How to Accompany Yourself on the Guitar

Singers who are accompanied by other musicians, may find that when the moment comes to accompany themselves, it is more challenging than it looks. However, if you know your basic guitar chords, you play and sing at the same time.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Use a metronome. As you concentrate on doing two things at once, you may lose your rhythm. Let the metronome keep the beat for you. Set it to the rhythm you want, and play the song you've selected on the guitar without singing. Repeat several times until you have the song down. Begin with simple guitar strumming or plucking styles. As accompanying yourself becomes easier, you can increase the complexity of your playing.

2. Hum the lyric line while playing the guitar. As you hum along, you may find parts of the guitar line that you want to simplify or elaborate.

3. Sing the words once you feel the guitar line is just right and you are comfortable humming the line. Lift your head and look forward so that your voice projects outward. It is a common mistake for a guitar player to look at his hands while playing and singing.

4. Once you've synchronized your playing and singing, concentrate on perfecting the vocals. Record yourself to see if your voice is keeping pace with your playing.