Are you a bass player that sings or a singer that plays bass?

[ArteK]

I’ve played bass since I was 18.

I tried, but struggled with, singing all my life, although I got to the point where I could sing one or two songs, then a few, in the bands I played bass in.

During a band hiatus, I decided to collect all of those songs into one project, which I fronted vocally. I called it the “opening the notebook” project. From then on, I guess I became a singer who plays bass.

At this point, I probably work harder on my singing than my bass playing. I’ve always been a “meat and potatoes” bass player, solid but not terribly artistic if you know what I mean. But I still work at improving my bass playing.

I think I got to the point where I started to get into bands because I could sing, so that has taken precedence over the more recent half of my playing experience (to call it a career is way overstating its success).

 

[theduke1]

I was singing long before I started playing bass
I sang with the young men’s choir all through grade school and through high school
I have always had strong pipes and can hold the lead very well so building harmony around me has always been easy and I also do backups as well
I regard myself as a musician who both is a singer and bassist
Duke

 

[eKay]

I’m primarily a bass player these days though it’s not my first instrument. Picked it up when I was about 19. When I was oh around 8 I was singing in the school choir, and was one of 5 or so kids chosen from the school to sing in some kind of all city choir in the Ambassador Auditorium in LA. I’ve only sung lead a few times, but not while playing bass.

I do aspire to do both at the same time! I have some idea how it’s done but like many of you I find it hard to coordinate without a lot of practice.

 

[Lizooki]

Trained voice.
True old school baritone. little higher than a bass, much lower than a tenor.
I can sing bass with some work and shifting things around a bit.
I've done choir, chorus, trio and even done some bass in quartet (loved that!).
But time, age and Sinusitus took it's toll so now I only sing when I have too.

So I'm a bass player who (begrudgingly) sings.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

I can sing and play bass. Of course singing came first .
They both seem to come naturally. But I do have to focus more on the vocals and pitch more than the bass playing . Muscle memory is key.

But I’m no Esperanza . My vocals are no where near hers nor do I play fretless.

Im more of a Debra Killings and Janice Marie Johnson ( Taste of Honey) level vocalist and bassist.

 

[Bassist4Eris]

I'm a musician whose main instrument is bass and second instrument is guitar. As for vocals, let me put it this way: mediocre musicians think I can sing, but good musicians tend to take away my mic, LOL. I sing well enough to fool non-musicians if I'm hacking away at an acoustic around the campfire, and also well enough to use my voice as a composing and transcribing tool. But I don't consider my voice pleasant, and I miss a lot of notes because I have no technique at all and choke up on certain things. As a teenager I did a lot of screaming along to bands like Slayer and Black Flag, and I think I may have permanently wrecked my vocal tone. And I have the worst difficulty keeping track of my own part in a vocal harmony while trying to play bass, although I have no trouble overdubbing harmony vocals on a recording. As a gigging bassist I have played probably 95% instrumental music in the past decade or so, but lately I've been into writing lyrics, so I guess we'll see where this goes. Some of my biggest heroes (Frank Zappa, Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, etc) can't really sing either, but they never let an insignificant detail like that stop them.

 

[Bassist4Eris]

I get asked all the time to join other bands and get compliments on my bass playing from musicians with more talent in their little finger than I have in my entire body.

Hmm... that's odd. I wonder why that is?

the ability to keep time - the one thing I can actually do pretty well as a bassist.

Ahh... mystery solved.

 

[Bunk McNulty]

Given the choice, I'd prefer to play bass and not sing. When I joined my current band, I told them I preferred to not sing. Then, at one rehearsal, I sang, and they got mad at me for not wanting to sing. So I sing. And play bass.

 

[Plectrum72]

Are you a bass player that sings or a singer that plays bass?

Yes

 

[Rib 13]

Bassist that sings.....I've been the lead vocalist or one of several lead vocalists in almost every band I've been in..... Although decent at harmonies, I'm not a great singer, but I am a very good salesman and I'm good at selling what I do vocally by implicit use of the Jedi Mind Trick......

 

[DirtDog]

I sang lead/played bass in one band for a couple of years but I voted bass player who sings. Average at both.

But two averages make an awesome, right?

 

[bobyoung53]

I am a bass player who sings when the rhythm of the bass line doesn’t impede my ability to sing the vocal line.
Many times, that relegates me to backup vocalist.

Same here, I have a decent voice and can do a good job when playing non-challenging lines but if I have to think about what I'm playing the vocals suffer so I've mainly sung back ups, it's probably laziness because when I play a complicated line and sing long enough it becomes easy. I'm much better singing with a guitar playing chords that I don't have to think about than I am playing a bass with a complicated bass line. Years ago I played fretless and sang but it was a full time half original/cover (that we all liked) band and I could play most of the songs in my sleep. Doing that is actually much easier than playing in a cover band.

 

[Brad Easley]

Howdy, Steve! I started playing bass 20+ years ago. Almost never sang in bands. In the last couple years, I've really started wanting to sing. I've done a couple open mics and one short set singing and playing acoustic guitar. I've long had this mental hang-up that playing bass and singing was nearly impossible, but recently I've noticed that when I don't think too much about it, I can sing over my bass playing much more easily than I thought. I guess somewhere along the way my bass playing became so second nature that I didn't realize I could do both. Now, I just need to figure out how to improve my singing up to a performance worthy level.

I decided to get some voice lessons. I started looking on the internet and I found someone with a singing course I believed would work for me. I bought it and started practicing.

Mind if I ask what program you purchased? I've looked at a few. Most are not cheap, but I don't mind paying premium prices for premium results. I took a couple in-person lessons locally that were helpful, but the teacher was more of a trained piano/voice teacher. I'm trying to sing stuff in the realms of blues, rock, country, & soul. Seems a lot harder to find material / teachers that can teach those kind of "pop music" styles, as opposed to classical voice.

 

[Jefenator]

I can do an entire show just playing bass, and often do.
An entire show just standing there & singing, without an instrument? I don’t think so. (I’ve done just the occasional sit-in like that and felt super awkward and naked!)
So you can guess which way I voted.
I do like to sing, though - especially backup. Vocal harmonies add so much to a group and it makes me that much more indispensable (as if doing a good job on bass wasn’t already enough).

 

[Steve Keele]

Mind if I ask what program you purchased? I've looked at a few. Most are not cheap, but I don't mind paying premium prices for premium results. I took a couple in-person lessons locally that were helpful, but the teacher was more of a trained piano/voice teacher. I'm trying to sing stuff in the realms of blues, rock, country, & soul. Seems a lot harder to find material / teachers that can teach those kind of "pop music" styles, as opposed to classical voice.

I don't mind. I bought the Ken Tamplin Vocal Academy program. I liked the way he sang. I was amazed at how many free tips he gave out on youTube. I really liked the way his students sang. So I got the course and am working through it. I've gotten compliments. People have noticed my voice improvement. You can find me singing with the guitar player here . You'll also find some earlier videos before I started the program. There is still a lot for me to learn. I wish you well in finding a program that work for you.

 

[bassdude51]

I can sing, if it is in my range, which is a very limited range. But, I can't not sing and play bass at the same time. I have a one dimensional mind that can only do one thing at a time.

At first, I felt bad about this but then I read where many other artists can't not sing and play at the same time. Such as BB King and Frank Zappa.

 

[WI Short Scaler]

I've been singing my whole life, the radio, the record player, along to my dad's band when I was kid, then as a drummer for 15 years and when I started gigging, then as a bassist.

Voted singer that plays bass.