I can tell you right here and now that I am no Anderson .Paak and in no way I will be taking this quest upon myself, I have tried some things very similar to playing drums and singing and I thought I’d try to guide you.
Yes, singing while playing drums is extremely hard. You will find that singing is counterintuitive to playing drums. To master this skill one would have to put in hours of practice and still would be left with the need to work out how drums and singing work, separately.
But there are a lot of things that you must consider before you go start giving this skill your time of the day. Let’s begin!
Novelty Vs. Reality?
You have to measure the pros and cons of everything. If the desired endeavor will result in something that you truly wish to do not just for yourself but also as a performing act.
The issue with these questions is that it is 100% doable, but, should you be doing it is a question that lies more in gray than either black or white.
Reality-wise, my answer was a solid no. My method of producing and composing music doesn’t need me to do this at all. Having found my speed to compose in an efficient way is more than enough and practicing something that can easily be broken down into parts (drumming and singing) doesn’t make too much sense to me.
However (as they are always there), if you are someone who performs, that is a different game altogether. Do you want to learn this skill to perform and show people that you are capable of it? Which, by the way, you should. That’s what musicianship is, it is a form of entertainment and if you can add that to your already existing skills then it’s amazing. It really is.
You will always be rewarded for mastering a hard skill. The harder and rarer the skill the more it leaves people in awe.
Why It’s Probably NOT For You
The conditions required to make drumming and singing together sound like a successful idea to others is a hard job. Because it’s not something that you can use a lot of the time. That’s the truth.
Also, you are much better rewarded with mastering a single skill, drumming or singing, individually. Rather than trying to be an exception and making it work based on the fact that no one else does it. Sometimes, just sometimes doing what others don’t is wise.
The turn side is also that not many bands are going to take you on with enthusiasm, especially if you try to replace the singer. The only time you can pull something like this off is when you are the boss man of the band and they would love to cheer you on.
There’s nothing wrong with that, but you have to realize that you can’t compose songs solely based on this as well. There aren’t many songs composed particularly like this as well. So, the time spent getting good at this is definitely well spent mastering something else or even networking with other musicians.
Please Don’t Make Things Harder For Yourself
I used to believe that I was going to change and rip the film scoring scene while I was in Berklee. I was 20 years old, had never left home, and ended up dropping out in my third semester.
That’s how glorious my film scoring career was, though I have not given up, I found where music is best kept in my life, even in terms of how I earn from it. The reason isn’t to give you negative thoughts about not doing this and scare you out of it.
The point is to make you see that even though you might think this is going to work in your favor, chances are that it won’t. It’s as simple as that. It’s also an overcomplication of something that we both know won’t pay for itself even if you did master it.
It’s like paying the lease for an expensive sports car when you are living on a daily wage. The math just doesn’t work. Also, you’d have to learn the drum part then the singing part, and then practice them together. Even pop songs these days don’t come with easy drum parts and singing lines.
When It Makes Sense
Long-term, don’t do it.
However, if you’re a hobbyist and would like to have this skill, you can, with perseverance, turn a few songs you like and arrange them yourself to suit this need of playing drums and singing together.
You’d actually have something rare and something you can do to impress your friends and family. Heck, you’d impress me! But, sadly, this is the limit of it.
Cons
Don’t take this personally, I don’t hire drummers. I just use virtual drums (they sound amazing) called Superior Drummer 3 developed by toontrack. The reality is, drums and piano are kinds of things I would not even consider paying another person because I have an abundant virtual library for them.
I have the ear to compose for them too.
So, if you were someone who came to me with this skill and told me that you can play and sing drums at the same time, a part of you is already replaceable and you need to move on with the times. It’s over.
Nobody has the time to move different pieces of drum sets to the studio and then back home. Nobody wants to set up 8 mics and make sure everything sounds good and then undo all of that and head home, much less if you want to re-record something.
You’d be putting yourself out and ever farther than the need of what the industry calls for. There is almost no demand for someone like that.
The only way you can pull it off is as I mentioned above when you’re the boss of the band and have put in the hours and are sure that you can give people a show. Otherwise, don’t waste your time.
I know there was a lot of friction from my end but it’s true. You may find me an exception but I can assure you that not everyone is in need of that.
Learning to Sing
If you’re wondering how you might also get into learning how to sing then there is a page I’ve dedicated to just that. It’s not complex and it’s definitely much cheaper than private and college classes for sure. Here it is.
The medium is online courses and I have outlined their importance here.
All the best!