Guitarists are always expected to sing. There was this one time that I was making a girl listen to my bass playing and she asked me, “Why aren’t you singing?”.
The benefits a guitarist can reap from learning how to sing are almost necessary for them to grow in all areas of music. These practices find their rightful place even when the guitarist tries their luck in music production and especially in composing their own song.
In this article, I am going to dive deep into helping you understand all the reasons and the benefits of why guitarists need to learn to sing and what adding singing is going to help them.
The Catalog is Hard to Deny
There are tens of thousands if not millions of thousands of songs for guitarists to learn if they want to sing along with them. So, the guitar has always been seen as the kind of instrument you use if you wanted to sing along with it.
Who can deny it? Every famous musician or rockstar that ever took to the stage to wow the crowds, almost always, has a guitar in their hands while standing in front of the mic.
I tend to find that guitarists always pick up singing as they progress through their musical journey. Why wouldn’t they? The catalog is big and there are so many other different advantages to it as well.
There is also a plethora of songs that someone can learn from books, online, and by themselves if they have an ear.
To name a few of the advantages guitarists who sing get would be and not at all limited to
Recording Yourself
I think it propels guitarists to also go into the produce-it-yourself space very easily. The possibilities for someone who can record themselves at home are amazing. From recording demos to learning how to capture their voice and their guitar in the perfect way possible.
This means that if you ever had to send someone your own song you can easily do it. It also means that if you ever decide to learn music production at home you will be at an advantage because now you are fulfilling two roles instead of one. Which in today’s day and time is always welcomed.
Not to mention the fact that if you ever find another person to record with, regardless of what instruments they play, you’d be ready to seize the day.
Solo Performance
Having the ability to sing also enables guitarists to become solo performers. Which means you are as good as your practice. This also means that you don’t have to rely on someone to show up to a practice session or waiting to mess up something else.
This also means you get to practice as much as you want and make all the mistakes that you possibly can before you take to the stage.
I am a solo flier myself. Never going back.
Understanding Harmony, Rhythm, and Melody
I think that other than guitarists only pianists have this ability. The ability to understand harmony, rhythm, and melody at the same time.
Because, as you play (chords, which is harmony) in time (rhythm) and sing (melody) it will force you to develop muscle memory to play, internalize rhythm and understand melody as you are singing along with your own playing.
How would this not result in you having a deeper and more thorough understanding of how music works? It would.
Then it would go ahead and show its results in every other aspect of music other than performing as well. Like recording, producing, and even composing.
Better Producer
Being able to sing is going to allow you to produce better. How? Imagine you’re responsible for producing a song, whether it’s your own song or someone else’s.
Having the basic requirement of how singing works is going to allow you to understand how the melody is working in the context of the arrangement you’re going for.
Continuing this line of thought, allows you to have more control than before. In the context of producing that’s amazing. You’re independent in your direction and thinking, giving you more creative freedom than you ever had.
Better Composer
Just like producing, learning to sing is going to aid you in your compositions as well. Let’s be honest, you’re one way or another going to compose something with lyrics.
If you’re a guitarist then you’re probably going to want to write your own songs too. Learning to sing is going to help you sing your own songs. You can practice all you want with other songs and covers but the more you do the better you can sing for yourself.
How and Where Do You Learn to Sing?
Check this article out. It talks about how and why I believe online courses are the way to go to learn in this day and age.
But, if you want to know which course you ought to buy, then this (affiliate link) is it, it’s called ‘The Four Pillars of Singing’. I own this course and have it in my library to practice and even have had good success with it.
I have written a page just dedicated to other courses that you may be interested in so that you are able to make the choice for yourself. Check it out here.
Also, I like to keep things simple. What I mean by that is I only have one course that I rely on. I just need one point of reference to start practicing. Nothing more. Having two or more courses for the same thing, unless you know which one is going to do is going to make you have decision fatigue about which one to pursue.
Get one, then search for another when you think you’ve had your fill. In all honesty, after you’ve finished this course you’re more probable to just start working on your own compositions and more of ‘doing’ than of practicing.
My Story
For the better part of my musical journey, I had to create a solid regime to do ear training every day. Why?
Because I practiced bass every day without a teacher, I had no point of reference to actively practice melody. It was only later when I picked up playing guitar and started singing along with it that I saw myself improve in every direction.
Now, that may not be your story but the point is this, it’s always better to grow in every direction.
So, grow and never stop growing! I know you will succeed!