Playing and Singing
Lesson time: (3min 3sec)
KT Tunstall shares how to hold down a tricky guitar rhythm and sing over the top at the same time, using simplified open-chord shapes.
Course preview
This lesson is part of the course Learn guitar and songwriting with KT Tunstall
Watch a preview of the full course below.
Lesson transcript:
Overcoming the Challenge of Playing and Singing
Playing an instrument while singing can be a significant challenge, particularly when the rhythm is specific. Here's how to approach it effectively:
The Technique
- Open Chords:
- I often use open chords.
- For the C shape, I use just one finger.
- Avoid the bottom string and dampen the D string for a totally open C.
- This technique is quite jazzy but provides an easy way of playing C.
The Rhythm and Melody
- You need to maintain the rhythm while learning to sing simultaneously.
- This process takes practice and can feel strange at first.
Songwriting Process
- When writing a song:
- You develop the rhythm and the part.
- You'll want to overlay the melody, which may require recording separately.
Example:
I learned this approach from the "Atoms for Peace" record, one of my favorites featuring Tom York, Flea, Nigel Godrich, and Joey Waronker. They compiled various jam ideas and had to learn the completed album later, demonstrating how tracking can affect performance.
The Excitement of Challenge
- It's exhilarating to challenge yourself by writing something that you can't initially play.
- For me, the daunting feeling often precedes achievement:
- I think, "I'm never going to be able to do it."
- Yet, in just a few minutes, I adapt through muscle memory.
Analyzing the Verse
-
Lyrics Example:
- "You grew weight on your heart, but you let it out your rib cage, and it flew into the dark like a ghost."
-
I sometimes follow the vocal with my guitar without realizing it.
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This becomes apparent when I listen to recordings, revealing that I'm not playing what I thought I was.
Supporting Melody and Lyrics
- The melody and vocals should lead the way.
- Always strive to support the lyrics and enhance the melody with your playing.
About the instructor
Photo credit: Tom Oxley Since scoring a worldwide smash with her debut album 'Eye To The Telescope' in 2004, which went on to sell over 5 million copies, KT Tunstall has remained at the forefront of UK singer-songwriter talent. KT followed up that early success with the albums 'Drastic Fantastic', 'Tiger Suit' and 'Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon' in 2007, 2010 and 2013 respectively, keeping the platinum sales rolling and cementing the Scottish singer-songwriter's reputation as a major recording talent, as well as a mesmerising live artist. 2012 and the years that followed saw a seismic shift in outlook - the loss of her father, a divorce, and a relocation to Venice Beach, California. After a period of healing, soul-searching, and a change of scenery, 2016 hailed the arrival of the first of a trilogy of KT Tunstall's albums, the critically acclaimed UK top 10 album 'KIN'. The trilogy evokes, separately and in sequence, spirit, body and mind. With 'KIN' being her phoenix-from-the-ashes 'spirit' album, 2018 marked the second offering of that trilogy, the 'body' album 'WAX'. KT Tunstall has toured the world many times over. She outsold every other female artist in the UK in 2005, won the 2006 Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist, won the Ivor Novello Best Song award for her huge, self-penned hit 'Suddenly I See', and a Q award for Track of the Year. She also landed a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance with 'Black Horse and the Cherry Tree' and lent her tunes to a host of movies and TV shows ('Suddenly I See' being used in the iconic opening scene of the modern classic Meryl Streep film 'The Devil Wears Prada'). The first single from her latest release, 'The River', was named one of Rolling Stone's 'Songs You Need To Know'. The last few years have seen something of a creative rebirth for KT Tunstall. Upon relocating to the west coast of the USA, she was accepted as one of six annual fellows for the Sundance Film Institute's Composers Lab (hosted by George Lucas's Skywalker Ranch in Northern California) and has since scored music for short and feature films. She has also been awarded the Inspirational Artist gong at the Women In Music Awards and was chosen as the first ever female Grand Marshal (following the likes of Sir Sean Connery) to lead April 2018's annual New York Tartan Week parade. In May 2018 she and Mike McCready, of legendary multi-million selling Pearl Jam, released a cover of Tom Petty's huge hit single 'I Won't Back Down' with proceeds going to Pearl Jam's Vitalogy Foundation. In 2018, KT performed sold-out intimate headline shows across the UK and US and toured worldwide supporting acclaimed artists including Simple Minds, The Pretenders, and Barenaked Ladies. 2019 saw KT perform a large headline tour across the UK and Europe with her all-female band, playing festivals all over the UK (including a headline set at Glastonbury Festival). She toured the US & Canada, Japan, China, the Netherlands, Mexico and Brazil, as well as supporting Hall & Oates on their UK arena tour. Touring continued for KT in early 2020 with headline shows in the US, performing with Jools Holland across Europe, and playing New York's legendary Madison Square Garden, supporting Hall & Oates. In her Song Studies course, KT pulls back the curtain on the guitar parts and songwriting craft behind her biggest hits - a rare chance to learn how a Brit Award-winning, Grammy-nominated songwriter actually builds a song. read more