A lot of the guitarists I particularly admire are player / singers – and not just the more obvious choices like James Hetfield and Kurt Cobain but the musicians I consider to be unsung heroes of the field – Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World, Dustin Kensrue of Thrice, Jerry Cantrell and CCR man John Fogerty. It feels like both the most under-appreciated skill, while also seeming incredibly challenging to outsiders. But as with anything on guitar, it's about a process and building up muscle memory.
The Gibson Gazette has reminded us of that with its latest feature video from the Gibson App – a learning resource for iOS and Android that's full of great lessons, including specific classic songs taught by artists.
Gibson artist (and excellent teacher as it turns out) Celisse's tutorial is part of a new songwriting lesson series on the Gibson App and by her own admission playing and singing is "a subject that eludes many people", but thankfully her introductory lesson makes is approachable and logical.
Celisse uses the example of her own song freedom and breaks down the vocal and guitar chords separately – this building block approach allows us to focus on rhythm while not getting overwhelmed. She actually starts with the vocal part, and no playing – making sure you know that before moving on to adding some simple chord strums.
"Don't try to put these things together until you feel super confident at what you're doing," Celisse advises. You need to know the two parts well before you can consider combining them.
Check out the full lesson and above and more Gibson content at the Gibson Gazette. I also wrote a simple 9-step guide to how to start playing and singing guitar drawing on my own experiences – including some good songs to start out with.
