Idont know if its easy or not but i know that not many people can do this... (with a moderately hard song not one of those lvl 3s but rather a lvl 5-7 song not a masterpiece just a song ... like hOuki Boshi like in my other thread)
so what do you guys think?

Personally, I think it's hard.

Takes practice. I can only do it with easy songs, but it's much less difficult if you know the song well. So you don't have to think about the playing, just the singing itself.

Edit: Oh, I find that even if the piano part is easy, if the rhythm of the accompaniment is significantly different from the vocal line, that'll mess me up, haha.

I can only do it if the piano part is all eighth notes or siteenth notes, etc. Otherwise, although there are a few exceptions, I'll get lost. XD

I can't sing, period >< well, I can kinda sing, but it's the kind of quality that's only acceptable in the shower. However, I can "sing" along with a piece I'm playing, so long as the piano part contains the melody somewhere...

I can't even play my Aria No. 1 alone.

If I recorded it, I would need to record two separate tracks. :heh:

I'm pretty sure I could sing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" whilst playing it. Otherwise...no.

Ah I have my aural test coming up.
I find listening to it pretty hard.
Sight singing is okay but you really have to picutre the half and whole steps especially if you're goign from a high not to a low note~

singing from notes? Holy crap i can hardly sight read.

Yeah, I have to do that for choir. Its kinda hard, but once you memorize jumps like a triad in root position, a fifth, a sixth, etc. it gets easier and easier.

While playing while singing can be difficult, its really fun and easy once you can do it. Like Al said there's no other way to get there except practice. Get to know both parts. Once you can master the piano part, then putting in the vocal won't be as bad because you can focus on the vocal part (or vise versa). Personally I can sing and play at the same time without too much trouble.

eh, some people even after practicing still can't sing
Singing has a lot to do with how good your voice is~
Some people can't keep pitch for beeep ^^

check this out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUrwfs6VcAY&search=painting

personally i thinks she really talented and nevertheless ...CUTE!

so it is possibel i bet?
I can now play Houki Boshi on the piano while closing my eyes and a little singing....

how does she do that? shes singing in japanese but shes KOREAN! I cant find this info...

Was she born in Korea and then moved to JAPAN? or did she master her japanese some other way? (i cant find this so help on this questing would be nice!)

I think Alicia Keys can do that too~

I know lots of people who were born in Korea and raised in Japan ^^
It's just like how most immgrants are.

And with a name like Houki Boshi she should be japanese unless it's Korean translated~

lol her namne is younha ...

the song is Houki Boshi

oooh XD
Then maybe shes had to learn japanese to spread her fame?
Like Gackt who knows 5 different languages ^^

do you thnk shes playing the same piece as us?

I can talk while I play but never tried singing lol. Even then, I can only do it with easier songs like fur elise. Sondagger, I enby you lol.

Oh, by the way, Korean pronounciation and Japanese pernouciation is very close...I mean VERY CLOSE!. How close? My korean friend wrote his entire Japanese speech using korean characters cause he have trouble reading Japanese and the teacher didn't notice.

This is not the case for her, she has no korean accent in the way she sings. Either she practiced real hard or she's been liviing in Japan for a while lol.

man!

im chinese and trying to improve my Japanese

so far i have 3 languages japanese being my 4th !
(Mandarin, ENglish of course, Cantoneese, JAPANESE! :) )

EDITED

KatiouKudou: I'm flattered.

But seriously, let's get back on track. This topic is about singing and playing at the same time. Not some Korean chick.

Let's not get back on track. :bleh:

OFFTOPIC :

Jesus, that girl can sing too. I think the Japanise/Korean (You get what I mean) Femal voices are the best for anything.

ONTOPIC :

Yea, it's actually hard to just talk for me and play-unless I am not trying, or didn't really get into the music.

OFFTOPIC : @_@

If you have perfect pitch, 'Sight Singing' is easy (easier?) right?

Don't backsass me mister.

I just though of this. I think it kinda depends on how well you know the piano keyboard. I've been playing piano for 11 years, so I know the piano keyboard very well. Not knowing it like where is middle C, but like your hands know the distances between keys and intervals without second guessing.

Singing and playing is also a coordiation thing. Anyone who is willing to put in the time to learn and do it will be able to.

Yeah, you gotta know the keyboard well, and you need the coordination + practice. Sometimes I can feel around and know what notes I'm pressing without looking (if the song's easy enough). So in those cases, I can sing and play while closing my eyes, haha.

Ah... now it took me a little practice to sing while playing, and I started out with relatively easy songs; mostly little ditties I had written myself, and then as my own compositions got more involved and harder to play, the vocals became more interesting to sing.

However, I find that if I plan on recording something, I never sing and play at the same time, because the piano part always turns out slightly more complex and involved if I record the vocals separate. However, when I do live performances, I do have to play the piano and sing at the same time, so yeah... I end up having to make a few edits to make the accompanyment less involved.

Just start out slow, and work your way up. If you're trying to play someone else's work and sing with it (like Houki Boushi) memorize the song on the piano first. Turn off the lights in your house, or close your eyes, and be able to play it with little to no mistakes. It sounds difficult, but once you have it, the singing comes a lot easier.

ONTOPIC :

Yea, it's actually hard to just talk for me and play-unless I am not trying, or didn't really get into the music.

OFFTOPIC : @_@

If you have perfect pitch, 'Sight Singing' is easy (easier?) right?

And also, I find it easier to sing and play than talk and play. Eh... the whole of your mind is focused on the music while you sing and play. Whereas, if you're talking about monster trucks and playing a very melancholy piece, your find it very hard to keep your mind focused. XD

the offtopic eh.. >> no. Unless you're singing a part that's somewhat similar to the accompanyment. Otherwise, things can get confusing, and you find yourself sounding like a screeching cat.

I can sing and play decently well. It helps to be very familiar with playing the piece on the piano first, because that way you concentrate less on the playing and more on the singing, especially if you are doing two different rythyms between your singing and playing. (not time sigs, but just variations on the notes and feel)

i tried to sing eyes on me from final fantasy 8 whilst playing it.

yeah that was just not happening. personally i cant do it

Aw.. now never say never.

O.o I never said I'd be able to play a steel-stringed guitar without my fingers causing me to bleed to death. And here I am... still playing and not dead yet. xD

Just keep trying. Maybe start out with something simpler, or memorize the piano piece, and then work on memorizing the words to the song.
X.x that's what I forgot.

Memorize the words, as well as the accompanyment. Then focus on the pitch of the notes. If needed, just keep singing the song without the piano added, and then put the two together. ^^; It IS a hard thing to accomplish, but once you start rolling and keep singing and playing with other pieces, it becomes a LOT easier to do.

Actually, I can somwhat do it now. My teacher wants me to write a piano accomp. for the our Church Men's choir, on the song "Yesterday."

I have been listening to it over and over since. I got the words, and started to find the chords of the song, and sang along with it. Now, the notes TOTALLY OVERPOWER my voice, but it isn't actually all that hard, but then again, it's kinda just chords, with an easy (8th note) rythum (sp-idc) pattern, just like the guitar in the original. Anyway, I think I can actually sing and play though-just need to work on playing a little quietier, and projecting my voice more. x_x

Yay! ^^ Improvement is always good!

Do not worry about the notes totally overpowering your voice. >> If the piano has a eh... oh, I forget what the pedal is called, but it's always the far left pedal (if the piano HAS more than one pedal), and it makes the music softer. aiO.o I find it extremely convenient to have one on my piano at home, especially considering I can get carried away when I play, and I end up screaming vocals out. xD Or if you have a keyboard, work on playing on it with that first, and just turn down the volume. >> might help. If you have a deep/well-developed chest voice, move the song down an octave (if it's too high to sing in your chest voice), which would help project the voice better, or if you're using your headvoice (which I do not recommend trying to overproject) remember: lots of air, lots of support, and if you feel like you're straining yourself too much, take a breather, and get a drink. Or gargle with salt water. >> or Sprite. For some reason, sprite works extremely well for me when gargled. xD

now. My teacher wants me to write a piano accomp. for the our Church Men's choir, on the song "Yesterday."

I have been listening to it over and over since. I got the words, and started to find the chords of the song, and sang along with it. Now, the notes TOTALLY OVERPOWER my voice, but it isn't actually all that hard, but then again, it's kinda just chords, with an easy (8th note) rythum (sp-idc) pattern, just like the guitar in the original.

Haha. Same thing with me. Only when the rhythm is all the same is when I can do it. Actually, I practice that song a lot on guitar and vocals. XD And almost every MCR song. I tried "Whole Lotta Love" on the guitar and vocals yesterday... it was awful, it sounded like the guitar was stuttering or something. LoL. :heh:

Back to singing and piano...

O.o I had no clue he was speaking of a punk rock song. MCR as in... My Chemical Romance, or am I totally off base?
@.@ and I was under the impression that Yesterday was a song written by The Used? (o.o they do have a song called Yesterday that is rather slow and uh.. pretty).

O.o I had no clue he was speaking of a punk rock song. MCR as in... My Chemical Romance, or am I totally off base?
@.@ and I was under the impression that Yesterday was a song written by The Used? (o.o they do have a song called Yesterday that is rather slow and uh.. pretty).

Yeah, I'm reffering to My Chemical Romance. And we're talking about "Yesterday" by the Beatles. It's practically a classic. ;)

Yea, I tried that pedal (again) and tried singing in a better range and keeping it at that, and worked. I'll record myself sometime and post it.

hmm i think that singing and playing at the same time isnt all that hard .. especially if the song is written or composed by you .. for me, any song can by sung and play at the same time provided that i like that song ... if you tell me to sing gospel with piano accompanyment, ill be like o.O .. yepyep ...
haha and i have sung eyes on me with piano accompanyment before last time .. it was ok but not considered complete because i didnt follow the original score, all i did was vary the way i played the chords and add a few personal touches to the song ..

Yeah, I'm reffering to My Chemical Romance. And we're talking about "Yesterday" by the Beatles. It's practically a classic. ;)
Ah... xD I didn't know which one you were referring to. Going from oldschool to the eh.. punkish stuff kinda threw me off.

Sumrscent, you sound just like me. XD even if you didn't know the original score, you could probably still play that version you made for a concert. Just play with confidence. O.o pretend that EVERYTHING YOU PLAY IS RIGHT. and no one can say otherwise. XD that's what I do, and it works. Quite well, actually.

And yay Maestro!! good work. x3 I'd love to hear it.

I usually like to make sure that I know the song well enough before I try to sing along with it while playing, because it's quite difficult. I often find that I end up concentrating more on getting the piano keys right. I do find that the piano is quite useful for finding the right pitch I'm looking for if I'm having trouble, though.

And lately, I've been trying to learn Ode to Joy, so I use the piano and my vocals for that, but of course, that's kind of an easy song to play. I've tried to sing and play on the violin at the same time lately as well, especially since I've been working really hard on trying to learn Yasashii Yoake from .hack//SIGN.

singing from notes? Holy crap i can hardly sight read.

Actualy, it isnt. My old music teachers old student got into a glee club for a major major college by taking her tip.

If the notes go up a lot, raise your singing note up a lot. If it goes up a littl,e go up a little. Other then that, know your sharps and flats.

The glee club sings for the pope every christmas, if that tells how good they are.

NOW I can Finally play Houki Boshi with MY EYES CLOSED +++++++++++++
singing at the same time in my 4th language (Japanese although i havent mastered it yet).!

listening to her is great...the song is awsome i have one or 2 of Younha's cds but houki boshi is still number 1!

But like some said... the rythm is different therefore the singing and the piano chords sometimes contradict,...thats the hard part... and another bad part of singing houki boshi is that you have to modify parts of the song to "match" the Younha's houki boshi

I cant sing, my friend once told me I sounded like a dying frog.

Narumi

Your friend has a great sense of humour ^^;

I cant sing, my friend once told me I sounded like a dying frog.

No worries, I sound like a constipated horse.

Marlon, got any good "Across The Universe" arrangements for Piano and Vioce? I don't care if this is really the right section, but it has to do with playing the piano and singing, and I really want to try this out with that fantastic song. ^_^

I have a terrible voice, but I can play while playing the piano. Problem is, if I can't here what I'm singing I get distracted and start making mistakes on the Piano. So with practice and a microphone I can see myself playing and singing at the same time. I would really wish I had a better voice, though. >_<

Marlon, got any good "Across The Universe" arrangements for Piano and Vioce? I don't care if this is really the right section, but it has to do with playing the piano and singing, and I really want to try this out with that fantastic song. ^_^

Yup, yup, Across the Universe is a great piece. Actually, I've been transcribing it for piano with arpeggios and stuff, but for now since I'm not completely done yet, this is all I have:

----------------------------------

Across the Universe

D Bm F#m
Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup,
Em7 A A7
They slither while they pass, they slip away Across the Universe.
D Bm F#m
Pools of sorrow, waves of joy are drifting through my opened mind,
Em7 Gm
Possessing and caressing me.


D A7sus4
Jai Guru Deva Om...
A7
Nothing's gonna change my world
G D
Nothing's gonna change my world
A7
Nothing's gonna change my world
G D
Nothing's gonna change my world


D Bm F#m Em7
Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes
A A7
They call me on and on across the Universe.
D Bm F#m
Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letterbox
Em7 A A7
They tumble blindly as they make their way across the Universe.


D A7sus4
Jai Guru De Va Om...
A7
Nothing's gonna change my world
G D
Nothing's gonna change my world
A7
Nothing's gonna change my world
G D
Nothing's gonna change my world


D Bm F#m
Sounds of laughter, shades of earth are ringing through my opened ears
Em7 Gm
Inciting and inviting me.
D Bm F#m Em7
Limitless, undying love which shines around me like a million suns
A A7
And calls me on and on across the Universe.


D A7sus4
Jai Guru Deva Om
A7
Nothing's gonna change my world
G D
Nothing's gonna change my world
A7
Nothing's gonna change my world
G D
Nothing's gonna change my world


D
Jai Guru Deva... (Repeat)

----------------------------------

Just the chords pretty much. And here's the intro and first verse (from my arrangement, since it's all I have):

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b55/moonlight_gem/acrosstheuniversejustsofar-page1.jpg
I'll be sure to send you the finished arrangement. ;)

Anyways, if this is being off-topic, then sorry. :heh: Let's get back on...

EDIT: Whoopsie~! That image came out tiny, LoL. I'll send you the PDF some other way. :sweat:

Hey, good start, and just PM me then if this would become a little forum-concious of other peoples and mods/admins.

I'll be sure to try that out. :P

Ooh ~ be sure to post it in the recordings thread when you're done ^^;

Bosco,
Ah, the joys. XD Never say you have a terrible voice. Me? I currently have a sore throat from singing too much. I sound like a deep-voiced guy who got punched in the stomach currently. We all have our quirks and think our vocals suck at one time or another. xD 'Tis apart of being a musician, and the fact that you can go back and reflect and think "Wow. That sucked." is just a good thing. It means you can do better. ;P
I never practice with a microphone. O.o Microphones are bad for me. Try singing without the microphone, and if you can't hear your vocals, just project. Don't PUSH, project. Play the piano a bit softer. You kind of have to listen to your playing with one ear, and your singing with another. It takes practice. =3

Jhnboyman,
Yay! I congratulate you on being able to play with about as much eyesight as Ray Charles, and still sound good! x3 That's hard to do. And a rough rhythm eh? Go slowly through playing and singing parts of it at the same time. Then start picking up the pace a bit as you get better at it. Soon, you really won't have to think about playing and singing at the same time with that piece. It'll eventually just become natural; the odd way the rhythm flows will get to seem normal. ^^

personally i like the piano to be a solo instrument,, so i dont sing while playing. While playing the guitar, i can sing while playing just the chords, no difficult stuff. But i dont think its possible to play your instrument for 100% and sing like WOOOWW at the same time.

But i dont think its possible to play your instrument for 100% and sing like WOOOWW at the same time.

I personally agree with you. While there are exceptions, that's probably the reason I decided to be just a vocalist and not one of those singer/guitarist dudes, since you can't put in 100% into both instruments. x_x

As said to singing where from.

I guess when I was sight Reading some of the Phantom of the Opera stuff, and also singing the vocal parts, it actually seems like I LITERALLY sing from the heart, but the wind is coming from the diaphram.. thanks to band I guess. :P

I might be able to get some PTO stuff down and record them for you guys-I actually don't have a bad voice, it's pleasing I think. :heh:

I should start learning how to sing. Being able to play professional standards and can't sing worth jack, it is a bit embarassing if you think about it. Especially when people ask you to go Kareoke.

Plus, it would be awsome if I could play and sing the songs I wrote. I'd be a one man performer!

okay after a few months of practice i can finally sing houki boshi with piano =)

I can sing/play "Music of the Night." I can also do the first part of "Bohemian Rhapsody."

I find it much harder to sing while playing chords with a piano than a guitar... :)

even though both are chords...and im better at piano than guitar... hmmmm.....

I think it is hard.....Only one i can do is, Popeye the Sailor man.

But its hard, because there are so many things goinh on.

1. Right hand

2. Left hand

3. Reading(sometimes)

4. Pedal(sometimes)

I remember singing while I was playing the drums. :\ My teacher said I was very good.

My sister can sing whilst playing the piano (not just chords but melody and bass) and i sing along sometimes...but nothing serious like phantom of the opera, just canto pop...hehe....We can be so loud sometimes...playing even at midnight...

come to think of it, our neighbours are quite tolerant! ^.^"

I play in the middle of the night too! My neighbors have commented on hearing me, but luckily they haven't complained yet.

I'm getting better as singing and playing the piano, because I have to do it for choir class when I have to play the parts and sing them (especially on this men's ensemble piece for two choirs, one with three parts and one with four, because the other guy singing my part can't read music at all, and has a really hard time picking out his pitch. I only play the four part choir, btw).