Playing guitar and singing at the same time is a lot harder than it might sound. Cracking this talent is a wonderful feeling and being able to sing while you play can even improve your guitar skills further, whether or not you want to become a lead singer!

But how do you master the talent? Here are a few tips to help you get started.

Pick Easier Songs First

Although Iron Maiden’s ‘Number of the Beast’ may be your favourite song, it isn’t necessarily the right song to start singing while playing guitar. Just like you should start playing guitar with simple songs, when you are adding singing to the mix, you want a simple song to begin with.

If you’ve been playing the guitar for a while, check if the songs you practice with have simple lyrics to follow. Try to find a song that has both a simple chord progression and simple lyrics to sing along.

Choose Songs You Are Familiar With

As well as going with songs that are relatively simple, you should also practice with songs you already know well. Even though learning to play the guitar doesn’t require you to just practice with songs you already know, singing songs you know by heart can make the process a lot smoother.

If you are familiar with the song, you gain two benefits. First, you are familiar with the tune and the rhythm. Second, you don’t need to pay as much attention to the words, as you already know them without constantly looking at them.

Listen to the Song

Once you’ve picked the song it’s a good idea to spend some time just listening to it. You want to first pay attention to the guitar and the chords used. The key thing is to find and count the beat. 4/4 beat is typically the easiest to play to and to sing with, but you don’t necessarily have to find a 4/4 beat song. Just make sure you can count the beat correctly!

Once you start understanding the chord pattern in the song, move on to listening how the lyrics and chords are combined. On what chord are you supposed to sing a specific word? Listen to the song until you feel like you master this.

Practice the Song

Before you start playing guitar and singing at the same time, you want to master the playing part first. Make sure you play the song until you find it comes naturally to you and when you stop making big mistakes.

When you have the playing under control, you can slowly start singing. Start slow, it’s OK to keep the pace moderate at the start. Once you feel comfortable with a slower rhythm, you can slowly pick up the pace.

Listen While You Play

Some people find it easier to play the guitar while listening to the song play on the background. You can play the song on Youtube, and sing and play along to it this way. Once you feel like you aren’t making any mistakes, you can turn off the background music and just continue playing and singing on your own! If you got friends or family members that like to sing, then ask them to sing the lead – this can make it easier for you to stay in rhythm.

The key is to keep it simple, progress at your own pace and to regularly practice both playing the guitar and the singing!