Tips for Playing Guitar and Singing Simultaneously

Newbie · Post by **Newbie** » Thu Feb 12, 2026 2:41 pm

I thought it would be easy to just learn a few chords and sing at the same time but anytime I start playing the guitar and sing at the same either one of two things happen I play the strumming pattern or the chords wrong or I sing the lyrics wrongly for those who are able to play guitar and sing at the same time any tips on how you are able to do that thanks

GearNerd · Post by **GearNerd** » Fri Feb 13, 2026 8:21 am

Let me put you on a super duper secret. Just practice. A lot. That’s the secret.

BluesGuy · Post by **BluesGuy** » Fri Feb 13, 2026 8:24 am

Finger memory is a real thing but takes awhile. Get the guitar on automatic, then sing.

MetalPlayer · Post by **MetalPlayer** » Fri Feb 13, 2026 8:28 am

Practice slow and try to connect the syllables of the words to the strum patterns.

UKPete24 · Post by **UKPete24** » Fri Feb 13, 2026 8:31 am

In addition to practice, do you have any other difficulty doing two things at once? I always found it tough, then I got diagnosed with and treated for ADHD. Turns out, that inability to have those two parallel trains of thought was a symptom. It still took practice, but it wasn't an uphill battle anymore.

Post by **Olly** » Sat Feb 14, 2026 9:41 am

It can seem really hard at first to do this. But like anything, the more you practice, the easier it becomes.

Start simple. Play one strum of a chord per change. Or only use simple rhythm such as only downstrums on every quarter beat.

This way you can start to forget about what you are doing on the guitar and concentrate on singing the melody. Once you start to get this then you make the chord changes and rhythm more interesting.

I do still struggle with this sometimes but only when the guitar is doing soemthing different to the melody. I just slow it down and keep working on it and the improvements come quite quickly.