Singing Posture While Playing Guitar?
The first things a performer worries about when trying to sing and play guitar at the same time is if they can build up the dexterity to do both at the same time.
But, there is another issue beyond that, that often really hurts a performers vocal tone once they can do both at the same time.
The guitar itself!
The postion of the instrument on the singers body and the effect it has on the singers breath and posture while singing can often hamper the singers voice before the first note is sung.
Here are some things to avoid while playing guitar and singing at the same time:
1. Tucking the chin into the chest so you can look at the fretboard. This effectively cuts off a good portion of your voice. The head should be straight up and forward. Learn to play the part either without looking or with the fretting hand bring the fretboard up to the head more, so you can glance down without dipping the chin.
2. A concave chest and or slouching forward. The chest/sternum should be up and out and the shoulders relaxed and hanging freely. This allows the rib cage to expand to take air in and the voice to be supported properly. If the chest drops the voice is weak and may even break into falsetto.
3. Laying a heavy instrument directly over the abdomen. Some guitars weigh 15 pounds or more. Having one of these bricks on your belly is like singing and doing abdominal resistance exercises at the same time. They can literally suck the breath out of your singing. This can be especially problematic if you are somewhat round in the mid section. Try to adopt a stance that puts the instrument body a little to the side of the abdomen not dead center. For passages where you need a lot of air you can even lift the instrument off your belly a bit as you play.
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