Can you sing and play guitar (at the same time)?

Sambostar

If you can't do it then, simply put, you don't know or can't play the guitar part well enough for whatever reason or how to  play that style of guitar or are unsure how it hooks in with the rhythm.  Once you can play blindfold and have a conversation whilst doing it, it's easier, whether it's rhythm or finger picking more complicated stuff on an acoustic.

It's kind of the same as doing walking baselines whilst picking over the top with an acoustic.  I don't think some people have more of an ability as such, it's just that they've tuned into the melody and rhythm at an earlier age and are more well rounded in terms of processing the music because they approach it that way, where as for most of us (Myself included) we tend to just literally listen and process the guitar part, often in a literal and random way with no actual context behind it.

I've been concentrating on fingerpicking lead melodies whilst playing basslines and as a by product, independent singing comes easily, my singing is shit but it it is independent of the bassline and melody.  It also opens up the guitar in terms of your natural instinct when it comes to long nashville type runs and melodies around the same area of the fretboard as well, instead of thinking in a more linear and singular way when it comes to rhythm and soloing etc. 

Long way to go, but I imagine if that was your approach when you set out, instead of set piece chords, riffs and scalar solos, you would definitely have an advantage yeah.

But whether it's Blues Grass stuff, folk, country picking or complicated thrash rhythms, I pretty much think it would be the same.  But whilst thinking and playing this sort of stuff helps expand your brain, basically it's still just thousands of hours in.

BRISTOL86

I can't even do one of those things let alone do them together! 

Snap

Remember an interview I read with James Dean BRadfield where he was saying what a leap it was becoming the frontman and lead guitarist. He's pretty damned awesome as a frontman, as is that far too talented git Matt Bellamy. Admirable skills.

Yes I can play and sing to a reasonable level. Its down to knowing the song well. I could do a good attempt a Hey Joe, with all the licks and fills, and sing, but if you asked me to do something simple, that I don't know too well, it would be crap.