I don’t usually have problems with singing to whatever I’m playing, it comes quite naturally to me, even though my voice is untrained, and finding the right notes is hit and miss on most days. But I’ve tried for a while now, and I cannot seem to get the hang of singing to 16th note strumming. Something about having my hands play doubly as fast as I’m supposed to sing is confusing my brain immensely. I can also not get the hang of only tapping the normal beat in 16th note strumming, I think this might be related.
I think I might have come closest with Breakfast at Tiffany’s, where I once sang along to the chorus, but I think I muddled up the pattern while I was concentrating on singing. Idk. It’s starting to get frustrating, a little bit. Are there things I can do to train this, to help me get there? Playing along with the originals would be the only idea I have atm., but I’m very grateful for any suggestions at all.
Somebody correct me if am wrong but the vocal melody/ rhythm can be different to the guitar rhythm.
I think a Richard dealt with this in one of the Theory Q&A
As you say working with two is not easy.
Michael
You could record the guitar accompaniment by itself then practice singing over while it plays in your headphones. Then you record the vocal as a standalone track and practice playing the guitar over that. This may help combine the two tracks into a complete song.
The trick to singing while playing any tricky rhythm is to work on getting the strumming as automatic as you can. Practice the guitar separately until you can do things like talk to someone while you play it. If you have to think about what you are doing while you strum, it will make it really hard to add in vocals.
This can also be true. Singing over any rhythm- even seemingly simple ones, can be tricky depending on how the vocal melody goes. Especially if the words don’t start on beat one.
With songs like that, it is going to be even more important to really get the guitar part down so that it’s automatic. You can practice the singing separately until you are able to combine the two.
As already suggested, you need the instrument part(s) in your “muscle memory” to a point where visual distractions, and then audio, do not distract you with the song’s rhythm.
There are many ways that might work for someone learning a song, for me it is watching ‘natural world’ videography with sound muted, then with audio narrative; but each to their own on that.
I then start playing along with the song working on the cadence of the lyric by singing along; eg. with “lah, lah, lah” or “dah, dah, dah”. Most Apps have a speed control feature to slow things down; slower is not always great audio quailty but it’s a temporary means to an end.
Finger-picking and singing I find the most challenging. If practicable I will sometimes spend a little time strumming single chords to sing over, then maybe add a simple strumming pattern, before moving up to picking (flat or finger). This helps identify where the lyric fits best with chord changes. The lyrics can often lead or lag the beat.
Recording yourself, something I do not do enough, is a great tool as you pull it all together.
Hi Eva!
Some good advice above but I’d add that muted strumming while singing may help… that way you’re taking the chords out of the equation so there’s less “playing the guitar” to think about… it’s just your strumming hand & your voice. I have done this in the past with a complicated strum pattern & it helps a lot.
Step One is to learn the song’s chord changes with a simple strum pattern. NO SINGING. Step Two is to add the more complex/16th note pattern - at a reduced BPM. NO SINGING - yet. Step Three is to increase the BPM with the 16th note pattern until it’s at the “normal” BPM. Again, NO SINGING. Step Four is to mute the strings, slow down again & sing along… gradually increasing the BPM until you’re at full speed singing & strumming. Finally, add back in the chords with the fretting hand at reduced BPM until you’re confidant that it’s not going to “fall apart” as you get faster…
This method takes some time & LOTS of patience… you want to jump ahead as soon as you feel any progress at all… but when things go wrong either with the timing, strumming or singing, you feel very frustrated… give it lots of time. Also, once you get the basic song “down” without singing along, it’s probably a good idea to periodically just play the song without lyrics to keep the chord changes & sequence/song structure fresh in your mind… Good Luck!!!
We’ll get there, it is just a matter of time (and practice) 
I’ll try them all, one or the other will help eventually, I can feel it.