i'm just learning how to play guitar. i'm using the open e tuning ala early Gun Club.
i wanted to ask you experienced folks how i can go about singing & playing at the same time. any tips?

That last sentence is great advice. First you've gotta think about it a lot and then POW you wake up one day and it's second nature.

Matt said:

I learned how to sing while playing guitar using the Ramones. A song like "Rock-a-way Beach" has all the chord changes during breaks in the singing. So it allows you to do one thing at a time.

Here's the honest truth: Singing and playing guitar is like riding a bike. It takes a while to get the balance, but once you figure it out, it's easy to keep going forward.

I learned how to sing while playing guitar using the Ramones. A song like "Rock-a-way Beach" has all the chord changes during breaks in the singing. So it allows you to do one thing at a time.

Here's the honest truth: Singing and playing guitar is like riding a bike. It takes a while to get the balance, but once you figure it out, it's easy to keep going forward.

thanks ya'll. i'm going to take what you've shared and get to it. :)

Just keep going...it took me forever...but I got there in the end. All the advice so far is good advice. Practice, practice, practice...spend the time on your own perfecting it..and keep it simple.

Don't make it a bigger deal than it already is. First, you will notice that you can feel the vibrations of the guitar in your body, which should help you vocalize a bit. Now start making noise with your mouth, along with every strum or note. Try to match what you are playing on the guitar for now. Practice every day and your ability to do both will rapidly improve.

Yep, practice, that's all you've gotta do. Start by singing small parts of the songs or humming along as you play. And, funny thing, probably the first song that I learned to play and sing simultaneously was Nirvana's version of the Vaselines' song Molly's Lips from the Incesticide album.

this is probably not what you want to hear, but there is no secret.  it just takes practice, like anything else.  start simple, get comfortable with the guitar part you want to play, and then add the vocals.  you should be able to play the guitar part without thinking about it too much.  If you keep at it, it will click.  It took me a while to get the hang of it.  I think the first song I could play and sing simultaneously was About a Girl by Nirvana.  it's only two chords so it was a good one to start with.  if you set your goals to high to begin with it's easy to be discouraged.  hang in there.  you'll get it.