Do you have a wish of learning how to play the guitar? If you are a beginner then it may look tough. But with the correct technique, basic theory and few tips beginners can kickstart their experience. Read along to become aware of few guitar tips for beginners that each beginner must get under his belt while learning guitar. My advice? Check this out:
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Contents
- 1 1. Have Patience In Learning Guitar
- 2 2. Maintain A Balance Between Theoretical And Practical Practicing
- 3 3. Start With The Open Guitar Chords
- 4 4. Begin To Practice Scales Early
- 5 5. Set Your Own Comfortable Pace
- 6 6. Listen And Learn From More Skilled Players
- 7 7. Be Open To Various Styles And Music Genres
- 8 8. Use A Metronome
- 9 9. Practice Your Fingers And Fretboard Knowledge
- 10 10. Practice Standing Up And Sitting Down
- 11 Conclusion
1. Have Patience In Learning Guitar
Everyone wishes to quickly learn guitar. But it needs patience along with perseverance. You may want to learn solos. However you need to realize that if you hurry the learning process, there will be huge chances that bad habits and frustration will appear. If you wish to learn guitar be committed for the long run. You will see that your potential as a guitar player is growing in proportions and smoothly. Consistent practicing is essential. So remember that to become a good guitar player (either a good acoustic guitar player or good electric guitar players) you do not need to keep practicing for long hours daily. If you do it properly then even 20 minutes practicing for 4-5 days weekly will assure you to quickly progress.
2. Maintain A Balance Between Theoretical And Practical Practicing
If you wish to play the guitar, then you must have not be only aware of the technique but also have proper knowledge about the theory. As a beginner it will be perfect for you if you try focusing on both practical and theoretical aspects separately. Then later you can gradually mix them once you become more comfortable with this concept.
- Practical knowledge: You just need to put, move and exercise your fingers; be it the basic guitar moves like fingering a specific chord or the advanced ones such as sweep picking, slapping, etc. Keep repeating them as such practice is the core. Try exercising your moves or rhythm without your guitar by tapping your fingers on a table and keeping steady rhythm. It will aid you in keeping a strong rhythm sense.
- Theoretical knowledge: You need to fous on the common objective of music as well ad the key mechanics in which it functions and also written down. The theoretical knowledge will give you the background skill required for playing the guitar with proper consciousness and ease. You need to master the basics as it is the essence of learning to play the guitar. The sole feeling of applying something that you’ve just learned is very rewarding and gives you a great boost to move on with even more optimism. Try practicing with a bassist as it will be beneficial when you wish to explore new rhythms and signatures. Once you grasp the time concept in music and become capable of implementing it in your guitar playing, you will come up with many exciting and groovy combinations.
3. Start With The Open Guitar Chords
One of the first things that you will want to master are the basic beginner guitar chords – also called open chords. Open chords require no fingering and are the easiest types of chords to learn.
I will assume you already know how to hold the guitar, so we will jump straight into playing them. The easiest way to remember open chord shapes is by committing them to memory. If you are really having difficulty with that, there are many websites and books out there that can help you with the basics.
4. Begin To Practice Scales Early
The main thing with beginner guitar scales is that you need to synchronize several fingers one time always. It may be challenging mostly if you are a beginner. If you begin with scales, you need to think of a finger at once. Later when you will be doing chords, you will be aware of the certain positions as chords are known to be scales’ snippets. Thus you will be learning and executing chords quickly if you are having knowledge about few scales before. So if you have interest in rock music, begin with the minor pentatonic scale. It can be learnt easily and when you will be learning few solos on classic rock you will be aware of the shapes. As a beginner if you are familiar with it, it will be a great thing.
5. Set Your Own Comfortable Pace
You must remember that you will be having enough time to learn to play the guitar. Nothing will be coming easily and you should not force anything. You need to focus and play slowly. For example you can play at 50 {0794a961920d97099aea99cac5a861228867c4461e5cf936a4873e99fb4a0da6} of the tempo of a song and loop that part repeatedly. Do not feel rushed. Stay focuses on a single goal rather than different ones. You cannot play your favorite song without being aware of all the notes. So become aware of where every notes are and pick a few chords too. Some songs can be played using same chords. Practice them and you will automatically be playing a number of well-known songs very fast. It will not only be wonderful for further playing, but you will also feel great to be able to play so many different guitar songs within a short span of time. It will definitely boost your self-confidence. Once you are able to grasp the basic of guitar playing, you will see that other things have started to fall into place very easily and fast. You will know your strength, but also never be afraid to try playing anything more complex every time you are comfortable with your mastered techniques.
6. Listen And Learn From More Skilled Players
If you’re not careful, you’ll end up sounding like your favorite rock guitarist. You may never be as good as your hero, but why not learn from the best? Listening to recordings of great guitarists will help you develop a better ear and teach you new techniques for your own style and skill level.
7. Be Open To Various Styles And Music Genres
Various music genres include various playing styles and unique approaches to music. You may have your favorite music genre. The perfect way to broaden your music knowledge is by hearing as many various genres possible. Each type of music will offer something different. Be it occult or technical sounds offered by death metal or calm and psychedelic sounds of jazz, it is amazing what numerous people are able to come up using the very same musical instrument. If you explore more genres it will let you broaden your scope because you will be able to learn much only from listening. So make sure you do not focus on a single type of technique. A great guitarist will have a good deal of versatility and will be able to adjust his playing to any incident.
8. Use A Metronome
A metronome is a device that provides a regular beat. In music, this helps you to stay on the right tempo and keep in time. You can find a free metronome app for you phone or mp3 player or use your regular phone as one. If you have a drum machine, you can actually set the click to play along with it. The click is essential for developing good timing and help you to avoid speeding up or slowing down.
When you get more experienced with playing guitar, you may not need a metronome any longer (but I recommend you still use one even when you are experienced!), but when just starting out, it’s really a big help and makes it easier to develop a good sense of time.
9. Practice Your Fingers And Fretboard Knowledge
It is important to know where all of the notes are on your guitar fret board as well as know which fingers should be playing which strings when playing chords and scales. The best way to learn is to simply play around with scales and chords. Use tabs to guitar practice them and get your fingers move where they should be.
Good guitar exercises to to learn the fretboard are for example:
Start with a simple C major scale for plucked string lead guitar all over the neck and as you go up and down, try to memorize every note on the fretboard. This way you will know what finger should be on what guitar string and where it is.
Practice your pentatonic scales as well, these are really important scales for beginners to learn. Practice them one at a time in different octaves until you can jam them out perfectly.
Do this for all the scales and chords you know, even if you don’t know them yet, it’s important to practice them. It will make you more comfortable with the fretboard.
10. Practice Standing Up And Sitting Down
When you are just starting out, your muscles, tendons and ligaments are not used to the strain of standing up while playing. There’s a good chance that you will feel a lot of discomfort when doing so. This is especially true if you plan on practicing for long hours at a time. It is therefore recommended that you practice standing up for at least half an hour and then switch back to sitting down after this time period has elapsed in order to give your body a rest.
Conclusion
Regardless of how hopeless you feel when you are unable to play any specific riff or a solo, guitar lesson, try relaxing. Go back to these guitar tips and give it a try again. Never give up as your each effort will pay off in the end. Keep all the above mentioned tips in your mind and let your skill level improve when you start to learn playing guitar.