TEN TIPS FOR BEGINNER GUITARISTS/Common Beginner Mistakes
-Assuming that getting the notes and fingering right, is more important than the tempo/timing. Timing is equally if not more important than getting the notes right.
-Amps are for being heard over a drummer. There are few things as annoying as a beginner playing by them self, loud. A general rule of thumb is; if no one screams “crank it up”, don’t. If you’re good enough to play loud, people will tell you.
-Effect pedals are fun, don’t think they’ll actually improve your playing. When you are learning, the amp doesn’t matter either. My teacher used an old tube radio with a Y splitter for 2 guitars. As long as you can hear yourself don’t worry about having a flashy amp or pedals. Put your money into getting the best guitar you can afford.
-The general rule of thumb for buying first Guitar is, double what you think it should cost. Buying used will get you more for your money and save you breaking-in the instrument. New Guitars smell nice but unless you’re rolling in dough, buying used makes more sense.
-Trying to learn riffs at full speed. Building muscle-memory requires slow repetition. Get used to cycling riffs over and over at low speed until it becomes automatic.
-Not using the most efficient fingering. Eg. using 3 fingers to play an open D chord when it can be played with 2. Moving the whole hand when you could just move your fingers is wasted movement.
-Don’t play like a robot. Put some feeling into it, even if you’re not crazy about the piece.
-Play in front of people as often as possible. Learning to recover from a mistake in a live situation is a valuable lesson.
-Makes sure you hear every note clearly. No buzzes, mutes or trail-offs. Practice using just enough pressure to get a clear sound. Finger position within the fret is also important.
-Make sure you are holding the guitar and the pick, properly.
-Learn songs that you like and always end a practice session by playing something fun.
-Always use the lightest possible touch. Some players put way too much effort into it. Tension is your enemy, you must be fully relaxed to play.
-Thinking that playing chords/rhythm is easier than playing single string melody/lead. I learned to play lead before I could play rhythm. Playing power chords and bar chords is hard if you haven’t built up strength yet.
-Single notes, make sure to use the tip of the fingers. Curve the fingers. Don’t just lay them flat unless covering more than one string.
-If a technique doesn’t seem possible or doesn’t make sense to you, try a different approach to the problem. Ask a few different people their opinions. Show them how you are trying to play it, there might be a simple obvious solution. If you are taking lessons, your teacher should be able to suggest several alternate approaches.
TEN TIPS FOR BEGINNERS
1. Be prepared to practice. Do some stretching exercises. Relax, take a few deep breaths. Getting in the habit of stretching, reduces overuse injuries like tendinitis and back stiffness from sitting. Does your job, or hobby, involve sitting, keyboard use or repetitive tasks like chopping or grinding? Learn some hand stretching exercises. Do not squeeze rubber balls to build hand strength, they’ll cause hand cramps (putty is OK).
This is going to sound stupid but don’t forget to breathe. When your brain is overwhelmed learning several new things at once and focused intensely, we tend to hold our breath. I’ve drooled on the fret board a few times when I was learning. Don’t worry thats normal.
2. Have your practice area set up so that practicing is easy. Have a music stand, comfy chair/stool w/ no arms( standing up is fine too). Don’t put your guitar in the case when you’re not using it (if possible), have it on a guitar stand, ready to be played.
Have any audio/visual jam tapes or lessons ready to go at the press of a remote.
Videotape yourself or practice in front of a full length mirror, this helps with posture. Guitarists tend to practice sitting down but perform standing up. You should become comfortable doing both. I try to adjust the guitar strap so that the guitar is at the same height whether I’m standing or seated.
3. Get an electric tuner. Learn how to tune without it. Tune one string with the tuner, piano, pitchpipe, tuning fork, dial-tone, whatever, then tune the rest of the strings. There are several ways to tune :
You can tune to a chord (us. C or G).
There’s harmonics, at the 7th and 12th fret (eg. an in tune low E string’s 12th fret harmonic (E) will match the A strings 7th fret harmonic (E). The B strings tuned w/ low E 7th fret harmonic-(6th string,7th fret).
Lastly; tuning the low E, the fretting the 5th, (or 4rth fret, on the G string, forB), to tune the next string higher, the most common way to tune without a tuner.
Don’t use a tuner to avoid using your ears. They are a great time saving device and I couldn’t imagine playing a gig or recording without one but they can make one lazy. Don’t assume that having a tuner means you don’t have to learn to tune by ear. A Korg tuner is about $20.A chromatic tuner is best (chromatic means it tunes all notes, not only EADGBE).
4. Practice simple songs. Playing scales, and exercises get boring real fast when you don’t have a reason to practice and improve. Nobody, (except, maybe speed-metalheads) decides to learn the guitar with the intention of mainly playing scales.
Pick a very simple tune that you know inside out. Nursery rhymes, X-mas carols, TV theme songs are all perfect. The object is recognize melodies and chord changes and play them . Don’t worry about which string or fret you start on. Trying to figure out simple melodies by trial and error (we call this Noodling). Humming along really helps for some reason.
Scales are tools to teach dexterity and the relationships of notes. They can help you to play solos but shouldn’t be used as solos. Learn at least one song per week. Smoke on the Water, Wipe Out, Louie Louie, House of New Orleans are all good first songs. Sunshine of Your Love(Cream) was my first song.
5. Want to build calluses fast? Soak fingertips in salt water and practice alot! Bends, hammer-ons/hammer-offs, vibrato, and trills.
6. Tired, stressed, finding it hard to concentrate and retain info? Don’t try to learn new things when you’re tense. Also sleeping on a problem or difficult technique helps. Parts of your brain actually grow when learning an instrument, this takes time. Take 15 minutes before bed, to go over any material that you are learning. Don’t worry about playing it perfectly just go through it once. Even doing this in your head (without a guitar) helps.
7. Plan ahead. Get a beverage, ashtray (if you smoke), fan, asthma inhaler, pez dispenser, whatever creature comforts that could distract you from practicing.
8. Talk to other guitar players. Lots of people play guitar. Tell people you meet that your want to learn to play guitar better, you’ll be surprised how happy people are to share their knowledge. Jam with others every chance you get (try to pay as much attention to what the other jammers are playing, as to what you are). Don’t try to play hard songs at a jam to show off what you can do.
9. Don’t expect miracles, it takes years to develop the confidence to play with a group in front of an audience. Creating a unique style and “mastering” the instrument takes even longer.
When you begin taking lessons, you imagine a pyramid, with years of practicing and paying your dues at the bottom and being a pro or master at the top. The pyramid is actually upside down. the more you learn, the more you realize there is to learn and the more you are capable of learning. There are many styles and disciplines of guitar playing.
Nobody is master of everything, there is no single “best guitarist in the world” The players that stand out are ones that transcend genres and create their own style. Hendrix, BB King, Link Wray, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Chet Atkins and Santana all have recognizable styles. Your goal should be developing taste and style as well as technical proficiency and skill. Being a technical genius doesn’t mean a thing if your Grandma can’t recognize you when she hears you on the radio.
10. Practice visualization. When not physically playing guitar, close your eyes and imagine playing scales, songs, chords, tuning, holding the guitar correctly, hearing the strings and the relationships of notes.
When you listen to music, try counting beats and bars and listening to the chord changes. Try to break the song up into parts, the intro, the” head” or main riff, the verse, chorus, bridge ( not all songs have bridges or middle 8’s) and the outro. See if you can tell what key a song is in. Is the key major or minor?. Practice pitch training, try humming the notes of all six open guitar strings E,A,D,G,B,E.
Warm-down too, especially if you can feel your hands straining from a long session. Musicians put a lot of stress on their hands and most people don’t think about doing stretching exercises until they feel discomfort. Drink lots of water also, thats where the natural lubricant in your joints comes from. Be careful not to overstretch, do NOT squeeze rubber balls, use slow gentle movement (think tai chi or yoga).
Be aware of your posture and any hand or back discomfort and stop, if you notice anything is uncomfortable or painful to play. Try to use the lightest touch possible while still getting a clear tone (no buzzes, trail-offs)
Make sure the guitar you’re using is properly set-up (intonation, string height), preferably with light gauge strings, or nylon(if it’s a classical). Trying to learn on an instrument with high action, heavy strings or that wont stay in tune, is counter-productive.
A musician is a lot like an athlete, or an actor. A big part of what we do has to be automatic. We have to be able to tune-out distractions and perform pieces from memory or improvise. If you have trouble concentrating it’s going to effect your ability to perform (and create). The frontal lobe of a musician playing is very similar to a person meditating. There is almost no activity! Attitude and the ability to visualize techniques and passages is critical. The hippocampus, the part of the brain that controls spatial relationships and language, is considerably larger in a musician’s brain. London’s cab drivers also experience this phenomenon (maps and spatial relationships are v. important to them). Also the Medula (the nerve bundle connecting both sides of the brain to the spinal cord, is up to 30% larger in musicians. Scientists say nothing activates as many areas of the brain as playing music.
And finally, in the words of Captain Beefheart: “listen to the birds, they know all the songs”.
October 20, 2009 at 6:20 pm
This was very helpful to me. I am a beginner and I appreciate the adivice. Best regards, John