No products in the cart.
Before you start being overwhelmed with your new skill, it is important for you to understand some of the common mistakes beginners make, so you can easily avoid them!
Even if you’re fortunate to use the best electric guitar for beginners – this may still help you progress easier.
Top 5 Mistakes for Beginner Guitar Players
We learn from our mistakes. And if you don’t have a personal teacher to help you evaluate yourself, then you will need to read this to the end so that you know what criteria to use. Therefore, below is a list of the most common mistakes that beginner guitar players do and should most definitely avoid.
Under practicing
Practice! Practice! Practice! This is what every teacher or trainer would insist their student do. It is no different from playing guitar. As a beginner, it is important that you maximize on practicing. Set aside time to play your guitar daily (about 30 minutes to 1 hour). This will improve your memory muscle and of course mastery of techniques.
You should also practice correctly. You as a beginner should not try to jumble up new and already learned techniques. Try to start with those you already know then slowly introduce the new ones. This way, you will easily progress and advance your skills. Ensure you create a consistent routine if you really want to be good at playing the guitar. After all ‘practice makes perfect, right?
Not tuning your guitar
Any good musician will tell you that is important to use your ears when playing any instrument so that you know if it is music you are producing or just noise. This applies to playing guitar as well. As a beginner, your first step once you pick up your guitar is to tune it. I know tuning a guitar could be a bit time to consume and troublesome if you do not clearly understand how to.
But tuning is very important. Tuning will help you differentiate between the good and not so good sound. You will also be able to master the sound of each note and code. You should also learn how to tune the guitar yourself without the help of an electric tuner. Remember that you want your music to sound good, so just tune your guitar.
Playing alone and in a vacuum
This doesn’t sound like a mistake, I know. But trust me when I tell you this is one of the greatest mistakes beginner guitar players do. Let’s start with you learning to play the guitar all on your own. We all know that with the advancement in technology you can actually use different ways to learn how to play such as the internet. However, this doesn’t guarantee that you will actually know how to play well. You will need someone else to listen and correct you. A person who will help identify your mistakes and give their honest feedback.
Now let’s go to those who play alone. It is obvious that as a beginner you will be shy to play in front of others. Playing in front of others will help you gain confidence. Playing in front of others also helps you set goals. These goals will help you to grow as a player since your mind will be set on achieving them. Start by playing some easy guitar songs for your best friend or family. Slowly you will be able to play for a bigger crowd. That small compliment you will be given will surely act as a motivation for you to learn more.
Forgetting to learn music theory
Well, strumming tuning and holding the guitar is not all you need to know as a beginner. It is rather important to learn some music theories, guitar theories among others. The lessons may be boring, hard to understand and technical. This should not scare you away. If anything, learning these theories will help you understand the guitar quickly.
The classes will help you know the relationship between melody, rhythm, structure, and harmony. You will be able to synchronize these elements easily. You will also be able to create your own music rather than depending on what others have created. Aside from just playing the guitar, you will also have some good knowledge in music which is an added advantage.
Going beyond your ability
Let’s face it; you are a beginner, not a rock star. Playing too fast is not what you should be doing. Play slowly at first. You can pick up the speed gradually once you know you are playing it correctly. Do not start doing drills. You need to learn how to play songs on your guitar first before doing the drills. No matter how cool it looks, drills will not make you a better guitar player.
Impatience is the next big mistake you should avoid. Rome was not built in a day and so are your guitar skills. Not playing perfectly may pose a challenge. Repetitive lessons may also give you serious frustrations. Try looking on the brighter side. You can take your time to learn the guitar and do it very well or you could just rush and do some sloppy work. Stop rushing. Once you start learning you will eventually become good at it.
Conclusion
Knowing the above-listed mistakes, you can now evaluate yourself. See which of these mistakes you have been doing and correct them as soon as possible. If you do not correct them in good time, they will become a bad habit. Bad habits make you a poor guitar player.
Also, consider other mistakes not listed above such as, not holding your guitar correctly, avoiding bare chords and pressing on the frets. Well, remember to take it easy on yourself. Try not to be too hard on yourself, instead take it one step at a time. After all playing guitar was meant to be fun.
