5 Things You Need To Know As A Beginner Guitarist
So you've got your guitar.
You're excited, and you're ready to go.
Nothing can stop you.
This time you WILL do it and you will go all the way...
But the question remains: How fast can you learn? It's not difficult at all to learn how to play the guitar.
It's doesn't require that much effort to pluck strings, compared to, say, blowing through a brass instrument or playing the drums.
Nor is it expensive to own, like a piano.
It's light and portable, and a hobby that you can take almost anywhere.
Guitar lessons and teachers are also very easy to find.
It has a versatile range of possible sounds, from the adrenaline inducing sound of an electric guitar solo to the soft melodies of the classical acoustic guitar.
Whole genres of music are defined mainly by the sound of its guitars.
From the bass, the classical acoustic, to the electric guitar, there is a common set of motions.
Once you've got the hang of it, you may play whatever kind of music you want and you will learn at blinding speeds.
Even if playing as a hobby is your goal, it will develop you as a person, and even, they say, as a lover! Even so, many beginners end up losing interest and never attain proficiency above a few simple chords or specific songs.
Why is that? Read on to know how to keep yourself from being discouraged and lose out on one of the most fulfilling of life experiences.
1.
Turn Your Enthusiasm Into Practice! Many beginners take up guitar lessons with big hopes, and try to rush through to the prize at the end.
This very rarely works.
The best way to learn guitar skills is to take it slow.
Some people go overboard and buy expensive high-end instruments at the start, that end up gathering dust as their enthusiasm wavers.
The music is in the person, not the quality of instrument, although if you have both you will achieve a greater sound.
If you're planning on trying to learn by yourself or take up guitar lessons, then it's important to keep things simple and don't over-extend yourself.
Don't end up returning your guitar because you find it hurts your fingers, that's because you haven't built up the calluses yet and tried to do too much too soon.
The feeling of excitement and inspiration is what brings musicians back time and time again to love and play their instrument.
When you get this feeling, do some practice, but don't just play scales from a book.
Play something that will move you and make you fall even more in love with your guitar.
That way you won't be able to help yourself next time you walk past it.
2.
Keep Your Eye on Incremental Improvements One of the surest way to increase the difficulty of learning, sap enthusiasm, and suffer discouragement, is to have unrealistic expectations.
Even the greats such as Hendrix and Santana had to practice, and no talent blossoms into full mastery as soon as you touch a guitar.
It's good to have an end goal and to have an ambition, but by thinking only on small immediate goals, you will be able to judge just how well you are improving.
Don't try to compare yourself yet with those who have already had years of practice.
Set your own personal objectives, and week after week you'll see just how much your own abilities have changed for the better.
If ever you feel frustrated and think that it's too difficult to learn how to play the guitar well, break that problem down into smaller tasks - and remember - if you practice enough you will become an incredible guitarist who can put goosebumps on peoples skills.
Even the simplest song, played right, can do this.
You don't have to be a technical master to do so.
3.
Familiarize Yourself Well With Your Instrument Knowing all the parts of your guitar, how to replace and tune strings, and perhaps even a bit of music theory and the history of your instrument will help maintain your interest.
When you're tired of practicing or are stuck in a rut, learn something else guitar related.
Whether you are self-teaching or being tutored, it's important to know the terms and how to maintain your instrument.
Get into the habit of cleaning and protecting your guitar from damage.
Get used to its weight and how it affects your posture.
It's also useful to build up the instinct with the hand positions and fingers over the chords.
You can keep silently practicing even while doing something else like watching TV or relaxing at home.
Enthusiasm is good, but making your practice a part of your daily routine helps even more.
4.
It's Going to Be Slightly Painful and Annoying As noted before, playing guitar might hurt your fingers slightly.
Specially if you had gone and bought a steel-string guitar from the start, your tender fingertips would complain.
It is certainly not unusual, since every repetitive motion that hasn't been ingrained yet tends to pain your soft tissues.
As children, it hurt to learn how to write, it hurt to exercise, and typing on keyboards can lead to strained tendons.
After a while, you'll build up the calluses and muscle memory to make it feel effortless.
Only if you keep at doing it though.
Don't give up just because of little things like that.
Some of the best things in life can only be bought with time and a little bit of pain.
The pain of boredom and the frustration of being stuck at learning something must also be overcome.
Unrealistic expectations about self-improvement also deals with negative thinking.
It's just as bad to think anything about it is impossible, and any difficulty in learning the guitar will eventually resolve itself.
Just keep practicing.
5.
Learning With Other People Helps a Lot Tutors are helpful for learning guitar in a structured manner, but learning by yourself has the advantage of being able to do so at your own pace and relatively cheaply.
However, trying to go at it alone means you must make sure to practice daily and find the lessons appropriate to your level.
It is entirely up to you to maintain the level of enthusiasm and energy needed for improvement.
However, the thing about learning to play the guitar, is that there is always someone out there who is also trying to do the same thing or has done so recently enough that they still remember how it really feels to struggle at it.
Use the Internet, or your circle of friends and acquaintances, to find other people with the same needs.
Dry books and downloaded information can only go so far.
Not only does it help to provide a reasonable point of comparison about how fast you're improving, learning with your peers gives you motivation to improve at all levels.
Beginners tend to get stuck at different places, and you can each help another in how you've managed to force through those learning blocks.
Not to mention that other beginners may also share your other interests, lead you to other fun projects, and of course enjoying time with friends is its own reward.
You're excited, and you're ready to go.
Nothing can stop you.
This time you WILL do it and you will go all the way...
But the question remains: How fast can you learn? It's not difficult at all to learn how to play the guitar.
It's doesn't require that much effort to pluck strings, compared to, say, blowing through a brass instrument or playing the drums.
Nor is it expensive to own, like a piano.
It's light and portable, and a hobby that you can take almost anywhere.
Guitar lessons and teachers are also very easy to find.
It has a versatile range of possible sounds, from the adrenaline inducing sound of an electric guitar solo to the soft melodies of the classical acoustic guitar.
Whole genres of music are defined mainly by the sound of its guitars.
From the bass, the classical acoustic, to the electric guitar, there is a common set of motions.
Once you've got the hang of it, you may play whatever kind of music you want and you will learn at blinding speeds.
Even if playing as a hobby is your goal, it will develop you as a person, and even, they say, as a lover! Even so, many beginners end up losing interest and never attain proficiency above a few simple chords or specific songs.
Why is that? Read on to know how to keep yourself from being discouraged and lose out on one of the most fulfilling of life experiences.
1.
Turn Your Enthusiasm Into Practice! Many beginners take up guitar lessons with big hopes, and try to rush through to the prize at the end.
This very rarely works.
The best way to learn guitar skills is to take it slow.
Some people go overboard and buy expensive high-end instruments at the start, that end up gathering dust as their enthusiasm wavers.
The music is in the person, not the quality of instrument, although if you have both you will achieve a greater sound.
If you're planning on trying to learn by yourself or take up guitar lessons, then it's important to keep things simple and don't over-extend yourself.
Don't end up returning your guitar because you find it hurts your fingers, that's because you haven't built up the calluses yet and tried to do too much too soon.
The feeling of excitement and inspiration is what brings musicians back time and time again to love and play their instrument.
When you get this feeling, do some practice, but don't just play scales from a book.
Play something that will move you and make you fall even more in love with your guitar.
That way you won't be able to help yourself next time you walk past it.
2.
Keep Your Eye on Incremental Improvements One of the surest way to increase the difficulty of learning, sap enthusiasm, and suffer discouragement, is to have unrealistic expectations.
Even the greats such as Hendrix and Santana had to practice, and no talent blossoms into full mastery as soon as you touch a guitar.
It's good to have an end goal and to have an ambition, but by thinking only on small immediate goals, you will be able to judge just how well you are improving.
Don't try to compare yourself yet with those who have already had years of practice.
Set your own personal objectives, and week after week you'll see just how much your own abilities have changed for the better.
If ever you feel frustrated and think that it's too difficult to learn how to play the guitar well, break that problem down into smaller tasks - and remember - if you practice enough you will become an incredible guitarist who can put goosebumps on peoples skills.
Even the simplest song, played right, can do this.
You don't have to be a technical master to do so.
3.
Familiarize Yourself Well With Your Instrument Knowing all the parts of your guitar, how to replace and tune strings, and perhaps even a bit of music theory and the history of your instrument will help maintain your interest.
When you're tired of practicing or are stuck in a rut, learn something else guitar related.
Whether you are self-teaching or being tutored, it's important to know the terms and how to maintain your instrument.
Get into the habit of cleaning and protecting your guitar from damage.
Get used to its weight and how it affects your posture.
It's also useful to build up the instinct with the hand positions and fingers over the chords.
You can keep silently practicing even while doing something else like watching TV or relaxing at home.
Enthusiasm is good, but making your practice a part of your daily routine helps even more.
4.
It's Going to Be Slightly Painful and Annoying As noted before, playing guitar might hurt your fingers slightly.
Specially if you had gone and bought a steel-string guitar from the start, your tender fingertips would complain.
It is certainly not unusual, since every repetitive motion that hasn't been ingrained yet tends to pain your soft tissues.
As children, it hurt to learn how to write, it hurt to exercise, and typing on keyboards can lead to strained tendons.
After a while, you'll build up the calluses and muscle memory to make it feel effortless.
Only if you keep at doing it though.
Don't give up just because of little things like that.
Some of the best things in life can only be bought with time and a little bit of pain.
The pain of boredom and the frustration of being stuck at learning something must also be overcome.
Unrealistic expectations about self-improvement also deals with negative thinking.
It's just as bad to think anything about it is impossible, and any difficulty in learning the guitar will eventually resolve itself.
Just keep practicing.
5.
Learning With Other People Helps a Lot Tutors are helpful for learning guitar in a structured manner, but learning by yourself has the advantage of being able to do so at your own pace and relatively cheaply.
However, trying to go at it alone means you must make sure to practice daily and find the lessons appropriate to your level.
It is entirely up to you to maintain the level of enthusiasm and energy needed for improvement.
However, the thing about learning to play the guitar, is that there is always someone out there who is also trying to do the same thing or has done so recently enough that they still remember how it really feels to struggle at it.
Use the Internet, or your circle of friends and acquaintances, to find other people with the same needs.
Dry books and downloaded information can only go so far.
Not only does it help to provide a reasonable point of comparison about how fast you're improving, learning with your peers gives you motivation to improve at all levels.
Beginners tend to get stuck at different places, and you can each help another in how you've managed to force through those learning blocks.
Not to mention that other beginners may also share your other interests, lead you to other fun projects, and of course enjoying time with friends is its own reward.
