If you are playing, you should know the hacks. Yes, it is true that nothing will replace hard work, but it’s always good to keep some tricks in hand to avoid any non-productive guitar play, to get away with usual guitar tech issues and skip some boring sessions. Most of us start to learn the guitar for fun, but where do you start? Here are some tips which you can refer if you are on the verge of beginning your guitar lessons.

Don’t spend too much:

Yes, don’t think of spending a fortune on your first guitar. Get a cheap one to start with. For your sessions try to get it borrowed from a friend or family member. If not try to get beginners acoustic guitar under $250. Start learning chords, play some songs and I would say “ Earn an expensive one!”

Pinkie turns your secret weapon in learning guitar

Yes, it is the lightest portion of your hand, but if you aim it good and start bonding with enough care it will be your best ally. You can turn this under-developed finger to a strong pinkie, which in turn help you with some top shredding skills.

Extend the life of your strings

Keep your strings neat and wipe it down always after a long session. Residues, piled up on your strings might negatively affect the quality as well as the life of your guitar’s strings.

Play along with recorded versions

Yes, this a great hack which always helps. Let it be singing or playing the guitar, listening to the recorded versions and playing along with it, always help as studio edited tracks carry perfect tones.

Out of tune? DIY!

Yes, you don’t want to run down to your neighborhood music store every time your guitar goes out of tune to learn to tune it accurately and quickly. If possible, invest in a good guitar tuner and make it a worthwhile investment. There are some cheap ways to tune it using Android or iOS apps. Once you become a pro you won’t need any of these tuners but in your beginning sessions, it’s always good to carry one.

Master the skill of holding your Pick!

Want to learn guitar, be comfortable with holding your pick first. You might think why a pick when I have my thumb. It might be easier at the start, but using a thumb is a terrible habit. If you want to be a guitarist learn to play it with a pick and your fingers. (Not the thumbs).

Practice smarter!

Yes, while learning to play the guitar, practice in a smart way. It is always tempting to practice in your comfort zone, but if you learn to practice in most stressful conditions, you can easily play anywhere. Try practicing in different moods and States of mind. If you are a pro, you never know what conditions you will have to play under. Try playing when you are least motivated, angry or tired. This is a good way of mastering the skill.

Learn the theory!

This is a big mistake most beginners make. Always learn to read music. This helps in many ways, allowing you to keep playing if you slip out of your memory, especially when you are on stage. It also gives you room for improvising!

Don’t strum too hard.

Some other big mistake beginners make is to keep strumming too hard on your instrument. Yes, there’s nothing wrong in strumming too hard for the right song, but don’t hit it hard when you need softer too.

Tip: relax your arms and keep strumming to a cheesy song. I bet you will get in the mood of relaxed and chill strumming!

Final and the most important Hack!

Never give up! It will certainly make a difference. It’s normal to start at an incredibly slow pace but don’t give up as most people do in this phase. For every instrument there is a definite learning curve and so is the same with learning guitar as well.

 As my most favorite guitarist quoted,

“ If you want music to be your livelihood, then play, play, play and play! And eventually, you will get to where you want to be.” – Eddie Van Halen.

 

Most guitar learners are always willing to go the extra mile to make their playing skills perfect. Nonetheless, a few things frustrate them and slow down their learning progress. Likewise, some things are personally making you feel frustrated, and you are almost quitting. Do not give up! The fact is that you should comprehend the most common drawbacks that may be pulling you behind and figure out ideal solutions. Understanding the following factors that affect guitar playing efficiency is essential in helping you become a better guitarist. They are some of the things that hurt your progress.

Your sitting Posture

The sitting posture that you take while playing your guitar is very vital in ensuring you feel comfortable and can play for a long time. If your sitting posture is not right, you will get uncomfortable and tired even before you hit an hour of practice. How you are currently sitting and reading this article is ideally more or less the perfect posture you should have when playing your guitar. Nevertheless, some of us have a terrible posture while sitting down, and this further deteriorates when we are playing the guitar.

Let us now talk about how to sit down in a good posture that does not hurt our backs. Ideally, the correct sitting posture is sitting with your chest slightly sticking outwards. You are likely to experience more discomforts when you overdo it. Pushing your chest outward too far may cause you to arch your lower back.

Finger Pain

The most regular kind of pain that often happens to guitarists, especially beginners, is finger pain. Fingertips will hurt because you are hitting and rubbing them against steel strings. The friction force that occurs from sliding around on the strings causes the skin on the fingertips to peel away. That results in severe soreness. That is a major hurdle and makes beginners want to quit. However, this is not an issue for beginners only. Even after playing guitar for months, your fingertips and finger joints may still hurt from applying too much pressure on the strings. It is imperative to check out your technique and know how to use the least amount of force.  You can get a nice and clear sound by striking the strings near the fret wire towards the sound hole. If possible, learn to place your fingers in the middle of the fret.

Stress and anxiety

In the present world, things get tough every day in all aspects of life. Consequently, we get stressed and anxious, trying to look for solutions. Leaning guitar when stressed or anxious will do you no good. Ultimately, you will feel like you wasted time because you will rarely get results. Playing guitar and learning how to play it are things that require a stable mind altogether.

Learning from Different Sources

Many beginners believe that they will gain progress faster if they learn from more sources. Currently, you can learn online from tutorial videos, an online and live class, among other sources. The truth is that accumulating guitar playing knowledge from many different sources will often cripple your efficiency. It is crucial to note that every learning strategy is customized into phases meant for every learning step. There is a flow from one stage to another that should be followed to the later for effective learning and playing. If you jump into every learning material you get, you may be in a different step altogether. That means you will be struggling to play, say for instance level 10 while you are actually at level 2. Get a guitar teacher who will understand the learning step you are currently in, and you will get a customized learning strategy.

Over the years, the music industry has witnessed tremendous changes. The industry is competitive and very hard to penetrate to the top for people with inferior and inadequate skills. Consequently, musicians are working hard every day to stand out among their colleagues. Likewise, guitar beginners who want to join the music industry should aim at becoming the best. One should have awesome skills and differentiating character traits. This article outlines some essential qualities of renowned guitarists that guitar students should emulate in their journey to greatness.

Be Passionate

It is without a doubt that famous musicians say that successful guitarists are slaves to their music. That implies they are willing to eat, breathe, and sleep with their guitar. As a guitar student, you have to truly love what you do since it is the only way to become successful. It is imperative to note that successful guitarists are not driven by money. The driving force is usually their passion for music. For instance, Joan Baez, a singer, songwriter and musician were solely driven by passion. Remarkably, she performed publicly for over 55 years in a successful music career driven by passion. Without passion, you will even curtail your learning.

Be Hardworking

The journey to stardom requires long hours of practice. It is not practical to become a pro guitarist in a fortnight. The celebrated guitarist took hours of effort to gain their envied status. That means that they worked very hard to acquire skills for different notches and chords. They had to practice for long hours, day, nights, weekends, and simply making sacrifices to make more time for their music. Johnny Cash, one of the most renowned guitarists in history is known for his hard work as far as guitar learning is concerned. Despite growing in hard times of extreme poverty, he started learning to play the guitar at 12. He used to practice for over 10 hours in a day to get all the fine touches on his guitar. As they say, hard work pays! In his 50-year career, he was able to release 96 albums.

Be Persistent

There is naturally nothing more important for beginners to be persistent in learning new concepts. In the path towards greatness, it is inevitable to experience failures, disappointments, and changes that will discourage you. Nonetheless, sometimes it is always prudent to keep your dreams alive. Elvis Presley is today one of the most famous musicians and guitarist in households around the globe. He was a truck driver before he started learning how to play the guitar. After a period of learning, he felt sufficient for public performance. Unfortunately, he was fired after his first performance and was told to return to truck driving. Nevertheless, he was persistent in his music dreams and soldiered on to become one of the best musicians the world has to date.

Be Jovial and Enjoy Everyday Practice

Every day present learners a new opportunity for learning. Practice will be more enjoyable when you put on a smile, even with prevailing challenges. Missing your practice is like embarking on a suicide mission. Do not that every time you miss practice draws you back a step behind. Even more, someone else (most likely your future competitor) is utilizing that time to become better. We cannot obviously talk about famous guitarists and fail to mention Jimmy Hendrix. He always smiled while playing his guitar. He enjoyed everyday training that made him what he became.

If you are enthusiastic about having and playing the guitar, it is prudent to have some guitar accessories. Nowadays, most guitar sellers go out of their way to advise buyers about the accessories they should have for their guitars. It is essential to ensure that you get the accessories along with the instrument. Some accessories are must-have items that beginners cannot do without while others are just gadgets to make guitar playing easier and enjoyable. In this article, we want to highlight five crucial guitar accessories that every guitarist should have.

 Picks

Sometimes, beginners may feel as if their fingertips are eaten away due to playing the guitar. Even though that may be the case, one can change the situation by purchasing a few picks. Typically, thin picks are the most ideal. Thin picks help in effective strumming. Nevertheless, it is also crucial to get a couple of picks with medium thickness. Such picks are better for practicing playing any note. It is in order to buy several picks and keep them for future use. Picks are small and may get misplaced easily. This implies that you should have more picks, just in case.

Extra Strings

It is wise to have extra strings, especially if you are a beginner and have not learned to strum softly. Mostly, beginners often get their guitar strings broken. Guitarists who play in a band also face the same challenge. It is worth noting the different brands of types of guitar strings. In addition, one should also understand the different gauges in relation to the strings on the guitar. In case you are not sure what gauge is on the instrument, there is no problem if you check with the manufacturer.

Strap Locks

Some people like playing the guitar while standing while others prefer to play while seated. Whichever the case, you need to use straps. It is essentially paramount to buy some strap locks if you have a strap on your guitar. Strap locks range from cheap plastic discs to metallic catches that may cost relatively high. It is not surprising to see many beginners who fail to use strap locks often drop their guitar on the floor. Strap locks are cheap and there is no justifiable excuse of not having them.

Capo

Capo is a device that is placed on the guitar neck to change the pitch of the open strings. One may use a capo to change the key of a song. Experienced guitarists recommend that a capo can enable a beginner to play along songs with hard chords. A capo also helps you to change the key of a song quickly.

Guitar String Cutter/String Winder

From time to time, you will need to change the strings of your guitar. When the strings are longer, you can wrap them around the tuning pegs. Nonetheless, if the strings become longer than you would prefer them to be, you can resort to cutting them off. In this case, you will need a string cutter to snip off the extra parts of the strings.

Whether you are buying a guitar for the first or tenth time, shopping time always tends to be exciting. Some people are excited that they get out of their initial plan and end up buying the wrong guitar. That should not happen because the power of choosing the right things lie in us. When buying a new guitar, one should carry out research about the best fit for him or her. Definitely, that should be before going into the market. Even more, personal preference should prevail. Below are some fundamental factors that one should consider before getting a new guitar.

Price of the Guitar

Even if your bank account if full to the brim, which is not always the case for many, the price of an item should be considered before purchasing. In fact, the very first thing a guitar buyer should have to ask himself or herself is how much they want to spend. Figuring this out by having a budget limit saves a lot of time when searching for the right guitar. Generally, the average price of a guitar in most music shops is between $50 and $50. The price may vary depending on the brand, material, quality, accessories, and other factors.

Avoid big brands; as a beginner

There is no justification that a beginner can give wanting to purchase an expensive Fender, Taylor or Gibson brand. You have not even learned how to play the guitar! Our recommendation for the beginners who want to buy a guitar is that they should avoid big brands. It would be best to ignore everything except for how it feels when you play it, how it sounds, and if you like it. Do not get us wrong. Top brands are obviously expensive. Nevertheless, do you need an expensive guitar when you are a beginner? You will be upgrading to a bigger and better guitar in no time.

The kind of music you are into

When buying a guitar, it is prudent to stop for a second and think about the kind of music you are into. Are you metal head or a country boy? Maybe you love jazz, or you want to play like Slash. Perhaps, you may just want to strum along to your favorite song. You may need a nylon string classical guitar if you want to play like Slash. On the other hand, you may want to pick an acoustic or an electric guitar. Making the choice of the guitar to buy comes with preference and most importantly, the kind of music you want to play.

Age of the guitarist

The age of the person who will be playing the guitar plays a big role in what guitar on should buy. Notably, most young guitarist dream of sounding like the 1980s era rock music. That reflects on the kinds of guitars they are interested in buying. After a few years, most young people change their taste in music. In other words, there is a category of guitar that you will avoid if you are young. The same applies to older people who will also avoid guitars deemed to be in the category of young guitarists.

When buying a guitar, always pick the best fit for you. Choose a versatile instrument and play music with a smile on your face.  You do not want to play your guitar with regrets of making a wrong purchase decision, do you?

Perhaps, one of your major resolutions for the New Year is learning how to play the guitar. Nonetheless, you are at crossroads on whether or not to join guitar lessons. Undoubtedly, you may know quite a few guitarists who have taken lessons to become the best. In contrast, several among the best guitarists may have not taken lessons. Even so, they may play with a similar ability. However, taking guitar lessons helps you gain competence within a short period. Without formal training, playing the guitar may become hard especially for most beginners. Below are reasons why you should register for guitar lessons this New Year.

You Get a Good Foundation

Some people believe that you can learn the basics of playing the guitar by looking at books. This may be true, but rare. Nevertheless, you will not get tactile learning. In a guitar lesson, an instructor will start you off on the right foot by demonstrating proper techniques. This helps you get a good foundation without falling into insufficient techniques that may inhibit gaining the best skills. The instructor will show you how to adjust the straps, placing your fingers and how to strike various chords.

You Get Instant Gratification and Feedback

It is evidently clear that a book or a video will not tell you how you are doing. If you are in a guitar lesson, an instructor can give you instant valuable information, praise, and suggestions for improvement. Consequently, that will help you get rid of blocks in your learning that you would affect your learning. You will enjoy gradual improvement, which is healthy when gaining guitar-playing skills. Besides, it is great to have an instructor as your audience.

Lessons Will Keep You Going

It is only human to let go some things when you hit a snag. Additionally, it is tempting to quit when learning does not turn out to be what you were expecting. Learning guitar is no exception to things that may piss you off, particularly when you feel like you are not making any improvement. When taking guitar lessons, this may change. You are responsible for advancing yourself in the eyes of your instructor. In addition, you will want a return on your investment after putting your hard-earned money down for lessons. This makes you want to keep on going even when the going gets tough.

You Will Benefit From Rational and Continued Progression

Regardless of how good an instruction book or video may be to a learner, there is always an end. In a one-on-one learning process, a good guitar instructor will seamlessly take you to each new level of learning and playing. The instructor will also help you connect concepts more quickly and easily than a book or a video ever could. You will easily grasp the skills of chord progressions and learn how to hit different notes.

It is essential to join a guitar lesson this New Year if you want to become a revolutionary guitar player. If you want more information about registering with us, feel free to contact us.