Learning the guitar can be a complex process, but it becomes much more manageable with some guidance and patience. Unfortunately, there are many mistakes that people make when they’re first learning to play the guitar. It can be hard to know what you should and shouldn’t do, especially with all the other advice out there. You might even feel like giving up! But don’t give up; we’ve got your back! In this post, we’ll go over some of the most common mistakes guitar players make and how you can fix them.
1. Not practicing correctly enough
This is a biggie. Make sure you’re practicing with the correct form and technique, or else none of your time spent practicing will be worth it. Learn the basics, then move forward!
- If you’re serious about learning to play the guitar, you must have a strict practice schedule. If you don’t, then it’ll be hard to get to where you want to be. You’ll probably find yourself not practicing as much as you should and not achieving the goals you set for yourself. If you practice for about an hour a day, it’ll go by faster than if you were spending five hours a day playing.
- If you’re serious about learning to play the guitar, you must have a strict practice schedule. If you don’t, then it’ll be hard to get to where you want to be. You’ll probably find yourself not practicing as much as you should and not achieving the goals you set for yourself. If you practice for about an hour a day, it’ll go by faster than if you were spending five hours a day playing.
- When you’re first learning a song, it’s tempting to speed things up and try to play at tempo (or full speed). It is not something that should be done, especially in the beginning when it’s essential to be accurate with your note choices. Try slowing things down until you can play accurately.
2. Practicing without a metronome
A metronome is a great tool to help you stay on time with your rhythm. If you’re practicing without one, all your rhythm will likely be off and very sloppy. You’ll end up playing chords and notes that don’t sound good together, and soloing won’t be as easy as it could be if you know what you’re doing. On the other hand, a metronome can be a wonderful thing, especially when you’re first starting and learning essential songs. So make sure to use one! It will help you keep beat and also improve your timing.
3. Not having a teacher or someone who can help you out when you’re stuck
You need a teacher. If you don’t know what all of the parts are, it’ll be hard to learn where they are. You need to understand what each piece is and how it’s used to play each section properly. The first thing that you should do when learning how to play the guitar is to understand its parts. When learning how to play the guitar, you’ll need to know where specific notes are on the fretboard. That’s why you must understand what each string and fret is. This knowledge will help guide your fingers when playing new songs or riffs. You must know what this note is and how it’s written if you’re learning to play by ear. You can learn guitar online with the best-rated guitar lessons on OwlRatings.
4. Trying to learn songs/barre chords before learning how to play chords
Barre chords seem to be the most challenging thing for beginners, but they’re not as hard as you might think. Once you get them down, everything else is pretty easy in comparison! Don’t spend more than 10 minutes on barre chords each day. A couple of minutes can be enough!
5. Using your fingers instead of the pick
This is an easy mistake to make when you’re just starting. Using your fingers at first can seem more natural than picking, but pick up that pick! It’s way easier to get the speed and tone you want with a choice. If it feels awkward at first, stick with it! You’ll be glad you did in the long run.
6. Buying the wrong guitar
Using inadequate equipment can make learning guitar much harder than it needs to be. Cheap guitars are hard to play, cheap effects make learning a pain, and cheap strings won’t produce clear or nice-sounding notes. Investing in good gear upfront makes a huge difference in your tone, comfortability while playing, and overall sound. There are pros and cons to pretty much every type of guitar, so it would be best for you or your kid to do some research into the different types. Then start looking for guitars that fit within your budget (and within the needs of whoever will use them).
7. Hitting the strings too hard
This is one of the most common mistakes beginners make when they’re first learning how to play the guitar. When strumming or picking, please don’t hit the strings too hard. If you’ve ever heard an electric guitar with distortion, there is a reason why it sounds so harsh and unbalanced. You might be able to get away with this when playing on an acoustic, but it’s still not ideal. Instead, go super easy on your strings! Keep your strumming precise and straightforward rather than big and sloppy. It will help you learn to play cleanly, which is necessary for sounding good!
8. Playing with too many chords at once
At first, it might seem like the best option to try and play as many notes as possible to make up for years of not playing. Unfortunately, this type of practice is one of the worst things you can do when learning to play the guitar. It would be best if you focused on getting each note clear, especially when you’re first starting. It’s better to start with two or three, then add more as you get better.
Conclusion
Patience is crucial when it comes to learning anything new, especially something like the guitar. You’ll need to spend time practicing scales, chords, and more before you can honestly say that you’ve mastered any part of the instrument.
