Today, when most people talk of being self taught, it rarely ever refers to someone who just picks up a guitar and is able to figure it all out on their own. At least when I speak of self taught it refers to someone who is learning to play the guitar without an instructor. Instead they use instruction manuals, the internet and possibly videos to help them to learn. It's self teaching because no one is showing them how to use all that information.
Now there's not a thing wrong with being taught by an instructor. It's probably the fastest way to learn because you have someone there who watches you play and can immediately assist you in doing it right. But for those of us who for whatever reasons have chosen to go at it alone, learning to play the guitar can become a long and arduous road where many give up before they are able to experience the joys of playing. What I hope to accomplish with this article is a pathway full of ideas and motivations that will hopefully help those who not only struggle with the physical aspect of learning to play but also the psychological side. In other words if you can't play very well, and you see no improvement, you will soon give up. Let me see if I can help.
Psychological things to help you succeed
1. Know that it is possible to become a good guitarist. Even a great one. Others have done it and so can you.
2. Some learn faster than others. The fact that it takes you longer to learn will mean absolutely nothing after you have successfully taught yourself the guitar. It'll just take you a little longer to get there.
3. Getting upset while trying to learn something new will be absolutely no help to you. Keep cool and keep working at it until you get it right.
4. To keep yourself motivated remember back to what first got you interested in playing the guitar. Listen to a piece of music or guitar solo that makes you say to yourself, "I've just got to learn to play that!".
Physical things to help you succeed
1. Very important. Your fingers do what your mind tells them to do. With your eyes you see how your finger(s) should move from one fret to another. And when you have that movement right you then record it to you your brain with thousands of repetitions until it is perfect.
2. And with all things go slow. If you can't do something slow then there is no way you can do it at tempo.
3. Develop a good technique. A technique is the manner in which you move up and down the fretboard, and the positioning of your hand and fingers while fretting notes and chords.
4. A metronome to help you to develop a perfect tempo
5. An organized, daily guitar practice routine that incorporates exercises that help in the development of a good technique. Practice scale patterns for the type of music you like to play. And a song book with your type of music to not only gauge your progress but to give some enjoyment to your exercise regimen.
The above are ideas that will help you with your self-teaching journey. Now lets focus next on some things that will help make your progress go a little smoother, possibly a little faster, and hopefully with a sense of accomplishment.
Problem: You encounter problems when transitioning from one position on the fretboard to another. Instead of the movement being smooth and flowing, you lose tempo along with taking a considerable amount of time getting it right.
Solution: First of all focus on the transition notes.That would be the last note you play in a certain position, and the first note of the new position. For instance you are playing on the first through fourth frets. Then from there you need to come down and play a couple of measures on the seventh and ninth frets. Make sure the first note you fret will be with the finger that will allow you to best play the notes within those measures. If the first note of that new position is the ninth fret third string, and the next note is on the seventh fret first string you would not want to use your first finger for the first note. Rather it would be more beneficial to use your third finger first which would then allow you to fret that second note with your first finger.
Daily Routine: Do dry runs to see which finger would be the best one to use for the first note of the transition. And to make for a smooth transition; look ahead! Be looking at the first note of the new position the same time you are picking the previous note. Your finger will automatically go to the fret you are looking at. Practice this very slowly until you can do it without error eventually working up to tempo.
Problem: You find yourself having trouble learning any songs. You can learn bits and pieces but you become tired of the song before you're able to play the entire piece even fairly well.
Solution: It's great to play the parts of the song that we know well, but the focus should be on the little parts that we can't play. First of all pick music that is within your skill level, but still has some level of difficulty that will help you to advance your playing skills. Focus primarily on the parts that are giving you the most problem while hardly giving a notice to the rest of the piece. By doing this you will not tire of the song so easily. Once you have become fairly competent over the difficult movements, then you can put it all together. Start off very slow, far below tempo which will allow you to perfect each movement. I recommend a guitar trainer to do this. This will slow the tempo down to a crawl while keeping the proper beat. You can also loop the difficult parts so you can continue to play it over and over again until you get it right.
Daily Routine: Incorporate practice exercises that coincide with the difficult parts of a song you are trying to learn. Take a very easy, simplistic song even if it's a single note version of "Mary Had A Little Lamb." And for a few minutes during your practice session each day play it over and over for weeks on end until it is as perfect as it can be played by anyone. This will help you develop an ear for what your version of perfect sounds like. With this awakening of your creative mind it will give you a goal to obtaining perfection for the music you really like to play.
These are a few basic ideas that should help you to not only improve your playing skills, but help you develop a library of completed songs in your mind that can be played at will any time you want. And with the ability to play other musicians music, to venture on to develop your own music.
Article By Jerry Lunsford The Self Taught Guitarist A website dedicated to the self-taught guitarist. With guitar tips, articles, helps, free lessons, and suggested gear to help you to succeed in teaching yourself to play the guitar. http://www.theselftaughtguitarist.com/ or to see my new "Guitar Practice Techniques" manual if you are looking for a practice routine that will help you develop a good technique. http://www.guitarpracticetechniques.com/
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