Begin learning as young as possible and practice daily for as long as you can. Always keep clean hands with short nails on your fret hand as this will stop your fingers from slipping off the strings when fretting notes and playing chords.
Teach what you have learned to others who are less accomplished than yourself as this will help build your confidence and help you to keep on taking the next step to success. Play with others who are more accomplished than you. Add what you learn from them to your repertoire to use the next time you teach.
Always use a metronome during practice as this will teach good timing as you are learning and enable you to play alongside others. Good timing is essential and is a good habit to establish right from the start. Listen loads to a wide range of music as this will help you develop your own style. If you like other peoples stuff, don't copy it, that version is already done. Play a version of it with your own characteristics. Unless of course you are copying for a reason such as you are mimicking the original. Be open to music from other countries and other musical instruments as this will help build your guitar playing skills.
Also play alongside other musical instruments as soon as you feel confident enough to do so as this will show you how to fit into a band situation and enable you to stand in for someone else at short notice. Do not run before you can walk. Play slowly until you get the hang of a piece then change pace as necessary. If you struggle to play 60 beats per minute, then you are unlikely to be able to play 200 beats per minute well.
Always treat a practice session as a performance as this will stop you from developing bad habits which will lessen your ability to play well in the future. Play your piece with feeling and emotion as this will help others feel your music as well as hear it!!
Don't feel that you have to suppress technique in favour of emotion though; both can be delivered together to your audience. Having great technique and learning (gasp) musical theory can only enhance your ability to play with emotion. You can change or enhance the emotional delivery of a piece simply by changing the style in which it is played.
The secret to achieving anything worthwhile is to never ever give up. Progress may seem slow at times, but what you should do is have a short rest then find other people to play alongside as this will give you renewed energy and encouragement to carry on. Also, time is precious and you already have an investment here so do try to stay with it.
Your hands are you tools and you should make use of the whole of them including your little fingers and palms. Some people find it difficult to use their pinky, but using everything available to you will help you become a better player with personal experience and techniques which you can teach to others. So feel free to do your own thing some of the time. "Repetition is the mother of success" so play every day for as long as you can with regular breaks. Even if all you have the time to do is run through a few scales and chords, it is worth doing. Success happens too when preparation meets with opportunity. Believe in yourself.
Make recordings of you're playing both with others and as a soloist even if you feel there is room for improvement. Also, you can find free baking tracks on the internet which you can use to practice alongside. Please consult a search engine using your search term for this. Be sure to record new ideas when they occur to you. Keep them alive by revising them regularly making a note of each version. Play as regularly as you can to an audience of family and friends as they are likely to be the most willing to listen to you, the most honest, and are usually readily available.
Treat your instruments with respect, always keeping them clean, well polished and tuned. Place in a suitable case after each use. Try your hand at song writing and also writing instrumentals. You may find that you have a natural talent, even if you don't, you will have lots of fun looking back at your creations in years to come. If you ever play to a live audience give it everything you've got, if you make any mistakes just keep going as only your band members are likely to notice and you could put their whole sequence off by stopping and starting.
Make a big effort to play in different ways. E.g. mix up different songs with different styles genres. Play with a pick, play sometimes without. Try different styles of guitars and different kinds too, e.g. play caustic, electro acoustic and electric guitars. Try different sizes and foldable guitars which are useful for playing away. Use slides made from different materials such as glass or mettle. Try them on both open and closed strings. Use different thickness and sizes of picks. Also try them on open tuning and when playing different songs and make up your own little sequence.
All of this will help to make your playing original and captivating. While you are at the beginning of learning of your guitar playing, always place your fingers directly on the fingerboard just above the fret applying even pressure. Later on when you are more accomplished in your skill of playing the guitar you can try placing your fingers directly on the frets as this will produce different sounds and effects.
The 6th string is the thickest one also known as low E and is the one nearest the top of a set of six strings when the guitar is conventionally held by a right-handed player. When you want to hit a high note, however, you go up the fret board (toward the bottom), while lower notes are "down" toward the nut (at the top of the guitar.). This describes a typically right-handed strung /playing position. The strings are in reverse for a left handed player while the terminology remains the same.
Assuming a right-handed playing position, the string at the top as already mentioned is your 6th string and plays note E when open and is the thickest string. At the bottom is the thinnest string also E and is your 1st string. This E plays a high pitch note when played as an open string. Between the two E strings are four further strings. From the bottom up they are B,D,G,D,A. The whole set is E, B, G, D, A, E. A, G, D and A being 2nd 3rd 4th and 5th strings respectively.
A useful mnemonic for remembering this is:-
Elephants And Dogs Got Big Ears
Take the letter from each word and you have the string order from top to bottom starting with low string E. You may like to think of a pneumonic of your own for the reverse, i.e. begging with the thinnest string E.
Don't be a one trick pony, be open to other possibilities and ideas. Be willing to learn about other musical instruments. Learn other things too as this will all contribute to you being a well rounded knowledgeable person with many talents and achievements behind you. Look after your hands well, some people develop hard skin as a result of holding down the guitar strings. You should soften any rough skin with emery boards and with the use of good quality moisturisers. Finally, remember, when playing someone else's music always mix it up a little, e.g. change the tempo, play low notes where they play high ones, play it in a different key. Try adding different notes and mixing different styles together. In other words, make it your own. All of this will help you become an accomplished player in your own right with your own style. So go for it, let's get you playing.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ THIS ARTICLE BY LAURIE LINDOR FROM ELENOR CHE DIGITAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS. LOOK OUT FOR MORE SIMILAR ARTICLES IN THE NEAR FUTURE!!
For more information on learning to play the guitar visit:-
http://www.elenorchedigital.com/playguitar For further information on all of the above please call Laurie on:
Tel: 0845 021 0935 or mobile 07527 848 020.
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