A lot of people believe that learning to play the guitar is going to be fun. That is not exactly true. There is a lot of theory to learn, as well as plenty of chords that are really tricky to form when first starting out. Add to this trying to move between chords fast enough to actually play a song, and you have your work cut out for you. That being said, when you do start to master the basics, you will find the effort was well worth it, as you will be able to play your favorite songs at will. To help make the learning process even quicker, try to avoid these most common beginner mistakes:
Trying To Move Too Fast: Sorry this is a boring one I know, but you can’t try to fast forward through all the basic stuff to get to the good songs and chords, it doesn’t work. There is a certain amount of boring stuff you need to master, and if you just skim through it and move on then it will hamper you later on. So learn about scales, major and minor, learn how to read the notes and not rely completely on guitar tablature, try fingerpicking, plus memorize and practice it all, you will get to the ‘good’ stuff soon.
Getting Stuck On Barre Chords: Many beginners struggle with barre chords; they took me months to master. These chords require one finger to lie across several different strings, and they can be very difficult to start with. A good number of people simply give up when they get to this stage, as they just cannot grasp the concept, or they get too hung up on them and won’t continue learning other things at the same time.
Instead you should practice them every day, but also continue learning other things at the same time, give half your practice session to barres and half to other stuff. That will stop you getting frustrated and when you do eventually get the hang of them, then you will have a load of new skills from your other practice too.
Not Paying Attention To Rhythm: Using a metronome does not seem cool, but it is a great way to learn how to stick to a rhythm. A lot of beginners just play a song the way they think it should sound, while paying no attention to the actual rhythm. If you plan to play with a band, or with musical tracks this can pose a real problem. You may find yourself speeding up through the chorus or that you are just playing too fast overall.
Sloppy Practice: Don’t let your practice sessions get sloppy, aim for quality every time and you will progress a lot faster. Don’t try to play too fast and ignore it when you make some mistakes, instead concentrate and make sure every note and chord is perfect before you speed things up. If you do allow your practice to get sloppy then it will show through in your playing.
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