What Are Some Good Tips for Learning the Guitar?
If you are a keen music fan and love to follow a few bands, then you might have already wondered just how easy it would be for you to learn to play the guitar yourself. You will be happy to hear that, as long as you can put in the time and effort, it shouldn’t be all that difficult.
Some so many great musicians have mastered the guitar, including the likes of Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Clapton. Want to try to join them and share their talents for the guitar? If so, then read on. Here are some of the best tips that will help you to learn the guitar.
Invest in Some Essentials
Of course, you are going to need to buy a guitar to get started. There are plenty of other things that you would be well worth investing in as well. For instance, a metronome will help you get used to staying in time to the music. It’s essential to keep in time when you are playing with a band so that you all stay on time together. It’s also a good idea to buy a guitar tuner as well. There are different ones available, but a digital one should help you tune your guitar as accurately as possible.
Practice Every Single Day
You will no doubt know the saying “practice makes perfect,” and that is something that rings very true when taking guitar lessons. As well as having regular guitar lessons, you will need to do a lot of practicing in your own time. Simply turning up to the Music Lessons and not doing anything else won’t be enough. The more you practice, the more your fingers will get used to the various positions they need to be in, and the better you will arrive at the likes of reading music and keeping to the correct tempo. So, be sure to find the time to have at least two or three practicing sessions in your usual weekly schedule!
Find a Good Teacher
Even though it is possible to learn an instrument all on your own, you will find that it becomes a lot easier once you have found a guitar instructor. Rather than just going with the first guitar teacher that you see advertised, you should try to find one that has a good reputation. If you have a few friends who are already taking guitar lessons, then it is worth asking them what they think of their teachers. You should also look at online review sites to see what former students rate their old teachers as well as that, make sure that you get a few quotes from different teachers to see who can offer you the best value for money.
Learn Your Guitar Strings’ Names and Numbers
Each guitar string will have its name and number. For instance, you need to know which string is the A string, which one is the G string, and so on. The letters are the strings’ names. Strings are also numbered too, so you will need to know which one is known as the fifth string, for example. You will find that knowing all of the correct names and numbers will be a big help as it will make it a lot easier when communicating with your guitar teacher. They won’t have to spend more time than is necessarily trying to get you to play a particular string. Plus, it will be a lot easier when you are talking about playing the guitar with fellow musicians as well. One further reason why this will be advantageous is that it will help you when you are reading songbooks as some of them will tell you which strings you need to be using if there is any fingerpicking in the song you are going to play.
Focus on the Chords
You need to learn your chords. A lot of new guitar players don’t realize just how essential chords are, and they are more interested in focusing on their finger-picking skills. Even though playing chords may not be the most exciting part of being able to play the guitar, it is still something that you need to do. All of the top guitar players out there can both fingerpick and play chords, so you should be able to as well! If you struggle with your finger positioning for the chords, your guitar teacher should be able to help you get it right.
Also Read: Five Ways To Get The Most Out Of Music Lessons
Practice Standing up and Sitting Down
You might find that it is easy when you are starting to learn some chords and working on your strumming technique. If you are practicing a few times a week, then it should come very quickly. But why not try playing your guitar standing up? You might suddenly find that it is not all that easy! It’s always worth practicing both standing and sitting, as they are such different positions to play in. Even if you do hold your guitar with a shoulder strap when you are standing up, it will still be different for you to maintain and support. So, be sure to try in each position.
Be Patient
You don’t want to rush learning the guitar. If you do, then your playing won’t be as quite polished as you might have liked, and you could be somewhat rough around the edges. To become the best guitar player that you can be, you need to take your time learning the skill. So, make sure that you have plenty of patience. You should also expect there to be plenty of ups and downs as well. If you feel like you end up stuck in a rut and your skills aren’t improving, relax, and keep at it. Eventually, you’ll get to where you want to be with your guitar playing!
As long as you follow all of these great tips, you should find that it’s easy enough to learn the guitar!
