5 Tips for Beginner Guitarists

When learning something new we always face plenty of new hurdles, some difficult to overcome and some are not so straightforward. So many people start learning to play the guitar without understanding exactly how difficult it is. Over my time as a guitar teacher I’ve learned about many things that students should avoid & many good habits as well as bad habits that students should think about. Here are a few of the best tips I wish I had when I first started playing guitar as well as some things I wish should become common knowledge for all beginners and advanced guitar players. 

Learn The Music You Love

Everyone has to learn the basics as well as a solid grounding of theory but when it comes to applying this theory and a wide array of techniques, I believe it’s best that we always aim to learn the music that we enjoy. This is one of the most important driving blocks when it comes to finding inspiration to practice and to just want to pick up the guitar. Some teachers will teach you the music that they love or the songs that they learned when they first started. This is just an effective way to make students stop playing or give up the guitar. You should always make sure your teacher is willing to teach you in a direction that you enjoy and are familiar with, this makes the initial learning process alot more enjoyable for everyone. 

Start On Acoustic Guitar

Regardless of the style of music you want to learn, I would always recommend learning on an acoustic first. This is great because it helps build the strength in your fingers which is really important when picking up a guitar. Students who don’t do this will find it difficult in future to cross between acoustic and electric guitar. Don’t worry if you’re into metal or rock, there are still plenty of songs that can be played on acoustic. 

Use A Metronome

If I could only pick one piece of advice, it would be this one. Always use a metronome. Playing in time is essential for any guitar player regardless of where you want to go with your playing. From playing the songs you love, to writing your own music or performing live, using a metronome is something that you should learn to use from early on in your playing journey. Players who don’t use a metronome will have problems for the rest of their lives with staying in time and speeding up their playing. 

Don’t Rush

I know you want to be able to play quickly and you want to play along with your favourite songs but you should always try to take your time when learning. Players who try to speed up without putting the time into play and practice end up not being able to record their playing because of how messy it sounds. From the first day you pick up the guitar, remember to take your time and always take a calm and collected approach to playing. You’ll thank me for this one after a few years of playing! 

Actually Learn The Basics

Don’t run before you can walk? This applies to playing guitar as well. Never skip the fundamentals of guitar playing. The things you should learn before moving on should be scales, Chords, Alternate picking, notes on the guitar and much more. If you learn all of these at the beginning then everything will fall into place later in life. I often find that the things I neglected as a beginner are the aspects of guitar that I still struggle with today & if I could go back I would make sure I didn’t neglect them before. So in short, learn the basics before you start shredding like Hendrix.

It is also worth saying that professional guitar tuition can make all the difference in a students abilitiy to develop their skills on the guitar. If you are interested in taking some guitar lessons online, then do reach out to me via Zoom Guitar Lessons, or if you just so happen to be local to Darlington, then check out my Guitar Lessons Darlington page to find out more about the in-person lessons I offer.