What not to Do When Playing Guitar

It seems that some guitar players are so focused on what they should be doing when playing guitar, that sometimes bad habits can creep in without them even knowing! Could you be one of these players?

When guitar players watch each other, usually they try to pick up on all the bad things that they are doing rather than the good things, I'm sure you know what I mean as you have probably found yourself judging another Guitar player just on their mistakes. This is an easy trap to fall into, and most will never realized they even fell into it! What this means is that if you want to impress other Guitar players (Especially good ones) you are going to have to go back and fix all those bad habits you may have created for yourself along the way.

The first and biggest mistake a lot of guitar players make, usually when they first start playing, is to learn a song, and try play it straight away. This usually results in the song sounding sloppy, messy and just plain bad! Whenever you learn a song, do what the pros do! Get a metronome, learn the song at half speed, or even slower! I am sure that you could play anything in the world on guitar at a snails pace! So do it, then everyday slowly increase the BPM (Beats Per Minute) on your metronome, next thing you know, you will be playing songs you thought were impossible note for note and completely clean! Nobody wants to see someone try play something they can't so just don't do it.

Another mistake a lot of beginners make is to only use 2 or 3 fingers, usually leaving out their pinky because 'It's too hard'. The only reason it is too hard is because people do not generally use the little finger separately in day to day life so the muscles are not developed enough for your brain to tell it what to do. Get all your fingers moving, even your pinky. Soon you will find that with a little practice is will soon become just as easy to use as any other finger.

Have you ever seen someone play a song, make a mistake, then stop, start again and make the same mistake? This is because they are training them selfs to make mistakes! Whenever you play a song, if you make a mistake, whatever you do, do not stop! This is the worst thing you can do, especially when first learning a song. Even if you make a complete mess of it, try to get the rhythm going and after you finish the song, go from the start. If you stop as soon as you make a mistake it can be very easy to get stuck at that point, and that is when a lot of people put the guitar down and never look at it again. Just because they didn't know they were training them selfs to make mistakes.

Don't jump ahead of your ability. You should know your own ability's on a guitar, what you can play and what you can't. Don't try play something that is far beyond your current level of playing, because you simply wont be able to do it. Instead, build up your skills slowly. I know nobody wants to hear that, but it is the tried and true way to really get good at the guitar.

The main thing you have to remember is that the rock stars you try to emulate have been playing guitar in some cases their whole life! It takes a long time to get really good at guitar no matter how you learn. But stick at it, and one day all that work will pay off.