While there’s no doubt that experience and practice are two of the biggest factors when it comes to guitar playing, on the flip side there are other things that the beginner can do to improve their learning.
At the same time, there are some terrible mistakes that are commonly made – all of which can really hinder their progress. As you may have gathered, today is the day we’re going to scrutinize some of these mistakes, to hopefully make the guitar learning process much easier for those who are learning the ropes.
Mistake #1 – You teach yourself to play guitar
According to the Tom Hess Guitar blog, this is the most common mistake of all. Sure, there will always be a degree of cost-cutting involved in this decision, but all in all it’s a decision that will cost you plenty of time in the long run.
There are certainly some professionals out there who are purely self-taught – but these are the exception rather than the rule. It’s the sure-fire way to promote stress and frustration and while you might receive something of an ego-boost by proclaiming to everyone that you haven’t been taught by anyone else, it’s worth asking whether or not this is really a benefit.
Mistake #2 – You receive teaching from too many sources
Let’s flip that last mistake on its head. Some people will opt to receive no teaching at all, while others will look to maximize their learning. Unfortunately, neither approach is going to be fruitful – there needs to be a happy medium.
We’re not necessarily just referring to teachers here either, but maybe even the internet and books. Try to limit your exposure to learning to just one source, as different people tend to have different ideas and it’s hard to implement them all in unison. The result of attempting to do this usually means that your progress stutters much more than someone who relies on all of his or her teaching from just one source.
Mistake #3 – You don’t know what you want to play
Picking up a guitar and proclaiming that you “want to play everything” just isn’t going to cut it for a beginner. In other words, you need to be specific.
Sure, once you master the instrument, you can proceed to play whatever you want. Up until then, it’s all about the learning process though and suffice to say, learning everything just isn’t an option right now.
Instead, you need to specialize in something – whether it’s one song, or a selection of songs which are on a similar line. If you deviate too much you will never perfect anything.
Mistake #4 – You copy the pros
This final mistake is perfectly understandable – but you need to eradicate it nevertheless. While you might read about how your favorite players practice their guitar, it’s time to shut these thoughts out of your head. Your skill level is currently far inferior and attempting to replicate their practice sessions are just going to end in failure and probably, frustration.
