The reward for learning to play the guitar is beyond words.
In this article, I am sharing with you a massive list of 52 quick guitar playing tips to help you, one for every week of a year. (Yes, I know the metronome is on there several times.)
Enjoy:
- Practice with a metronome.
- Don’t buy cheap guitars.
- Keep the humidity stable.
- Change your strings at least once every six months, once per month is better.
- Use light gauge strings unless you’re a skilled lead guitar player.
- Don’t overdo it on the pedals with an electric guitar.
- Keep a video journal to see how much you’ve improved.
- Move the guitar to your body; don’t collapse your back.
- Keep your hand, wrist, and forearm in a single line.
- Try out different voicings for different chords to get different sounds.
- When in doubt, slow it down and then speed it up gradually.
- Practice picking up and down equally.
- Never underestimate how much scales will help your dexterity and lead playing.
- Listen, listen, listen to the pros.
- Press the strings down directly behind the frets.
- Keep the action low, but not so low that it buzzes.
- Trust a music store that admits when it doesn’t know something and calls an expert.
- Keep your fretting fingers perpendicular to the fretboard.
- Always check the status of your nut and bridge. Repairs to these are critical.
- The Blues form the foundation of most modern guitar playing. Start there.
- Chuck Berry is the Father of Rock and Roll. All soloists need to learn his songs.
- It’s better to practice shorter periods for more often.
- Add an extra finger on top of your index finger for more power to bar chords.
- Give yourself a break now and then. It’s OK to miss a practice day.
- Always work in your favorite songs to your practice sessions.
- Get that metronome out for practice!
- Keep a journal nearby for when song ideas strike.
- With three chords (G-C-D), you can play many songs.
- Major chords are “happy,” minor chords are “sad, angry,” and 7 chords lead to the next chord.
- Power chords are strong and don’t use the middle note in the chord. The open feeling gives it power.
- Follow a program! Jam Play is the best one out there.
- Build your repertoire of strumming patterns and test them out with different songs.
- Use the PIMA (thumb, index, middle, and ring finger) method to help you learn beautiful fingerstyle guitar.
- Acoustic guitars use steel strings with a wood body, classical guitars have wider necks and nylon strings, electric guitars use steel strings and pickup to gather the sound and send it to an amp.
- A little bit of gripping on a pick goes a long way.
- Medium thickness picks are the best overall.
- Use thicker picks for advanced lead and solo work, specifically with electric guitars.
- When buying a guitar, always check the straightness of the neck.
- Use the side of your finger for a better press for barre chords (bar chords).
- Get. That. Metronome.
- Access the heart of the music by moving and dramatizing your playing (once you’ve got the basics down).
- Play with other people. You’ll learn quicker, be more motivated, and have a ball!
- Use the tip of the pick to strum, not the wider body of it.
- Clip-on tuners work well for getting your strings to the generally correct pitch. Now train your ear.
- When building calluses, press your fingertips on a credit card throughout the day to help encourage blood flow.
- If it hurts, stop. Take a break and figure out why.
- Learn the Blues scales to solo and improvise music a million times better.
- Always tune starting with your lowest string first.
- When playing in a band, let everyone get their turn to lead.
- Play for young kids. They’ll always think you’re a rock star, even if you’re pretty bad!
- The guitar is one of the rhythm instruments in a band. Use a metronome to keep your tempo!
- Don’t give up. It takes time!
Summary
Article Name
52 Quick Tips to Improve Your Guitar Playing
Author
Donovan Jennings