Music Information

How To Play Guitar Like a Pro!


Having taught the guitar for many years, I see the majority of beginners experiencing the same problems and making the same mistakes over and over again in their quest to learn how to play guitar. It's my job to steer them through these problem areas.

These "mistakes" are basic errors that most beginners naturally tend to make. But these mistakes can cause major problems if you allow them to become habits in your playing. Unfortunately, 90% of guitarists have done just that!

Avoid These 3 Mistakes Like The plague

The three main mistakes MOST people make when learning how to play guitar are:

1: Trying to play too fast too soon.

Don't be in such a rush. Trying to go too fast too soon causes serious problems. Sloppy playing and mistakes will become your trademark.

Learn to practice slowly and perfectly. The reason for this, is, what you program your brain and fingers with while practicing, is what you'll get as a habitual and subconscious end result.

The GIGO computer term describes it best. Garbage In = Garbage Out. If you program a computer with faulty data, your results will be faulty too. It's exactly the same with learning how to play guitar.

So practice everything very slowly and perfectly. Do this, and your playing will be to a higher standard than 90% of all other guitarists. Yes - even those that have been playing for years!

2: Too much body and hand tension.

Have you ever noticed how the top professionals make it all look so easy and effortless? How relaxed they are?

Take a lesson from that.

When learning how to play guitar, and in all practice sessions, you need to be as relaxed as possible at all times.

Unnecessary tension anywhere in the body when playing will stop you like a brick wall. Any "excess" tension in your fingers, hands, arms, elbows, wrists, shoulders, neck, chest, stomach, thighs, legs is extremely hazardous to learning how to play guitar properly.

Practicing the right things in the right way will give you amazing results - even if you practice only 10 - 20 minutes a day.

3: Learn the difference between practice time and noodling time.

Basically, you learn how to play guitar in two ways:- 1: when you practice, and, 2: when you noodle and try out new ideas.

Practice Time is SERIOUS Time!

It's when you are specifically and very deliberately teaching your body and brain new motor and muscle-memory skills. This is all done very slowly, with great care and meticulous attention to detail. Never practice fast.

Practice time is where you develop muscle-memory and train your body to act in the most beneficial way for playing guitar. Remember - GIGO!

This is the foundation building time.. where you lay the foundation for learning HOW to play guitar the best way you can - without imposing limitations upon yourself through bad practice habits.

Noodling Time.

Noodling Time is where you learn how to play guitar by putting into practice what you study during your practice time. It's where you to steal licks, chords and solos off records. It's where you hunch over your cd player or computer with your guitar trying to hear and learn that tricky chord or lick.

It's where good habits can easily become undone!

Better to do this... Once you learn a lick, sit down in your chair in the proper position and play that lick over and over at a slow speed while focusing on being as relaxed as possible and with absolute minimal finger movement. Program that lick, your physical movements and relaxation "perfectly" into your brain. Only when it becomes 2nd nature to you, and you "own" that lick, should you start speeding up.

But... always focus on being as relaxed as possible.

Noodling is fun, and a necessary part of learning how to play guitar. Do as much as you can. But.. don't mistake it for real practice time. Don't noodle with bad habits either.

Next... you need to ensure you are practicing the correct things in the correct way too. But that's another story.

John Bilderbeck has taught guitar for 30 years. To claim your FREE "Master the Basics" eBook course now, visit his Free Guitar Chords Site now.

  


MORE RESOURCES:

Music: It's in your head, changing your brain
CNN
By Elizabeth Landau, CNN Bassist Victor Wooten says you don't need to start with the rules of music in order to play an instrument. (CNN) -- Michael Jackson was on to something when he sang that "ABC" is "simple as "Do Re Mi." Music helps kids remember ...

and more »


Morocco hosts world music festival while imprisoning dissident artists
Washington Post
RABAT, Morocco — Morocco's glittering Mawazine international music festival wraps up this weekend with performances by Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz, after nine days of showcasing the North African kingdom's cool factor — even as dissident Moroccan ...

and more »


Zimbabwe arrests British music presenter
The Associated Press
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Organizers of a classical music festival in Zimbabwe say authorities arrested a prominent British music personality at a concert in the second city of Bulawayo. The city's Academy of Music said Saturday that Petroc Trelawny, ...

and more »


City celebrates Africa Day with dance, music
New York Daily News
New Delhi, May 26 — A night filled with mesmerising dance and music marked the Africa Day celebrations in the capital as artists from India and Africa took centrestage to commemorate 49 years of the continent's resurgence. The celebrations marked the ...

and more »


Can't stop the music rights reclamation: Willis suit draws attention in the ...
Chicago Tribune
His suit drew attention in the music legal community because it is one of the first to come to court over a provision of the Copyright Act that allows writers and artists to reclaim their works 35 years after handing over a grant to their copyright.

and more »


Music Review: Xavier Rudd - Spirit Bird
Seattle Post Intelligencer (blog)
Well, even music critics can be fans. I know that sounds like a stretch to some of you. It's cool to think critics hate music and only exist to run down your favourites or to say nasty things about people you like. Well, I can be as nasty as the next ...

and more »


AppPicker.com

Sony Brings Streaming Music Service to the IPhone
PCWorld
By Jay Alabaster, IDG News Sony on Friday released an iPhone app to access its streaming Music Unlimited service, part of its efforts to expand its online platforms to devices from rival manufacturers. The app allows users to listen to and manage ...
Sony releases app for streaming musicAppPicker.com
Sony Music Unlimited Service Comes To iOSITProPortal

all 28 news articles »


Musical couple donate talent to Habitat for Humanity in Newington
Seacoastonline.com
Brandy Irish-Gerjuoy and her husband, Leif Gerjuoy, of Dover play music for customers every Saturday at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Newington. The couple play the organ and the washboard.Rich Beauchesne/rbeauchesne@seacoastonline.com By Joey ...

and more »


New Republic

Spooky Music, Steelworkers, and American Flags: A Brief Taxonomy of the ...
New Republic
The fateful marriage between TV advertising and presidential politics that was consecrated 60 years ago with a crudely drawn black-and-white cartoon endorsing Dwight D. Eisenhower—the amateurish off-screen musical narration: “You like Ike. I like Ike.
Obama campaign taps two Michigan educators to criticize Romney class size ...The Saginaw News - MLive.com
Philadelphia Politicians Protest Romney EventABC News (blog)

all 3,569 news articles »


We Love DC

Arena Stage's 'Music Man'
Washington Post
Kate Baldwin's memorable Marian the Librarian draws us in to Arena Stage's endearingly melodic if unfortunately costumed revival of “The Music Man.” Marian Paroo (played by Kate Baldwin), left, and Amaryllis (played by Heidi Kaplan) perform a scene ...
Playhouse's 'Music Man' a square dealMerced Sun-Star
We Love Arts: The Music ManWe Love DC

all 4 news articles »

Google News

Article List | Index | Site Map
All logos, trademarks and articles on this site are property and copyright of their respective owner(s).
The comments are property of their posters, all the rest is Copyright © 2006 CanadaSEEK.com - All Rights Reserved.