| I have been playing guitar for over 14 years now. | | | | make music just as you have to speak or write |
| During that time I have been involved in numerous | | | | sentences to communicate. Make sure to start playing |
| bands as both a musician and a writer, so it is fair to | | | | songs as soon as possible, and make it a part of |
| say that music is one of my biggest passions in life. | | | | every practice. It is crucial for your success as a |
| Over the last 10 years or so I have had the privilege of | | | | guitarist. Don't worry if you are good enough to play |
| helping others learn or improve on their guitar playing. | | | | the song perfectly or not. You will never succeed until |
| Interestingly, the same major mistakes are made by | | | | you give it your best shot and improve day by day. |
| people from all backgrounds. Once they are corrected, | | | | 3. Playing By Yourself |
| their guitar playing skills improved dramatically. Here are | | | | Unfortunately, this is the way that a great many people |
| three of the biggest mistakes I have encountered | | | | practice. Maybe you are taking lessons from and |
| when teaching new students how to play. | | | | instructor, but what is your normal practice time like. If |
| 1. Not Warming Up | | | | you aren't playing along with music you are severely |
| This may not seem like a big deal but it is. Not warming | | | | limiting your progress. Take time to practice scales and |
| up can lead to injuries and limit your effectiveness. It is | | | | chords as you need to, but be sure to practice along |
| really the same as working out without stretching. I | | | | with music as often as you can. The benefits are |
| have found that it is best to lightly stretch the fingers | | | | huge. |
| and wrists before playing. After a light stretch, do | | | | For one, I know some guitarists who play just fine by |
| about 10 minutes of warm up exercises. This is a great | | | | themselves, but can't seem to jam along with others. If |
| time to practice some scales at a slow pace, or do | | | | you play with accompaniment, you learn to play in a |
| some basic string skipping exercises. A quick note: as | | | | band setting and so much more. It is far easier to learn |
| a northern Michigan boy, I have found that going to the | | | | songs, improve your soloing, perfect your timing, and |
| sink and running warm water over the hands is a | | | | come up with original riffs when you do this. The great |
| great way to loosen up cold or tight hands. | | | | part is that all you have to do is break out your cd's or |
| 2. Spending Too Much Time On Scales And Theory | | | | ipod and jam your favorite songs. If you have tab of a |
| I'm all for learning scales and how notes relate to each | | | | song that you want to learn, practice it a few times on |
| other. The problem is that too often new guitarists | | | | your own and then put on the music and play along |
| spend all their time on this. Think of scales and theory | | | | until you sound like part of the band. It is an awesome |
| as learning the words of a language. It is obviously | | | | feeling. |
| important to know, but you have to play songs to | | | | |