Guitar tips for Beginners – Having Fun

Starting anything new can be exciting but it is necessary to set up a structure for your practice so that you will want to continue. These guitar tips for beginners will encourage you to create a fun plan that you can follow for life.

If you are not happy with the guitar you have and it seems to always be going out of tune quickly.

Check that you don’t just need new strings (about every 6 weeks if you are playing a lot or live by the ocean). Or if it’s just a dud guitar have a look at these inexpensive awesome package deals for Australia and America.

 

Getting Started

• TIP 1 – Decide where you are going to play your guitar. Somewhere that you can put your guitar on a stand, clip on the tuner, and have your pick and capo close by.
• I choose to have my practice area at the end of a table because I can also have my computer there to look up lessons and songs.
• TIP 2 – Always and I mean always, tune-up first before you start playing. Not only will you sound better for yourself but you will train your ear to hear the correct tones of each note and chord. There is nothing worse than a guitarist playing out of tune, it’s horrible and no one will tell you.
• TIP 3 – Open your practice book and get started on something fun to warm up your fingers. This might be the first 3 chords you learned in a song or that new rift you found in tabs or a pentatonic scale. Or noodle something that you’ve created in your head. Start slow and let yourself warm-up.

Creating a practice routine

• 30 minutes a day is better than 3 hours on the weekend.

 

• TIP 1 –  First 10 minutes – Warm-up. Start Easy and Fun. Put your hands together and stretch your fingers. Choose something that you enjoy learning to play. Maybe the first chords of that new song you saved in the Ultimate Guitar App or the one you are working on in the Opensong App. If you have chosen to do a course with Learn and Master Guitar or Guitar Mastery Method, then open to the next lesson and start.
• Read a review of these two amazing guitar courses.
• TIP 2 – Second 10 minutes – Challenge yourself to stretch a little each day. Learn one new chord. A new rift. Another Pentatonic shape. Your fingers will hurt a little at the beginning, don’t be discouraged this is normal and you will get calluses on each finger very quickly.
• All great guitarists started with sore fingers. Don’t keep playing when they really hurt or it will slow down the next day’s practice. Pace yourself. Learning to become a great guitarist is a journey, not a destination. One step a day and you will be surprised at how quickly your skill will build.
• TIP 3 – Third 10 minutes – Learn a song and build a song list. Many guitarists around the world cannot play one single song all the way through. Finally, commit to selecting and learning to play a song from beginning to end and then polish it regularly. You are going to want to show off your skills at some time, so prepare for that day.
• Take the time to watch this excellent video on practicing for champions

 

• That’s your practice done for the day, well done, see you tomorrow!

Staying Inspired

• TIP 1 – Use technology to your benefit. You can look up chords, tablature on melody lines, and rifts. Play along with the original of your favorite songs either on YouTube or with a backing CD. This is such an easy way to learn how to begin and end a song, learn rhythm, practice your lead, and sing along. You will sound awesome, and it will make you come back the next day to practice.
• Join a community of guitarists to chat and feel supported. Hence, check out my post on the guitargathering.com family.

Learning songs

• TIP 2 – If you plan to sing and play guitar, learn the two parts separately and then practice humming when you play and then finally sing along. Take it slowly, strum one chord, sing the line, change chord, sing the next line, etc.
• TIP 3 – I know you are going to hate me saying this but. Record yourself after a month and then at the end of every month. It doesn’t matter if you make mistakes, that is the point, this is only for you to hear yourself. Don’t be too hard in your judgment, all you are listening for are areas that you can improve.
• Maybe, you notice your strumming isn’t steady or there are still stops and starts in your scales or rifts. Decide to practice these sections at a slower pace. It’s strange but the slower you practice something, the faster it will stick and you can slowly speed up!

Create this time of learning to play, you are in control, so make it fun.

Make it a part of your life.

Enjoy the journey. 

I am always available for you to ask questions or leave a comment about this post or your own journey. I would love to hear from you. My passion is playing guitar and singing and I hope it will become a love of yours. Please leave a comment below.

LILY