Your friend Mike here from KillerGuitarTips.com with another Free Guitar Lesson
This week Id like to answer some questions I get asked quite frequently.
Very often I'm asked "Do I have good guitar playing fingers?" Or "What is the best guitar for me to learn on?" and "How should I practise?"
Well in my years of teaching guitar, I have seen probably every shape and size of hands and fingers there are, from short and stumpy to long and thin but I have not yet found anything that has prevented a pupil from learning to play successfully!! Its all about practice and practice will gain dexterity in anybody dedicated to learning to play the guitar. So don't worry about the perfect guitarists fingers just keep practicing and adjusting your hand position when you hear a muted (duff) note and slowly but surely you will become proficient enough to play all your favourite tunes easily and smoothly.
What is the best guitar to learn on?
This question revolves around money and personal choice. If it's rock music you're into then maybe consider an electric guitar to practice and learn on. If you prefer the sound of an acoustic guitar then learn on an acoustic guitar. there are no hard and fast rules. It's you that will be learning and to learn you must enjoy yourself and to enjoy yourself you need to practice on a guitar that you love the sound of either electric acoustic or classical.
the better guitar you can afford usually means they will be easier to play, in turn being easier to learn on. Try to purchase the best quality guitar you can afford as it will help with the ease of playing. If your pocket cannot stretch that far then don't panic as there are plenty of cheaper guitars that are plenty good enough for you to start out on.
An electric guitar will be easier on the hands than an acoustic so if you learn on an acoustic the transfer to an electric is a delight, vice versa and you will have to put in extra effort to hold down even the simplest of chords. Which ever your choice you will need to practice regularly to obtain good results.
Practicing.
In my own personal practice sessions I have found it better to practice for short regular periods rather than trying to do it all at once in one long session. Try to practice half an hour each day rather than one long period. You also need to bear in mind to practice the old stuff as well as new pieces in order to keep your hand in and build on what you have learned. It is also best to try to divide your practice time into sections for excercises, scales and chord work, not forgetting and not neglecting some time to play your favourite songs and pieces. try to restrain yourself from messing around with chords and ditties and construct a regular practice session and work out then stick with it!
Just another note to expand on the importance of practicing I cannot stress this enough
Learning to play the guitar is a combination of knowledge (What to play) and physical motor skills (being able to accurately and quickly move your fingers). The two together create great killer guitarists.
Repetition is essential in developing motor skills. Lots of budding guitarists give up way too soon because they struggle to play a piece and blame themselves for not being good enough when their friends stick at it and eventually succeed. One of the main differences between yourself and names like Eric Clapton is stickability. If you stick at it you too can do exactly the same!
You need to develop the necessary skills in order to play a guitar well. Here's a great little piece of advice: Try to learn in your head the passage, chord sequence or riff you want to master before you start to practice. Practice it slowly at first trying not to make mistakes. Keep at it at a slow pace until you have it nailed then slowly increase the pace until you are up to speed.
Try to practice in short periods rather than crsmming everything into one large practice session.
Remember 'repetition is the mother of skill' the more practice you can fit in the better player you will become.
There are no short cuts, no free rides, you will get out of it what you put in. It is vitally important to practice good technique and motor skills shown to you by someone who knows what they are doing, not your friend around the corner as they will probably only teach you bad habits which are very hard to get rid of. - 30404
This week Id like to answer some questions I get asked quite frequently.
Very often I'm asked "Do I have good guitar playing fingers?" Or "What is the best guitar for me to learn on?" and "How should I practise?"
Well in my years of teaching guitar, I have seen probably every shape and size of hands and fingers there are, from short and stumpy to long and thin but I have not yet found anything that has prevented a pupil from learning to play successfully!! Its all about practice and practice will gain dexterity in anybody dedicated to learning to play the guitar. So don't worry about the perfect guitarists fingers just keep practicing and adjusting your hand position when you hear a muted (duff) note and slowly but surely you will become proficient enough to play all your favourite tunes easily and smoothly.
What is the best guitar to learn on?
This question revolves around money and personal choice. If it's rock music you're into then maybe consider an electric guitar to practice and learn on. If you prefer the sound of an acoustic guitar then learn on an acoustic guitar. there are no hard and fast rules. It's you that will be learning and to learn you must enjoy yourself and to enjoy yourself you need to practice on a guitar that you love the sound of either electric acoustic or classical.
the better guitar you can afford usually means they will be easier to play, in turn being easier to learn on. Try to purchase the best quality guitar you can afford as it will help with the ease of playing. If your pocket cannot stretch that far then don't panic as there are plenty of cheaper guitars that are plenty good enough for you to start out on.
An electric guitar will be easier on the hands than an acoustic so if you learn on an acoustic the transfer to an electric is a delight, vice versa and you will have to put in extra effort to hold down even the simplest of chords. Which ever your choice you will need to practice regularly to obtain good results.
Practicing.
In my own personal practice sessions I have found it better to practice for short regular periods rather than trying to do it all at once in one long session. Try to practice half an hour each day rather than one long period. You also need to bear in mind to practice the old stuff as well as new pieces in order to keep your hand in and build on what you have learned. It is also best to try to divide your practice time into sections for excercises, scales and chord work, not forgetting and not neglecting some time to play your favourite songs and pieces. try to restrain yourself from messing around with chords and ditties and construct a regular practice session and work out then stick with it!
Just another note to expand on the importance of practicing I cannot stress this enough
Learning to play the guitar is a combination of knowledge (What to play) and physical motor skills (being able to accurately and quickly move your fingers). The two together create great killer guitarists.
Repetition is essential in developing motor skills. Lots of budding guitarists give up way too soon because they struggle to play a piece and blame themselves for not being good enough when their friends stick at it and eventually succeed. One of the main differences between yourself and names like Eric Clapton is stickability. If you stick at it you too can do exactly the same!
You need to develop the necessary skills in order to play a guitar well. Here's a great little piece of advice: Try to learn in your head the passage, chord sequence or riff you want to master before you start to practice. Practice it slowly at first trying not to make mistakes. Keep at it at a slow pace until you have it nailed then slowly increase the pace until you are up to speed.
Try to practice in short periods rather than crsmming everything into one large practice session.
Remember 'repetition is the mother of skill' the more practice you can fit in the better player you will become.
There are no short cuts, no free rides, you will get out of it what you put in. It is vitally important to practice good technique and motor skills shown to you by someone who knows what they are doing, not your friend around the corner as they will probably only teach you bad habits which are very hard to get rid of. - 30404
About the Author:
About The Author: Mike Jones is a Professional Guitar Tutor. Offering Guitar Lessons taylored to bringing the beginner through to an great player in the shortest possible time, using unique speed learning techniques developed over two decades of teaching and playing guitar as a professional. To find out more about Mikes teaching methods and receive FREE tips and tricks each week visit his website at: Learn Guitar
