We will discuss the top six principles. Here are the most important things beginning guitar players need to do.
1. Practice
This may seem obvious and repetitive, but it remains the number one way for anyone to improve their guitar skills. As a beginner, you need to practice regularly if you want to learn guitar. There is no way you can learn guitar without practicing often to reinforce your skills. As a beginner, you will need to set up your practice schedule so that you get into a disciplined habit of practicing. Without clear guidelines, you may deviate from your normal practice schedule and thus lose track of what you have learned. Learning guitar is a commitment that you just have to take seriously if you ever want to make it to a professional level.
2. Stay motivated
Learning guitar is not as easy as you may think. You need to find a way to get yourself motivated so that you will persevere through the learning process. Give yourself things to look forward to, such as a song you will learn to play in the future or a live music event you will attend if you make a certain amount of progress. Set goals, and tell a friend about your goals so that they will keep you accountable. Many beginners lose their motivation when they run into difficulties while learning how to play the guitar. To avoid losing hope, you will need to embrace strategies to keep yourself motivated.
3. Focus
Another important principle is that beginners need to focus while they are practicing. It is important to remain focused while learning each of the skills necessary to play guitar. Focus involves practicing with full concentration every single time. You should try to be precise and passionate about guitar when working on a skill. Whenever practicing, be sure to shut out all sorts of distractions that might get in their way of learning. Set yourself up to practice in a room where nobody will interrupt you and where you won’t be tempted to go get a snack or surf the internet. The principle of focus is helpful in keeping a guitar player’s concentration on the music and on the instrument while practicing.
4. Listen
One aspect of learning guitar that most beginners neglect is listening. All beginners must listen to others playing. Look up some of the guitar greats and listen to their albums. Listening to a person playing live is another great way to learn from a more advanced musician. There are also many videos available on YouTube that will teach you guitar skills and styles. Listening skill is highly underrated, yet it is an essential part of your guitar learning process. Listening to others play will help you get an idea of the different styles of playing guitar out there. Listening improves your musical creativity by exposing you to many musical ideas. Beginners should also listen to themselves playing. Try recording yourself and then playing the recording back. This will help you notice areas of concern.
5. Variety in routine
Another important principle for beginners is that you should add variety to your routine. Practicing the same few drills at every session is important, because this will allow you to learn guitar skills and reinforce what you’ve already learned. However, it is important for a beginner to practice a variety of techniques. This will make your routine more fun and help you avoid boredom that could make you lose interest in practicing. To incorporate variety, try playing songs from different genres and from different eras in the history of guitar. Also, practice different styles of playing guitar.
7. Have fun
Remember that the key reason you are learning guitar is to have fun playing it. Therefore, having fun with your practice sessions is important. Do not make playing guitar into such a serious activity that the fun goes out of it. Just ensure that you have fun when playing. This makes it interesting to play guitar. Without fun, you will be bored and probably quit playing before you become a professional. These are the leading principles for beginners. It is important for beginner guitar players to practice regularly, stay motivated and focused, listen, and add variety and fun to their routine so that they can learn guitar fast. The infographic below provides additional tips that will give you an advantage in your musical journey:
Featured photo credit: Andreas Hahnl via flickr.com
