As long as you develop the right habits from the beginning and stick to practicing, it won't be a problem no matter what style or piece you want to play. Conversely, you will soon find yourself stagnating, making it difficult to improve. Therefore, you need to learn good habits and efficient practice methods. Understand comfortable playing techniques, master basic skills while doing some interesting exercises, cultivate exquisite playing techniques, and make practicing guitar a daily habit.
Method 1: Learn Comfortable Playing Techniques
1. Find a comfortable chair that allows you to operate the guitar well. As long as it allows you to sit up straight, a footstool, a bar stool, or a chair with a hard backrest will do. You can easily find special guitar footstools in music stores, and you can buy one if you're interested. But a regular kitchen chair is also completely sufficient.
• Do not use chairs with armrests. Because they take up more space, they can hinder you from holding the guitar properly, leading to bad habits. Also, avoid sofas or bean bags that you sink into. After all, maintaining the correct posture is the first step to building a solid foundation.
2. Hold the guitar correctly. If you are right-handed, your right hand should be placed between the sound hole and the bridge of the guitar, while your left hand grips the neck.
• Use your abdomen and chest to support the guitar, placing it on the leg that is on the same side as your strumming hand, with the thinner strings on the bottom and the thicker ones on top, and the headstock angled up at about 45 degrees.
• Your left thumb should be at the back, while the other four fingers grip the neck from the front. Use your thigh and right elbow to stabilize the guitar, ensuring that your left hand can move freely on the neck. If you have to use your left hand to hold the guitar, it means your posture is incorrect.
3. Tune your guitar. Always tune your guitar before practicing. Practicing with an out-of-tune guitar is not only frustrating but also ineffective. Therefore, tuning as quickly as possible is one of the essential courses in your guitar learning journey. It makes practicing guitar smoother and more enjoyable.
• Use a tuner to tune your guitar. If it's an acoustic guitar, place the tuner close to the sound hole. If it's an electric guitar, connect it to the tuner with a cable. The tuner will show whether each string is too high or too low, and you just need to adjust it using the corresponding tuning peg. Many electronic tuners indicate that the pitch is correct when the display turns green.
• Tune using the principle of resonance. Press the fifth fret of the low E string (the sixth string from the bottom), which produces an A note, and it should match the open A string (the fifth string). The closer the pitches of the two strings are, the more vigorously the other string will vibrate when you pluck one. Adjust the A string by listening and watching. Similarly, the fifth fret of the A string matches the open D string (the fourth string). The G string (the third string) is an exception; you need to press its fourth fret to adjust the pitch of the B string (the second string). Since the E string has a deviation, this method cannot give you absolute pitch accuracy, but it is acceptable for practice because the relative pitches between the strings are correct.
• Use an online tuner. You can find the correct pitch for each string online and adjust while listening.
4. Hold the pick correctly. The pick, also known as a plectrum, can be a challenge for beginners. To master the correct and comfortable playing technique, you first need to hold the pick properly.
• Use your dominant hand (the hand you write with) to hold the pick, with your thumb on top and your index finger underneath, while the other fingers naturally curve. Your palm should be parallel to your abdomen, and the tip of the pick should point towards you.
• The part of the pick that extends beyond your fingers should not exceed two centimeters. Holding it too far back can cause it to slip and lead to bad habits. To learn strumming well, ensure that the exposed part of the pick is not too much.
Method 2: Basic Practice
1. Practice playing chords. Practice the correct finger positioning for chords, ensuring that the sound produced is clear and avoiding strumming the wrong strings. Repeat until the chord sounds even, without any individual notes being too loud or too soft. Then practice transitioning between chords, ensuring the transitions are natural and smooth.
• Start with first position chords. These chords are located from the first fret to the third fret and usually include many open strings. With a few basic first position chords, you can play most pop, country, and rock music.
• Common first position chords for beginners include G, D, Am, C, E, A, and F chords.
2. Practice barre chords. Barre chords involve using one finger to press down multiple strings simultaneously. You can play a G chord in the first position or use your index finger to barre the third fret. Barre chords can be a hurdle for beginners because it's not easy to get all the strings to sound, but they are widely used in rock and punk music.
3. Practice keeping time. Keeping time is often one of the most overlooked aspects by aspiring guitarists. While it's great to be able to play "Black Dog" at lightning speed, can you slow it down and play it with feeling? Following the beat means you need to play each note individually, not just the ones you can play. Therefore, developing a good sense of rhythm will help you play the guitar better.
4. Practice scales. If you are taking guitar lessons, your teacher should provide you with scale exercises. But if you are self-taught, you will need to find these scales to practice on your own. You can choose books from Mel Bay Publishing and some other resources that have helped many guitar learners over the years. You can also search online for sheet music and exercises.
• Try practicing various pentatonic scales. The pentatonic scale consists of five notes and is suitable for guitarists learning commonly used rock modes. It is also known as the blues scale and forms the basis of many musical genres.
• Learning different scales and modes is a great way to improve your playing level, allowing your fingers to move freely across the guitar. However, it may not be the most interesting practice. You can choose a scale and try to create a solo piece. Once you have a solid foundation, you can play these scales with different rhythms, making the music in your hands swing.
5. Learn some songs to enrich your practice. You can select some songs you like from sheet music or songs you've heard, breaking each song into different sections. Try to learn each section completely, rather than just learning a fragment or chord transition. Then connect each section you have divided from start to finish. This will train your patience in playing and also teach you some composition knowledge.
• For beginners, folk and country music are the easiest to learn. Try playing Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" with chords; it's both fun and simple. Other easy songs include "Tom Dooley," "Long Black Veil," or "Mary Had a Little Lamb." You can also choose some children's songs to learn, which generally won't exceed the chords G, C, and D.
• Intermediate players can choose songs with uncommon chords or rhythms to challenge different styles. To embark on your musical exploration, learn styles you haven't tried before. If you like classical music, try Nirvana's "Lithium." The chord usage and melodic structure of this song are extremely complex. Rock guitarists might choose Beethoven's "Fur Elise" to experience a new style. But regardless of your style, you should learn "Stairway to Heaven," as it's essential to truly becoming a guitarist.
• Advanced guitarists should select complex arrangements from their favorite genres, pushing themselves to learn new playing techniques. Metal rock players should master the intricate harmonies found in Opeth's works. Those who love country music should learn the Travis picking style named after Merle Travis. Rock guitarists may spend a lifetime studying Jerry Garcia's contributions to the exploration of psychedelic rock.
6. Make basic practice fun. Set a rule for yourself: after learning a new scale or lesson, learn a new song or melody. Tell your teacher the songs you want to learn, so they don't keep making you practice Nirvana songs that you have no interest in. Most guitar teachers are happy to teach students what they genuinely want to learn.
7. Learn to use your ears and eyes. Many guitar masters learn new songs through repeated listening. They listen with their ears while their brains slowly break the song into different sections. Learning songs by ear is an important method for learning guitar, and it can be just as rewarding as learning guitar itself. Listen to your favorite music repeatedly until you can easily identify the player's techniques and skills.
Method 3: Create a Practice Plan
1. You should practice for about 30 minutes each day to build your patience in playing and maintain your muscle memory.
• Once your fingers develop calluses, playing guitar will become less painful, and your technique will improve, allowing you to try extending your practice time. But at the beginning, don't push yourself too hard; 30 minutes is already sufficient. Practicing for too long can lead to physical and mental exhaustion.
2. Practice at least 5 times a week. Building calluses and achieving a certain level of dexterity is an important part of learning guitar. Consistent practice several times a week is crucial. Otherwise, every time you pick up your guitar, you'll have to start from scratch.
• Establish a routine of practicing guitar at a fixed time each day. This could be after work or school, or right after dinner. Keep your daily practice time around 30 to 40 minutes.
• If you rarely play the guitar, each practice session will feel painful for your fingers. But if you practice more, playing guitar will become much easier. Your fingers will no longer hurt, and you'll become more proficient at playing and reading music.
3. Each time you play guitar, sit on a practice stool, hold the guitar correctly, grip the pick properly, and then do 3 to 5 minutes of warm-up exercises. A common warm-up exercise is to play from the first fret of the high E string down to the first fret of the low E string.
• Warm-up exercises usually involve a wide range, requiring you to switch between high and low positions. These notes may not sound very pleasant, but they can effectively loosen up your hands. Of course, you can create your own warm-up routine or ask your favorite teacher for advice.
• Any repetitive music can be used for warm-up. You can practice your newly learned scales across different positions on the guitar or play your favorite excerpts from Clapton. No matter what you play, try to keep your hands moving until you feel completely warmed up before starting your practice.
4. Balance work and rest in your learning. In each practice session, the proportion of what you want to do and what you must do should be equal. Do you want to practice the solo for "Smells Like Teen Spirit"? That's fine, but you need to go through the scales first. Putting the most enjoyable practice at the end can give you something to look forward to.
5. Never stop challenging yourself. Your guitar playing level may reach a point where it becomes difficult to improve further. In fact, it is precisely because of these bottlenecks that many guitarists find their playing level after five years is not much higher than that of a beginner after five months. To practice more effectively and avoid bottlenecks, you should challenge yourself to learn new songs, master new styles, or do more complex exercises with the techniques you have already mastered.
• Have you completely mastered Zeppelin's "Black Dog"? Then try using the mixolydian mode, or play it backward, or remove all the root notes from the song. Be bold in improvisation; challenges lead to progress.
6. Practice with other guitarists and learn from them. Learning an instrument entirely on your own can be very difficult. But learning guitar doesn't necessarily mean you have to pay for private lessons; you can also seek advice from more experienced guitarists.
• Look for outdoor concerts in your area, which can provide you with a place to hang out and also allow you to learn from more experienced guitarists. You might even end up forming a band because of it.
• Search video sites for learning resources. There are many videos of deceased masters like Mississippi John Hurt or Rev. Gary Davis. In the past, we could only learn by listening; now we can watch close-ups of them playing their works, carefully observing their techniques and learning their styles. Is there an easier way to learn guitar?
Method 4: Maintain Good Guitar Playing Condition
1. Overcome the pain in your fingers. At first, pressing steel or nylon strings can be very painful on your fingertips. Overcoming the pain and persisting in practice is one of the hardest challenges in learning and practicing guitar. But after a period of adjustment, calluses will form on your fingertips, making pressing the strings much more comfortable.
• If your fingers are too painful, you can increase the frequency of practice while reducing the duration of each session. If you can't endure 30 or 40 minutes, it's better to take a break, shake your hands, and move your wrists to improve blood circulation. Continue when your fingers feel a bit better.
2. Do not press the strings too hard. To avoid unnecessary pain, you can find the point at which the guitar produces a buzzing sound to determine if you are pressing too hard. Press the strings as you normally would, and each time you strum, gradually reduce the pressure until the string doesn't sound or produces a buzz, indicating that your pressure is insufficient. The best way to press the strings is just above the buzzing point, ensuring comfort while eliminating the buzz.
3. Stretch your arms, back, and hands before and after practice. Although playing guitar isn't considered a sport, moving your body before and after practice can make you feel much more comfortable.
• To stretch your hands, first move your fingers, mimicking the motion of seaweed swaying. You can also do push-ups with your hands. First, press your fingers on the table, then relax and let your hands hang naturally, and finally push your hands back up with your fingers. Repeat this process.
• When stretching your arms and shoulders, wrap one arm around your chest and use the other hand to hold your elbow, gently stretching your arm and shoulder to relax the muscles. Hold for 15 seconds.
• Stretching your back is simple. Extend your arms upward as far as possible and hold for 15 seconds. Then, place your hands on the ground, in a position similar to preparing for push-ups, and keep your body as straight as possible for 15 seconds. Then you can start your guitar practice.
4. Adjust your breathing. It's common to unconsciously hold your breath while performing on stage or playing in front of a teacher and other listeners. Sometimes this happens during practice as well. Holding your breath can cause tension in your upper chest, which can easily affect your playing and lead to rushing through your piece. During practice, try to hold your guitar lightly and breathe deeply and slowly. The more focused you are, the more you need to pay attention to this.
• If you find yourself holding your breath, stop for a moment, adjust your posture, sit up straight, take a few deep breaths, and then continue practicing. When you're struggling with a song or scale, deep breathing can make a significant difference.
5. Gradually adapt to new guitars and styles. Whether you're trying jazz for the first time, switching from electric guitar to classical guitar, or trying to enhance your finger dexterity, start slowly to ensure you learn the correct techniques and give yourself time to adapt to the new playing style.
• Because guitars have different neck sizes, string types, and frets, you need to make small adjustments each time you practice with a new guitar. You may not be able to play certain songs or scales as proficiently as before, so don't rush; gradually adapt to the new guitar and let your fingers get familiar with the new playing style. If the differences in frets are not significant, you just need to maintain your muscle memory.
6. Learn new exercises slowly before speeding up. A popular guitarist once said, "Those who can't play well play fast, and those who can't play fast play loudly." So don't develop the bad habit of rushing through your playing just to show off your speed. The best guitarists are not necessarily the fastest players, but those who play most appropriately. So when you start practicing, follow the beat, and once you're proficient, you can increase the speed.
Tips
• Don't be discouraged by mistakes; everyone makes them, even the top guitar masters. You just need to overcome them.
• If you want to play real songs on the guitar, search for tablature online. If you don't know how to read tablature, look it up online.
• Once you can use the guitar proficiently, you should learn tablature. Most guitar sheet music is written in tablature, allowing you to find most famous songs.
• When playing songs, don't look for shortcuts. Try to play as accurately as possible. Look for corresponding video tutorials and original music online. You should at least know the name of the song you're singing before you start.
• If needed, you can buy a footstool for around one or two hundred yuan. If your legs dangle while sitting in a chair, a footstool will be much more comfortable. But if you are particularly tall, you may not need a footstool to avoid hindering your playing.
• Always practice the difficult parts first. Repeatedly playing what you already know is not meaningful; it may sound good, but you won't make any progress. Those things you find difficult or that are challenging to play often lead to rapid improvement.
• If you don't want to spend money on a footstool, you can use a small box or a small stool as a substitute.
Warnings
• Be mindful of the volume while practicing to avoid damaging your hearing.
• Take breaks during practice to avoid strain on your arms, fingers, and eyes.
You will need
• A guitar
• A pick
• Extra strings
• A chair (sturdy and without armrests)
• A scale chart
• Sheet music
• A computer with internet access (optional)
• A guitar tuner (optional)