Young or old, you might need to have a mental checklist of some of the things you should be more careful about as a beginner.
Guitar Playing Mistakes
In this post, we will discuss some of the most common mistakes. The list could go on infinitely if we dived into the details with advanced people. But, for this post, we’ll highlight some of the common mistakes for beginners. Also, the advanced players could use this post to ensure they’re not building upon a bad habit.
Holding Incorrectly
Holding a guitar for the first time feels a bit awkward. Especially for teens or children, maybe hectic with all the wrestling with the instrument that might occur. These tips will give you the perfect posture.
Take advantage of the curves
The curves on your guitar are designed for a reason. One should sit perfectly on your thigh, with the other cupping on your ribcage. However, not all guitars will fit this way as the designs may vary. You may want to avoid only holding the guitar’s axe by the neck because it isn’t pressed well firmly against you.
Connect your elbow to the guitar’s top corner and far away from your neck
This is especially important in ensuring the guitar doesn’t slide around.
Avoid tilting the guitar backward
This is exceptionally a slippery slope. With kids especially, the guitar ends up resting on their laps, which you might want to avoid. It is a comfortable but costly habit. Later on, you might have your guitar still sliding too much.
Downplaying Tuning
Let’s face it. Tuning your guitar is not the easiest thing to do. It is time-consuming and takes a while to get used to. However, it is a vital aspect of developing as a skilled guitar player. While some people might not accept it, guitar players are musicians at the end of the day. It happens that one of the most critical tools of creating good music is a guitar.
If your ear is not “developed” earlier on, there might be some challenges for you down the road. The site https://www.allstringed.com/ advises that you should aim to differentiate the good and not-so-good sounds at the beginner stage. Some apps could aid in this process. The goal is to be in a position to tune the guitar as quickly as possible without hurting your musicianship. The hassle is worth it.
Right-Hand Mistakes
Let’s talk about the unique challenges that are associated with each hand. It takes two hands to play it right and making a mistake with either of the hands can slow your progress. These are the common mistakes associated with the right hand.
You Are a Bit too Hard on the Strumming
You could get a big sound by just gently strumming your guitar. But, many beginners give that strum all they’ve got and end up producing some not-so-good sounds. When you get to the rock star level, the technique remains the same only now, with a bit of force behind it. But, to start on a progressive path, you must begin with soft strumming.
Forgetting Alternate Picking
Alternate picking is when you slide down and up through a particular string with your pick instead of in one given direction. It is a skill that is vital to your success as a guitar player.
While it sounds easy, doing it becomes a challenge to many. It is not a naturally occurring skill, with many beginner students wanting to use downstrokes more. But, breaking a formed habit is more challenging, so you must learn it from the beginning.
- Left-Hand Mistakes
- Not Applying the Correct Pressure.
This is especially a challenge with the young ones. Often, beginners are surprised when they learn the amount of pressure applied to give off the right sound. Furthermore, this is a skill that must be picked at the earliest stage.
Sometimes you might think your favourite guitar player isn’t applying enough pressure, but the truth is, they’ve gotten so used to it and are doing it with relative ease. But don’t press too hard else; the guitar might sound off tune. With practice and guidance, a balance will be found, and soon, it becomes instinctual.
The list is endless, but these are some of the most commonly observed mistakes with beginners. The above tips are essential in helping any beginner experiencing some issues identify and fix them at the earliest stage. The habits developed must be the right ones from the start. Familiarize yourself with these simple fundamentals, and your path to being a successful guitar player will be smoother.