With Regard to Playing guitar, What's the Best Single Piece of Advice You Ever Receiv

[6L6]

That's an easy one for me:

"Never put your guitar in its case unless you're taking it somewhere. Leave it on stand in an area you frequent and NEVER walk by it without playing it, even if you only have a minute. It's all about muscle memory."

Yup.

That advice came from my virtuoso college roommate back in 1964 when I was starting out. Many years later I read an article where Bob Taylor said the same thing.

I've followed this philosophy ever since and my guitars have survived two daughters, five grandkids, and five dogs without a single scratch.

What's the best single piece of advice you ever got with regard to playing the guitar?

[MThomson]

Learn it slowly first and then build up speed. And I have to re-learn it on a monthly basis.

[Jilusaco]

Play with people better than you. Then catch up!

[Cameleye]

Play guitars that make you smile.

[maplebaby]

develop a strong tolerance for repetition.

[Scotso]

PRACTICE......all the time...no one got great at anything on an hour a day.

Russ Barenburg

[davidbeinct]

Two pieces-
Don’t keep practicing a whole piece if one or two sections are giving you problems. Practice those sections.
If you can sing the melody it will really help to internalize the piece.

[Robin, Wales]

Listen to the sound that's coming from your guitar - not to the tune that's playing in your head!

Sounds simple doesn't it? A way to test if you are truly listening to your guitar is to switch on a metronome. If you cant play in time to a metronome then you are not listening to your guitar.

[Photojeep]

Besides my sister telling me, "Learn to tune that thing!", I never received any advice so I'm really enjoying what all of you have posted!

Best,
PJ

[GBS]

From Peter Lang (yeah, of Fahey/Lang/Kottke fame): "You can't say you know a piece, until you can play it all the way through while watching TV, and then be able to summarize the plot of what you saw."

[Bob from Brooklyn]

Best advice is don't worry about anybody else, just do your thing and have fun doing it.

[Denny B]

One of the best pieces of advice I got in my beginner days was to stop worrying about "strum patterns" and just FEEL the music...

[Willie_D]

The best advice I ever got was to adopt a growth mindset.

The move from "I can't play like that" to "I don't know how to do that yet" was significant.

[mball]

"Don't quit your day job."

[NotveryGood]

"Pick it up when you are in the mood ,leave it alone when you are not. It will sit on its stand quietly till you are ready"