Guitar tips

[Crazyguitardj]

Hey there everybody, I just started a acoustic guitar tips page on Instagram. ( @acousticguitartips )I am looking for tips, and tricks of the trade to share with beginner and intermediate guitar players. What would you say to a beginner guitar player? What tips do you have about guitar playing, guitar care, or fun chord substitutions?

[Joe Beamish]

Memorize all your major triads and build your own chords all over the neck, using the open strings too.

1. Learn to tune your guitar by ear.
2. Try to figure out some songs by ear.
3. Protect your ears.
4. Allow yourself to sound bad. It'll gets better.
5. There is no substitute for regular, productive practice.
6. Get your guitar set up.

[frankmcr]

Originally Posted by Crazyguitardj

Hey there everybody, I just started a acoustic guitar tips page on Instagram. I am looking for tips, and tricks of the trade to share with beginner and intermediate guitar players. What would you say to a beginner guitar player? What tips do you have about guitar playing, guitar care, or fun chord substitutions?

You don't need to play all six strings all the time.

You don't need to play every note of a chord.

You don't need to have the root note be the lowest note of a chord.

Nothing that sounds good is "cheating".

[Crazyguitardj]

Originally Posted by frankmcr

You don't need to play all six strings all the time.

You don't need to play every note of a chord.

You don't need to have the root note be the lowest note of a chord.

Nothing that sounds good is "cheating".

I like that last one , good advice!
Apparently the person I was taking guitar lessons from didn't know about thumb muting and kept telling me to stop wrapping my thumb around the neck and keep it on the back... That was one thing I told him that I was going to keep doing and he better just change his mind... I didn't tell him it quite like that... But basically LOL

[Rockysdad]

"Enjoy yourself", should be THE first rule, in my humble opinion.

[DukeX]

Rockysdad beat me to it:
Make sure you are having fun. That's the one thing you shouldn't have to practice.

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by J-Doug

1. Learn to tune your guitar by ear.
2. Try to figure out some songs by ear.
3. Protect your ears.
4. Allow yourself to sound bad. It'll gets better.
5. There is no substitute for regular, productive practice.
6. Get your guitar set up.

+1. I'll also add to have a tuner as well. Headstock tuners are very convenient.

[Jim Owen]

Watch others who are better than you. You can observe a lot, just by watching

[Ben M.]

Be patient. Don't expect to be playing like a pro in a couple months.

[YamahaGuy]

Practice the way you plan on performing...if you're going to sing, start singing while playing as early and as often as you can. If you're gonna be gigging, plug in and learn mic technique. If you will be standing, practice playing standing up.

And jam with better players. You may suck now, but you'll pick up things that you may not get yet but one day you will. And you'll be grateful.

[Mandobart]

Play with other people regularly. Don't wait until you think you're good enough. Find or start a weekly jam with others. There is nothing I've done in over 40 years of playing music that beats this for improving faster.

[619TF]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

+1. I'll also add to have a tuner as well. Headstock tuners are very convenient.

Yes to the clip on tuner. Especially for a beginner. You're not going to get to the tune by ear stage until you've heard the guitar in proper tuning for a while.

Originally Posted by Ben M.

Be patient. Don't expect to be playing like a pro in a couple months.

A pro? Maybe don't expect that for a couple of years!

[cdkrugjr]

If you’re having fun you’re doing it right

[Fatfinger McGee]

Learn and practice good technique as early as possible, you’ll be able to practice and play longer, with less hand fatigue and risk of long term injury. The thumb on the back is a good example . Your fretting will be faster and cleaner with less pressure that way, your fingers will naturally curl around like they should, and you can always wrap it around to play the D/F# as needed.