In today's lesson, we are going to learn about the top 7 bad habits that guitar players should avoid. By knowing these things and drawing attention to them, you will stay focused, motivated, and progress faster in your learning.
#1: Not Setting a Guitar Goal
First and foremost, you must know where you are going if you expect to get there. As it has been said, "If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there." How true of a statement. You must know where you are going with your guitar playing, you must know why you are doing it. You must set a guitar goal to achieve this fundamental principle.
The reason for this is that without it, you won't stick through the hard times. The time when your fingers are developing and they hurt from holding chords. Or your mind gets tired from learning a new language. Setting a guitar goal will keep you motivated to keep moving forward during these times.
#2: Not Staying Focused
Learning to play an instrument (any instrument) is not always easy. Yes, some parts of it will come easier than others, but as a whole, mastering an instrument is not easy. Especially when it comes to playing the guitar. You must stay focused!
Lack of focus is what keeps many students from progressing forward consistently. Learning to play the guitar requires massive focus. Especially when it comes to playing songs. Although a song might not seem too long when listening to it, playing it is a whole different situation. You must stay focused to get through it.
#3: Not Being Consistent With Practice
One of the main reasons students of the guitar don't see the results they desire is because of their inconsistent practice sessions. They practice hard for one day, and then don't pick up the instrument for a few days, and have to start all over again. Not a good idea, and won't help you progress faster.
A much better way of doing it is to practice daily for short sessions. Twenty minutes daily will allow you to excel much faster than if you put in an hour every other day. The reason for this is that when you do it daily, you keep the mind and body moving forward with what you are working on accomplishing.
#4: Not Tracking Your Progress
To know exactly where you stand with your guitar playing, you must keep track of your progress. How will you know how far you've gone and how far you still need to go if you don't keep track? It's like taking a journey, you need to know where you are and how much further you need to go.
Many guitar players do not keep track of their progress. They just pick up the guitar and play what feels good at the time. This is why you need to have a guitar goal. So you can track your progress of how far you've come from the beginning of your journey, as well as how far you still need to go.
#5: Not Having a Solid Practice Routine
Without a solid practice routine, you're going to just noodle when you're playing your guitar. This will be fun at first, but after a while, you'll begin to notice that you are not getting anywhere with your playing. You are, in a sense, just messing around.
A solid practice routine provides a map of activities that are needed for you to get to where you are going. This is why setting a goal is so important. If you're goal is to play jaw-dropping guitar solos that make people go "Wow, how'd you do that?", then you need to focus on techniques that will get you there.
#6: Not Learning To Read Notation
Most guitar players take the play it by ear route. Which is completely fine. But if you learn to read notation, you get insights that you can't get just playing by ear. You develop a better understanding of how music is constructed. You're able to learn songs faster, and you're able to increase your overall technical abilities.
Now, I'm not saying playing by ear is a bad thing because it's not. It's a great way to learn the guitar, and this way of learning should be explored. But if you learn to read notation and add that skill to playing the guitar by ear, you are going to improve your overall musicianship.
#7: Not Having Fun!
This is the most important of them all. Having fun. You need to have fun learning. If you don't, you won't stick with it in the long run. Remember, learning to play the guitar is not just the physical skills that need to be developed, but also the mental skills.
The only way to achieve this is to have fun along your journey. Remember, learning to play the guitar is a journey of self-discovery that you're going on. It is the connection you make with the guitar that will make all the difference in your playing. If you're having fun learning, it will show in your playing. If it shows in your playing, it will be more enjoyable to listen to. So, make sure to have fun!
Final Thoughts
When it comes to becoming the best guitar player you can be, it takes practice. Not just practice, but practicing daily habits that will get you where you want to go effectively and efficiently. And this can only be done by avoiding bad habits. These are the things that will kill your progress. Although proper habits will keep you inspired and motivated to complete your guitar playing journey. So, develop good habits, avoid these bad ones, and have fun along the way.
Dive deeper
If you'd like to excel at what you are learning on the guitar, I recommend you grab one of my method books that I authored and published. These are designed to teach you what you need to know in the proper order, so that you don't get confused or overwhelmed with all the technical jargon. The two I recommend to get started with are Learn To Play Electric Guitar or Learn To Play Acoustic Guitar.
Learn To Play Electric Guitar
Learn To Play Acoustic Guitar
Both of these books (along with my others) will teach you everything you need to know to get started and keep enjoying the fun of playing guitar for years to come. Of course, that is if you choose to follow the lessons step-by-step and apply what you learn.
With photos, diagrams, and modern guitar notation, you'll be able to take your guitar playing to the next level. Even if you've already started learning the guitar but feel stuck, these books can easily help you get unstuck. You just need to have the desire to learn, practice daily, and develop a bit of discipline.
I've authored these because I know this approach to learning works. It worked for me many years ago before the internet, and it will work for you as well. Especially now that we have the internet, you can progress even faster. But you must have the desire to learn and the fortitude to see it through. If you have that, grab either of these books on Amazon and get started today!
Private Instruction Is Available
In addition to authoring guitar method books, I also offer private guitar instruction. These are customized lessons that cater to your interests and skill level. All students welcome. No matter if you are just getting started or have been playing a while. This approach to learning can get you to your desired goal quickly.
Not only that, but with private lessons, you have a schedule to stick to, you stay motivated to practice, knowing you have a lesson coming up, and you develop a much better understanding of musical concepts and techniques. Not to mention, it provides a fun learning experience. So, if you feel this might help you. Contact me at my website, and we'll set up a time to talk and meet either online or in person.
Thanks for your time, and keep practicing.
Until our next guitar lesson, take care.
Sincerely, dwayne Jenkins
