In today’s lesson, we are going to learn what beginner guitar players should practice daily.
I believe the best thing that a beginner guitar player should practice in their practice sessions is the fundamentals. I recommend focusing on mastering the fundamentals. The better you know these, the further you'll go with your guitar playing.
Master the fundamentals
As a guitar teacher who has taught for many, many years, I see this being overlooked by many self-taught guitarists. They jump ahead to learning songs and eventually run into a roadblock.
Then when I meet them, it is very clear what the problem is. They skipped over the fundamentals. And by then, it is hard to get them to go back and learn them. So I suggest you focus on these.
Now, what are the fundamentals?
These are the core concepts and principles of the instrument that you can build on as time goes on and you learn new techniques. I very much like sports. If you look at sports, they focus heavily on mastering the fundamentals of the game.
In basketball, it’s certain jump shots. In baseball, it’s pitching, hitting, and catching. In football, it’s running, catching, throwing, etc. There is more to these games, but you get the picture of what I’m saying. When a famous player gets off their game, the coach always tells them to go back to the fundamentals.
Watch the video lesson below
Chord shapes & switching between them
Start with your open natural chords. These are the ones closest to the nut. The chords that you see people strumming while they are singing. These are the fundamental chords you will build off of. Chords such as C, Am, G, Em, D & F. There are more, but these should be learned first as they are most common in guitar songs. Once learned these individually, you’ll need to learn to switch between them.
Notes along the fretboard on all 6 strings
Make sure you learn all the notes on the fretboard on all six strings. There is a musical alphabet that you want to learn (just like the regular alphabet), and it relates to chords, scales, key signatures, and everything else in music. So make sure you take the time to learn these. Practice daily, and it will help tremendously in the long run.
Finger exercises & hand warm-ups
These are important because when learning the guitar, your hands are going to be doing things (like forming chord shapes and holding down strings) that seem foreign at first. And being so, the muscles in your hands, wrists, and fingers will need time to develop. Growing pains as they are sometimes called. By doing finger exercises and hand warm-ups it will help you to get through this phase.
Strumming & arpeggiated picking
Once you learn to form chords and switch between them, you need to learn to strum and arpeggiate pick them. This is what brings them to life. One hand (your fretboard hand) creates the chords and chord progression. Your other hand (picking hand) strums and picks the chords to create the rhythm.
Learn to stay in tune & develop timing
Staying in tune and on time are the most crucial things in music. If the guitar is not in tune, the chords won’t sound good, and if your rhythms are not on time (not switching chords where they need to be and strumming is off), you will defeat the purpose of creating music that is pleasant to the ear. But for this to happen, you must practice daily.
Method books are a great way to learn
There are many more to add to this list, but these are the ones I recommend focusing on first. It is these things that are going to build a solid foundation in your playing to build in the future. If you need additional help with these concepts to get you going, I suggest you grab one of the books that I have authored to help you in this area.
Learn To Play Acoustic Guitar
Learn To Play Acoustic Guitar will teach you everything you need to know to get started having fun with your acoustic guitar. Learn to play natural chords, read chord diagrams, and put these chords together to form songs. (write more)
Learn To Play Electric Guitar
Learn To Play Electric Guitar will teach you everything you need to know to start having fun with your electric guitar. From what kind of guitar to purchase to an amplifier, cables, and anything else needed to get started. (write more)
Take it one step at a time
These books will give you a head start on learning the fundamentals and building a solid foundation for future learning. If you have any questions about what I teach, feel free to contact me here or at my website, Dwayne’s Guitar Lessons, where you’ll find all the books that I have authored. They all can help you further your guitar-playing education.
Thanks for your time reading.
Best of luck with your guitar playing
Sincerely, Dwayne Jenkins.
