| If you want to become a great guitar player, you need | | | | Working on Your Skills |
| to focus on the three most important things to guitar | | | | Teach your fingers to dance. In other words, work on |
| playing: knowledge, skills, and love. Having one or two | | | | keeping your fingers flexible. There be doing all the |
| out of three is not an option. It is all or nothing and | | | | work so it is important that they are able to tread |
| those are what it takes to become a great guitar | | | | lightly or heavily as needed. Practice finger exercises |
| player. | | | | daily to keep them quick and nimble. |
| Working on Your Knowledge | | | | Know how to relax. Beginners often experience |
| Learn how to read different style of guitar notes. To | | | | tension, stress, and pressure when playing the guitar |
| take advantage of various instructional guitar pieces, | | | | after a long period of time because there holding their |
| you should familiarize yourself with the many ways | | | | bodies too stiffly. Another lesson in connection to this is |
| guitar playing is thought. For instance, you could come | | | | positioning. Know the correct positions for your body |
| across with lessons made up of numbers and letters | | | | and fingers when playing the guitar. |
| instead of letters and musical notes. In this case, | | | | One common problem experienced by amateur |
| numbers are used for finger reference while certain | | | | guitarists is finger lockup. Sometimes, tension building |
| letters do not represent chords but positioning. O is for | | | | from an elevated arm travels to your fingers and |
| Open, X is for not playing strings, and T stands for | | | | force them to lock up. When this happens, people |
| your thumb. | | | | usually just force their fingers to continue playing the |
| Familiarize yourself with the history of guitar making | | | | song without pause. This is wrong. |
| and playing. Learning the evolution of guitars will help | | | | Know how to play both acoustic and electric guitars. It |
| you appreciate more the features of your present | | | | never hurts to know both and being ambidextrous at |
| guitar and maximize its uses. Being familiar with its | | | | least in terms of guitar type will let you appreciate |
| history lets you know now what people in the past | | | | what your preferred guitar type has and the other do |
| were missing and the potential of the guitar you are | | | | not while helping you recognize what yours do not |
| holding. It is easier to create magic when you know | | | | have and allowing you to compensate for it. |
| what your wand is capable of, do you think? | | | | Working on Your Love |
| As for guitar playing, familiarizing yourself with the | | | | Listen to guitar intensive songs. Try identifying the |
| different styles of guitar players of old and new will | | | | chords there using to train your ears. |
| help you develop your own unique style, recognize | | | | Hang out once in a while with people with similar |
| which features you wish to integrate in your brand of | | | | interests. Talking about your favorite topic with people |
| playing and learning from past mistakes. | | | | who are able to understand and share your love will |
| Take advantage of technology. Instead of focusing | | | | make you a better player. |
| exclusively on old paper based lessons, you can also | | | | Rather, you should stop playing and concentrate on |
| purchase audio and video guitar lessons. You can also | | | | moving your fingers gradually back into its original |
| purchase guitar learning software programs that will | | | | position. Then, move to the next chord position ever so |
| automatically let you know what could be wrong with | | | | slowly. Work on getting sensation back to your fingers. |
| your playing and the proper solution to it. | | | | Follow this tip and you will play better afterwards. |