Discover The 3 Basic Habits All Great Guitar Players Practice Daily and How You Can Easily Adopt Them…Even If All You Want To Do Is Get Good At
Playing Your Guitar...
By Allen Hopgood
As the world's most popular instrument, many guitar players certainly make playing guitar look easy. It is as if they are one with their instruments - an extension of their bodies. While this is true, the reality is, it was never that way from the start for them. They worked hard at practicing and perfecting their skills. It took time, effort and patience. Their rewards, for their hard work and persistence, are there for all of us to see, hear and enjoy. And it can be this way for you too…
Even though it's not as easy as it looks, learning to play guitar is very achievable. If you are currently frustrated with your lack of progress; stumped by what to learn next; at the point where you think you'll never 'get it' and on the verge of giving up…well I'm here to tell you quitting is not an option.
If you look to the great guitar players, as someone who has gone before you, someone who has made more mistakes than you, you will find they are just regular people like you and I. However, you will discover they all have 3 commonalities amongst them. These 3 habits are something you can do easily to stay the course and perfect your skills - no matter how good you want to become at playing your guitar.
Habit #1:
The first habit of great guitar players is that they set a goal for themselves. Then commit to it until they have achieved it. Every musician has different aspirations. So it is no point copying someone else's goal(s). Yours might be as simple as mastering the open C Major chord. Playing a chord progression. Or getting all the way through on a song without stopping.
Whatever the goal is for you, set a date, be realistic (based on your current skills),definite about it and commit to it. This is what the pros do. You can easily do this. You could set the goal right now…go on!
Habit #2:
The number two habit of great guitarists is that when they practice, they practice diligently with a metronome. In this age of smartphones, there is an app for every occasion. Metronome apps are plentiful. Some are free and others (the better, more versatile ones) you have to pay for.
While free is convenient, paying for the app will get you better reliability and options. There is one guitar/metronome app that doubles as a drum machine, has chord charts etc. so you real get a lot of bang for your buck. Think of your metronome as your second most important tool you need in your arsenal besides your guitar.
Even if your goal is to entertain around the campfire, or your cat, either way, your audience will appreciate and respect your rhythm and timing. The metronome is a tool you'll need for the rest of your guitar playing days, so shelling out a few dollars now, will definitely give you a huge return on your investment.
Habit #3:
Another habit great guitar players live by and practice, is that they learn from one source. They do, learn and practice EXACTLY as they are instructed. They get themselves a great teacher and commit to their daily practices.
The internet is full of great instruction for guitar players. The guitar teaching/music instruction industry is huge and always expanding. Unfortunately for those guitar players - those who don't know what they are after (refer to habit #1), there are a lot of shiny objects to be found out there. Even if all you did to improve your guitar playing is do everything your guitar teacher says to do (or find a great guitar teacher), you will become a much better guitar player. Learning from that one reliable source, will do more for your guitar playing, than jumping from one thing to another.
Great guitar players seek out expert instruction. This is within your reach. Not hard to do and is guaranteed to make you a better guitar player.
As you can see, these 3 habits are not hard work. They don't require special talent. If you have a desire to learn to play guitar, you already have the one ingredient that makes the 3 habits easily adaptable to your guitar playing.
Commit yourself today by adding these habits to your routine and the music you create. Set yourself a goal and go for it! Work with a metronome every practice session. If you have a guitar teacher, listen and DO what they say. They have gone before you and made all the mistakes. Their expertise will show you how you can reduce or eliminate those mistakes.
Don't go searching all over the net for guitar instruction. if you don't have a teacher - get one. To find out how you can make these habits part of your guitar playing and daily practicing, complete the form below.
Even though it's not as easy as it looks, learning to play guitar is very achievable. If you are currently frustrated with your lack of progress; stumped by what to learn next; at the point where you think you'll never 'get it' and on the verge of giving up…well I'm here to tell you quitting is not an option.
If you look to the great guitar players, as someone who has gone before you, someone who has made more mistakes than you, you will find they are just regular people like you and I. However, you will discover they all have 3 commonalities amongst them. These 3 habits are something you can do easily to stay the course and perfect your skills - no matter how good you want to become at playing your guitar.
Habit #1:
The first habit of great guitar players is that they set a goal for themselves. Then commit to it until they have achieved it. Every musician has different aspirations. So it is no point copying someone else's goal(s). Yours might be as simple as mastering the open C Major chord. Playing a chord progression. Or getting all the way through on a song without stopping.
Whatever the goal is for you, set a date, be realistic (based on your current skills),definite about it and commit to it. This is what the pros do. You can easily do this. You could set the goal right now…go on!
Habit #2:
The number two habit of great guitarists is that when they practice, they practice diligently with a metronome. In this age of smartphones, there is an app for every occasion. Metronome apps are plentiful. Some are free and others (the better, more versatile ones) you have to pay for.
While free is convenient, paying for the app will get you better reliability and options. There is one guitar/metronome app that doubles as a drum machine, has chord charts etc. so you real get a lot of bang for your buck. Think of your metronome as your second most important tool you need in your arsenal besides your guitar.
Even if your goal is to entertain around the campfire, or your cat, either way, your audience will appreciate and respect your rhythm and timing. The metronome is a tool you'll need for the rest of your guitar playing days, so shelling out a few dollars now, will definitely give you a huge return on your investment.
Habit #3:
Another habit great guitar players live by and practice, is that they learn from one source. They do, learn and practice EXACTLY as they are instructed. They get themselves a great teacher and commit to their daily practices.
The internet is full of great instruction for guitar players. The guitar teaching/music instruction industry is huge and always expanding. Unfortunately for those guitar players - those who don't know what they are after (refer to habit #1), there are a lot of shiny objects to be found out there. Even if all you did to improve your guitar playing is do everything your guitar teacher says to do (or find a great guitar teacher), you will become a much better guitar player. Learning from that one reliable source, will do more for your guitar playing, than jumping from one thing to another.
Great guitar players seek out expert instruction. This is within your reach. Not hard to do and is guaranteed to make you a better guitar player.
As you can see, these 3 habits are not hard work. They don't require special talent. If you have a desire to learn to play guitar, you already have the one ingredient that makes the 3 habits easily adaptable to your guitar playing.
Commit yourself today by adding these habits to your routine and the music you create. Set yourself a goal and go for it! Work with a metronome every practice session. If you have a guitar teacher, listen and DO what they say. They have gone before you and made all the mistakes. Their expertise will show you how you can reduce or eliminate those mistakes.
Don't go searching all over the net for guitar instruction. if you don't have a teacher - get one. To find out how you can make these habits part of your guitar playing and daily practicing, complete the form below.