Beginner Guitar ( little techniques to help you speed up lessons)

HOW I THOUGHT MYSELF TO PLAY THE GUITAR IN REALISTIC TIME PERIOD

You got your first guitar and it feels great! You are eager to start learning chords and start playing immediately, fantastic! You have seen adverts on how it is possible to be a ‘genius’ in guitar playing within three weeks. You got a few videos and started learning something but you hit a roadblock and realized it is not that easy. You put the guitar in its case out of frustration and only occasionally pick it out to practice. You are simply not advancing. Don’t worry, it is normal. I felt the same 3 months into learning how to play the guitar but I managed to short-circuit the process by combining some simple tricks, some of which I created on my own. That is what I wish to share with you. If you are a beginner in playing the guitar, doing self lessons, here are a few ideas I wish to share that can also help you speed up your lessons and probably move you to an advanced level in a month or two. It is more realistic to suggest that, in self-teaching, you are not going to become a ‘genius’ overnight because it takes time and practice on a daily basis to improve. Here are a few approaches I took when I started out fresh.

NEVER PUT THE GUITAR IN THE CASE

         When I first started out, I would usually put my guitar in the case after every practice for the funny reason that it looked ‘cute’. Infact, I would occasionally hang it over my shoulders and take some selfies which I shared with friends on Facebook. Funny huh?!! Now, it is ok if you want to look ‘hot’ hanging the guitar over your shoulders in selfies every now and then but never keep the guitar in the cover. Take it out immediately! Of course you can put the guitar in the case when it is necessary, for instance when traveling. Just make sure it’s not in the case when you’re at home. Infact, this helps preserve the wood and glue of which the guitar is made of from absorbing heat. It also keep it away from direct sunlight. The guitar needs good ventilation to last long.

DON’T PUT THE GUITAR OUT OF REACH

        

        Now this is a very important point. You should place the guitar where it is not out of reach and where you can always see it. This is what I did when I realized I was not practicing enough due to time constraints (work, school, etc). I placed my guitar in my hall, close to the where I usually sit to watch sports and news on TV and also have breakfast. My guitar was never out of reach, therefore any time I retired in the sofa, I was able to pick it up and practice, even if it was for only ten minutes. It goes without saying that “little drops of water make a mighty ocean”. At the beginner level, every ‘micro second’ in time is important.

INSPIRATION AND DESIRE

      Create some inspiration and desire on your own. Why would you want to learn how to play the  guitar?

•      Is it because you heard that playing a musical instrument means you have higher IQ?
•     Is it because it keeps your stress level down?
•    Is it to impress your social circles?
•    Is it to make some residual income playing a gig or is it to become a professional player.
•    Is it because you like how a certain music icon plays the guitar and would want to emulate them? 

Whatever it is, there is a very good reason from which you can create desire and gain inspiration to continue playing. Once you have that, you should keep reminding yourself daily and that would inspire you to pick up the guitar. For instance, I love jazz so I gained inspiration from watching videos of musicians like Norman Brown and Earl Klugh play. I also gave my guitar the name of a girl I fell in love with. These were enough inspirational reasons for me to pick up my guitar every day.

CRAWL BEFORE YOU WALK

       When I started out in self-learning, I was so eager to play like my icons so I started learning chords straight out without knowing the names of the strings, what a fret was or how to read music sheets. I just picked videos and started mimicking what I was seeing and it was so frustrating when I was unable to get it. I almost gave up but that was when desire played an important role. Then I did some research online using Google of course. That was when I discovered the various steps I needed to take before going ‘full blast’. I also bought a beginner’s CD from Gibson (http://www.learnandmaster.com/guitar/). It was of great help.

SIMPLE FINGER EXERCISES

       

       Finally, in order to be able to play well, you need strong fingers or better still, a strong grip to enable you to press down the strings and bring out the correct sounds. These are some very important finger exercises that you need to perform daily to strengthen your fingers in order to be able to play well. Remember that as a beginner, you would experience some finger pains and your pinky would be your weakest finger in all of this therefore it would need some special attention. First of all, ensure that your fingernails are always trimmed.

•  Get one of these equipments: (http://atwiki.assistivetech.net/index.php/Image:Hand_grip.jpg).   It  helps strengthen your grip. There are various types and I am sure you would get one from your local store.
•        Do these two finger stretching exercise from the video below, daily as well. 

NUMB YOUR FINGER TIPS

     

      When you start out as a beginner guitar player, you would develop blisters and sour fingertips on either of your hands depending on which hand you use to press down the strings. It would eventually heal, become like cons and numb to pain. However, you can speed up the process and enjoy the freedom of playing regularly with no more pain. This is what I personally did daily.

I dipped a face towel in hot water whenever I can and pressed my fingers on it. I repeated this about 5 times at a time. I also did something funny and interesting which helped. Anytime I was pressing my clothes in the evening in preparation for work the next day, I would press my finger tips on the area I had just pressed until the heat evaporated. It was just a way of ‘killing two birds with one stone’; preparing for work the next and numbing my finger tips. Got it? It may seem insignificant but it was effective and an absolute time saver. I have also heard that circling your finger tips over candle light helps but I have never tried it. Find what works for you and apply but whatever you do, numbing your fingertips is an important part of playing guitar so you need to get used to it.

Make the strategies listed above as part of your daily routine and you are good to go. I hope I was able to help. Feel free to ask any questions. Enjoy playing the guitar.