Acoustic Guitarist Blog

Most electric guitarists that have grown up playing rock guitar want the volume control to go up to eleven, not ten.

So in keeping with that philosophy I thought I’d write eleven useful tips to help beginners that are learning guitar.

1.  Always make sure your guitar is in tune. An in tune instrument will help you develop a good ear.  Being in tune is easy these days because guitar tunes are cheap and they take the pain out of tuning.

2.  Always relax when you play.  Relax your hands but sit in a position with your spine reasonably straight.

3. Practice somewhere where your mistakes and repetition will not annoy others.

4.  Don’t take criticism to heart.  When you are starting out, people can be a little careless with their comments.

5.  Practice something new each day, whether it be a new chord, a new melody.

6. When you start practicing, start slowly and begin with the easiest things first.

7.  If you start to get frustrated. Take a bit of time out and maybe practice something else.

8. Gradually train your ear to recognise different chord types.  Start with the basic Majors, Minors and Sevenths.

9. Playing in time is better than playing fast.  Eventually you will be able to play very fast.

10. Learn to play different styles. There’s joy to be found in all music genres and you’ll end up a far better musician/guitarist. 

11.  Always finish your practice by playing something that you know reasonably well. It’s important to close your music session and walk away from it in a good state of mind.  If you finish on a half played piece, you may feel a bit uninspired.