While you carry on with learning guitar, there are several mistakes that you will make and will continue to make new ones unless guided otherwise. Even though there are several things that could go wrong for each individual player, there are some common errors or mistakes that over 80% of the guitarists make at some or the other point of time. These mistakes are completely avoidable and can be great for you to learn to improve your performance. These common mistakes by guitarists have been highlighted in our latest blog, which will also help you out in combating and rectifying your ways.
The common mistakes of guitarists
Going too fast
Going too fast is one of the most common mistakes made by guitarists. From the very beginning, over-enthusiastic players try to play chords or lead solos that they can not even understand yet. If you are a guitarist and are too enthusiastic, we would advise you to curb that at the earliest.
The lesson plan you follow is designed to ensure that you do not miss any of the intermediate steps and are able to reach the pre-set goal in due time. But rushing through it in order to try and play your song could be disastrous – you might not follow the right strumming pattern, or might not be ready for the complex solos involved. Give it time, have patience and take it slow without wasting any moment of your practice time.
Not enough practice
Another common mistake made by almost all guitarists, irrespective of their level is lack of practice. Many guitarists believe that knowing all chords and scale is enough – they will be able to play with the same speed and ease even after months. The same is not true. Even if you get t practice only for a few minutes in the day, you should try and avoid a situation where you would be parting ways with your guitar for more than a day. This common mistake haunts even the professional guitarists, who end up not practicing in overconfidence and eventually, go rusty!
Not learning theory
Going fast is a mistake but you could make the matters worse by not going through the theory that strengthens your position. Of course, there are things that you could learn later – like the pentatonic scales which are not needed in the beginning, but you need to know the related progressions and chords along with the basics of the scales to be able to traverse through the tunes. If you only learn the notes and memorize them by positions, you will never be able to build upon your hearing or ever be able to read notes to play from the tabs.
Way too much effort
Yes, lack of practice is a mistake, but then so is too much of it. Do not force yourself to practice or go through forced playing sessions at all. It is only going to prove counterproductive in the long run. Also, stop putting in force when you try to press against a fret or are strumming – it is not about the amount of power you put in that determines the quality of sound, but the technique you use.
Not using the ‘Pinky’ well
Oh yes, might sound odd but it happens to be one of the most common mistakes of guitarists. Of all the mistakes made, this happens to be one of the most dangerous ones as well – not because it could potentially injure you, but might keep you from playing those beautiful licks that you have always wanted to show off. Hence, make sure that when you are practicing, you use your ‘pinky’ finger well!
Of course, just reading the advice might not help – you need to be cautious of these errors and make sure that you do not end up making any of these common mistakes of guitarists.