Learning the guitar is challenging, once you have mastered that basic chords you can sometimes find yourself stuck and wanting to move to the next level. With it being a long process, it is easy to lose the motivation to keep going. As hard as it may seem now, trust me it gets a lot easier. Going from playing a few basic power chords to shredding is possible for anyone. It’s going to give you sore fingertips and a lot of frustration but with the right level of practice you will get there. Take note of the tips below and you will be playing as well as Clapton in no time.
Mentally Visualising
A major factor of improving your guitar playing is all mental. Let’s face it you are not going to have the time to be practicing twenty four hours a day. When you don’t have the opportunity to play, visualise the riff, visualise you nailing it, hear the music in your head. Visualising will give you a form of mental goal, so when it comes to the day that you perfect it you will feel accomplished. This will do nothing more than give you further confidence, you have went from daydreaming to putting it into action. Whether you are a sports star or a musician, mental goals are known to have a positive outcome when it comes to practice.
Record Yourself
A great way to monitor your process is recording yourself play. This is a great way of hearing the difference when you improve. You can also use the recordings to get tips from more experienced players. Other benefits include being able to pick up on mistakes that you don’t quite hear when you are playing. Listening in hindsight is completely different then when you are playing as it takes yourself out of the moment and allows you to critic yourself.
Taking Professional Lessons
If you are serious about playing but haven’t yet had any professional lessons, you need to. There is only so much that you can learn about theory and putting it into action by yourself. When you start taking lessons it will also speed up your development as a player. When hiring a teacher, make sure that they are right for you. If you have a busy schedule you may want to focus on a teacher that is based at one location or that can come out to your home. Alternatively for ease there are numerous online tutoring sites that you can pick up when it best fits you.
I have been speaking to my old friend Tom Hess discussing the importance of tutoring and the importance it has with development. Being a veteran in the guitar game with experience of over 30 years, Tom knows what he is talking about. Having success in bands such as Rhapsody of Fire and HolyHell would not have been possible without the persistence Tom has shown over the years. Whilst doing that Tom has also achieved two music degrees and also has online tutorial videos to help newcomers as he has been helped in the past.
You Can Do It
Believe in yourself, get the right tutoring and you will get there. In the meantime I will be looking out for you in the charts.