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PHIL KEAGGY - Grammy nominated and seven-time Dove Award winner, is one of the world’s great guitar players and a pioneer in contemporary Christian music.
- January 12, 2017
- Guitar 101
Learning any instrument requires determination. It seems like some people just pick up a guitar and start playing while others struggle, never quite getting it right. The gifting is out of our control, but the skill of playing guitar is something we can discuss. If you’re wondering how to learn guitar and make it stick, there are some practices you will have to become familiar with. There is also a discipline you must acquire. If you’re one of those pick-it-up-and-play it people, don’t cop out and sell yourself short of your destiny. Some of those born with the gift do not have any discipline or vision. If they did, they’d be famous. To be good at guitar, you will need both.
How to Learn Guitar with Short Term Goals
As an instructor might tell you, the trouble isn’t with your head, it’s with your fingers. When you’re learning to play guitar, you’re asking your hands to do stuff they’ve never had to do. Your fingers are asked to perform with precision independently as well as being in unison with the rest of your hand. You’re doing things horizontally and vertically at the same time. Add to this the challenge of keeping tempo and you’ve got your hands full.
One part of how to learn guitar and make it stick is to learn finger exercises and scales. The space from one fret to another gets closer as you move up the neck and your brain has to learn to adjust. Exercises and scales are great for learning the rudiments of music and building the muscle memory necessary to play great guitar. If you play 30 minutes at a time, 10 minutes should be exercises and scales. If you play an hour, 20 minutes and so on. Speed comes in time, but at first that’s not the goal. You’re simply trying to be one with the guitar neck.
Mastering CAGED Theory
It might be hard to see it at first, but there’s a thing called CAGED theory that helps you to see the five basic chord shapes on the guitar neck. Once you understand and can play these basic five, your understanding of the guitar neck becomes much clearer. The dreaded barre chords give plenty of up-and-comers a fit, so many just resort to a capo. There’s nothing wrong with that, but you still need to know the five chord shapes and be able to reach for them if you’re going to be a decent guitarist. Chord voicing is the deal here. Sure, you can play a standard G Major chord at the 3rd fret, but if the song requires a D shaped G Major Chord at the 7th fret, you’re not gonna sound like the record playing it the other way.
Our goal is for you to be well-educated and efficient so you can get the good gigs. A studio musician hears the correct voicing and records the one that compliments the lyric and melody. It’s the difference between hackers and professionals you might say. Don’t take offense, just come along for some good mentorship.
Relentless Repetition
It’s true that you’re only ready to perform a song once you’ve played it enough to annoy yourself and everyone around you. Songwriters sometimes feel this way. Countless hours of playing the same song however will result in a “WOW” moment in front of a new crowd. You’ve become so comfortable with the motions that you’re not thinking, now you’re simply playing. No, that doesn’t come quick or easy. Take your time! Learn the songs you’ve chosen well and play them over and over till you don’t look at your hands anymore.
It’s also true that you really know a song once you’ve had to teach it to someone else. The knowledge you''ll need to teach another person how to learn guitar comes from your own experiences. Find a young or less experienced friend, show them the whole song, and see if you can pass along a little music too. If you’re still thinking about what’s coming up next while you’re playing, there’s a good chance you need more reps at home. Don’t try performing a song you don’t really know. Stick to your strengths. People are generally forgiving, but while they might not remember the nine good songs you played, they’ll never forget the one you butchered.
Be Your Own Best Critic
If you’re trying to figure out how to learn guitar and make it stick, record yourself and listen back. There’s a few things that go into getting a piece of music to sound correct. Let’s start with tone. If you’re on acoustic guitar, it’s about chord voicing and velocity. The way you hold a chord and strike the strings is very important. New strings versus old strings is an issue. A dreadnaught versus a thin body with a cutaway makes a difference.
Now, you don’t have to be that ridiculous about the sound, but it does matter. How you strike the strings matters. Is it fingerstyle or played with a pick? You have to zone in on the sound and try to mimic it with the tools you have. If you are on electric, you have to decide if it sounds like a humbucker, single coil, or some other kind of pickup or guitar. It’s hard to make a Tele sound like a Les Paul.
By recording yourself and listening back, you can really hear what you sound like and decide if you need more work. A simple phone recorder will do. You don’t need a studio or some expensive recorder to do this. When you get the sound or tone close, then listen for inaccuracies. Sometimes you substitute when you don’t know what is the correct thing to play. Look for it and fix these problem areas in your playing and you'll be well on your way to knowing how to learn guitar.
Building A Deep Library
Nothing will help you grow and make it stick like learning lots of songs. Each and every song has a unique guitar part that will ultimately make you grow. It’s like language. You learn a new riff or chord and the next time you hear it, it’s at least familiar. The more songs you play, the more proficient you become. Eventually, you’ll start reaching for the part you’re hearing almost instantly. It’s possible to become so familiar with the fretboard that nothing stumps you anymore. Great guitarist and musicians in general have played till their ears and hands are one.
We hope this helps you understand how to learn gutiar and make it stick. So many have started and given up. It helps to know that you’re not alone in the journey. Countless people share the frustration of trying to learn guitar. Take baby steps and be ok with incremental success. One last tip is to set up and play to a mirror. It will astound you how you look and sound in front of a mirror. You can see your hands and sometimes see what you’re doing wrong instantly. Your posture, your hand position, etc. Keep up the fight and stick with it.
As you head down this journey of learning guitar, it’s important to have resources you can turn to for help. Online guitar lessons have been a major asset for musicians trying to understand how to learn guitar. The guitar instructors at Pro Lessons are experienced musicians who want to help you become the best guitarist you can be. To find out about our affordable rates, click on the link below.
