Top Mistakes of Beginning Guitarists

In almost every courtyard in the summer evenings you can hear the melodic sounds that evoke nostalgia about camping trips, campfire gatherings and all the things we loved our youth for. Yes, that's familiar to all the sounds of the guitar, which can safely be called a "folk" musical instrument.

Have you got one too? And surely you already imagine how you amaze girls and friends with your musical skills? Indeed, it is only necessary to learn a couple of chords and voila - you are almost a modern incarnation of the immortal Jimmie Hendrix. After all, all you have to do is watch a couple of instructional videos on YouTube.

But when aspiring musicians get down to business, it's not as straightforward as it seemed at first glance. Many abandon this activity, arguing that the instrument is "too complicated. Someone still shows persistence and signs up with a professional teacher, and he is horrified to realize how much of what he was doing before was wrong. Professional teachers are also in a light shock, because they have to literally re-learn these same self-taught. Below we have listed the top mistakes of beginner guitarists, by studying which you can protect yourself by learning from the "bitter" experience of others.

Why learn if you can do it yourself?

A common mistake of all beginners is that they naively believe that they do not need to learn, and all the knowledge will appear out of "nowhere". Some cite the example that the aforementioned Jimmy Hendrix did not know notes at all, but few people remain indifferent to his playing.

But for some reason no one asks themselves the question, "Why do I think I have the same talent? Self-taught geniuses can be counted literally on the fingers, so this is not an argument at all. What's more, all these self-taught artists were literally obsessed with music, never let the guitar out of their hands, gave it most of their time, and that's why they achieved incredible heights in music. But can you devote as much time to guitar lessons? I don't think so.

Accordingly, the first thing you need - is to find a professional teacher. And your age doesn't matter at all, because now there are programs designed for different levels of training. For example, in our school "Three Quarters" are open guitar courses for children, as well as classes for adults in groups and on an individual program.

Improper hand placement

The right hand placement is the basis for successful guitar playing. If this is not the case, there is tension that is transmitted to the music.

Specifically, we're talking about improper seating, when the guitar's fingerboard is too low. Speaking about the classical guitar, the head of the neck should be at shoulder level, i.e. the slope of the fingerboard line in relation to the floor should be at an angle of 40-45 degrees. Teachers show the correct position in literally a couple of minutes because this is the basics.

Ignoring the teacher's advice

The teacher is always right - that's the rule that should stay in your head. But many beginning musicians don't quite get it, asking a lot of naive questions like, "Do I have to clamp only this way?" or "Can I play the way I don't feel comfortable...". Yes, necessarily and no, you can't.

Understand that everything about rules in music and sound production in particular was invented for a reason. Every rule was formed long before you came along, it's been tested over generations, and eventually a certain sequence of "how to do it right" has been formed. The instructor may not explain the expediency of each such move, but he does it to save you time. And if you're still interested in the specifics, don't be afraid to ask, but just don't question the guitar teaching programs that have been developed over the years.

Incorrect lesson plan

Most beginners don't even have a rough lesson plan. They jump from topic to topic, so the training actually leads to nothing. That's why it's very important to attend classes with a professional teacher.

Our school provides individual lessons, which involves assessing the actual level of each student, their physiological characteristics, on the basis of which to build lessons.

It is important that the classes are not a monotonous process, which involves learning a lot of theory. Students will just get bored, so the main thing is practice.

Buying the wrong musical instrument

It's a cliché, but buying your own guitar is also a basic learning point. But the problem is that many beginners focus, to put it mildly, on the wrong things when choosing. Often it happens like this: a person together with his friends (the same "rock stars") goes to the store, where the choice is based solely on appearance.

Not everyone consults the salesman and asks about the characteristics of the guitar.