Top 6 Tips for Absolute Beginner Guitarists

Uncategorized Jul 31, 2024

You may have a friend that plays guitar, you may have a favourite band or artist which had inspired you to want to learn how to play, you may have written an ungodly amount of cheese themed poetry and now you want to turn them into songs.

Whatever your reason for wanting to play the guitar, it's important to know that everyone has certain difficulties. Whether it's choosing the right guitar for you or deciding what you should learn first, this Guitarticle will help guide you through your first challenges.

Your First Guitar

Don't buy the cheapest guitar from amazon, go to a local music shop, get some advice from people in the industry and try some out. I know it feels strange when you have no idea what you're doing but I can guarantee that the shop owners have helped thousands of people like you before.

The main types of guitar are Acoustic or Electric. Within those there are acoustic guitars with Steel strings, acoustics with Nylon strings and electric guitars with different shaped bodies.

It really doesn't matter which one you get. Depending on your age, size of hands, strength, you will find one will fit you better than another but you won't know unless you try all three. As long as you feel comfortable holding the guitar and pushing the strings into the neck, you're good. You will get used to anything with time and practice. Just make sure you can touch all the tuning thingies comfortably while holding it.

Explore Sounds

Practicing is the most important thing when it comes to learning guitar, for all levels. So start playing.

Spend time making noise, strum all the strings loudly, quietly, fast, slow, pluck individual strings try to pluck or strum the strings in the same rhythm as a song that you know well like Happy Birthday. Explore what happens when you play thin strings compared to thick strings. Try to work out how the frets work and why it produces a different note when fretting higher up the neck.

All of this can be done before you officially learn anything and really helps get you connected to the instrument.

Expect Challenges

Before paying for lessons, courses or books you're likely going to look on youtube or even the dreaded Tiktok for some 'easy guitar riffs'

Let me tell you now, nothing is easy.

It will take time to even balance it on your lap, to coordinate your fingers and some people just don't absorb information in the same way. With this in mind, youtube and tiktok are designed to please everyone at once by giving a quick hit of serotonin and dopamine without you having to 'earn' it. This conditions you to expect the same hit when you learn from other sources and it just won't happen. It takes time to see any benefit to playing guitar.

Most Youtubers/Tiktokers: "Here's 10 easy rock guitar riffs"

No one: "....I say easy, I mean it will be easy after you've drilled each one 50 - 100 times a day for two weeks."

Here's a link to a youtube video which doesn't require any prior knowledge to get started. It doesn't show you 'easy version'. (Watch your first guitar lesson video)

Set Practical Goals

You may not have any specific goals in mind but one thing which is important to instil from the start is a good practice routine. Give yourself the goal to practice every day.

It doesn't matter what you play at first but as you start to learn techniques your goals may change. Try to learn 1 chord a week, 1 simple tune, 1 strum pattern.

As you improve further, you can start to use a more structured routine (Link to practice routine)

The more you try to store in your brain, the more you have to use it. You may learn 5 chords in one day but then if you don't use those chords the next day, it's gone.

"Information retention is our primary objective" - Patrick Star

Just learned Em?

Play it fast
Play it slow
Play it loud loud
Play it quiet
Freestyle a song about your dog over it
Write down how it makes you feel
Play it to someone and ask them how it makes them feel
Does it remind you of a song? Talk about it.

Watch a recent livestream about setting goals

Remove Practice Barriers

Barriers can be mental or physical. You want to practice guitar but...

It's in the car / over your dad's house / it's under the stairs / it's in the wardrobe, you left your music in the fridge... All these things are barriers stopping you from wanting to play. So get rid of them. Keep your guitar close to where you spend most of your time and leave it out. On a stand or anywhere reachable.

If you have people in your life squanching your groove. Explain the importance of having a hobby that enriches your life. You're gaining a skill that you've always wanted. Plan your practice time in advance and explain to the Squanchers that this is your 'Me time'.

Keep it interesting

You should be working on chords as a priority in the beginning but single note lead playing is also very important too. Not only so that you don't end up closing doors for yourself in future but also just to keep it interesting. There's only so much of one chord you'll be able to take without throwing your guitar through the wall.

"What should I learn first?"

I recommend learning these open chords first - Em, G, Am, C, D. In that order. There are no chords which are more different than these in the beginning and most songs include some variation of these chords. Practice transitioning between each one in various orders.

Single note songs - Deep Purple - Smoke on the water (on the correct strings!) The XX - Intro. Don't look up easy versions, play the correct versions otherwise you won't be able to play along with the song.

There's a reason why I'm not going to give you the tablature for these chords and songs. It's because there are already thousands of people teaching them in books, videos, online databases. I think it's important that you discover your preferred way of learning. Do some research, compare different versions and you'll become a more rounded musician.

So, whatever you're inspired by starting to play guitar is an exciting journey and it should be fun. Just dive in, make some noise, and have fun exploring. Keep your guitar close, set small goals, and most importantly, enjoy the process. With these tips, you're well on your way to making a life long skill. Now, grab your guitar and let's get started stupid!