Rajinderpal Singh asked:


Many beginning guitar approach me and ask for advice how to play guitar ‘fast’. I inevitably ask them whether they already play guitar, and just want to be faster on the fretboard, or whether they’re “newbies” who want a fasttrack to basic proficiency.

This got me wondering whether there might be a connection between the two. It seemed far-fetched; but, the more I thought about it, the more parallels I saw between these two seemingly different levels of training.

So, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that:

1. You can learn guitar faster by studying the techniques involved making your overall playing ability ‘faster’, and..

2. You can become a ‘faster’ guitar player by re-focusing your practice sessions on the basic concepts and techniques taught to every beginner.

The reasons for this overlap and can be summed up in a handy acronym: M.O.S.T. — or, “Memorization, Observation and Strength Training.” Let’s cover each one to clarify the point.

Memorization

One of the things that slows down both beginning and intermediate guitar players, no matter how good of an ‘ear’ for music they have, is a failure to memorize:

1. All of the notes on the fretboard

2. Chords and scales for the Major and Minor Keys

It doesn’t matter whether you’re just starting out, or have a few year’s playing experience already. The reality is that ‘hunting and pecking’ for the needed chord or note will slow you down.

You don’t have time in the middle of a song to stop so you can figure out if a Dbminor chord will work in the key of B, and then figure out where that chord is relative to your current position on the fretboard.

If you’re a beginner, then memorizing your fretboard is the place to start. This will make it easier for you to memorize chords and scale patterns, as well as understand the relationship between them in music theory.

If you’re already playing the guitar, then you should focus on increasing your knowledge in both of these areas. You probably have a good part of your fretboard memorized already, but can you jump to any note or chord automatically?

Observation

Your senses of touch, sight and sound are all involved in playing guitar. As you play, you will no doubt feel the development of ‘muscle memory’ as your fingers play across familiar chords and scales. You will see patterns and relationships on the fretboard. You will hear what you’re playing and come to connect it with all of the above.

Memorization is the foundation for observation, and observation is the key to training your mind and hands to work in concert automatically.

If you want the ability to play anything you hear ‘in your head’ the moment your fingers reach the fretboard, then you must wed memorization with observation when you practice.

Strength Training

No, I’m not suggesting you lift weights at the gym! Strength training, which really includes ‘dexterity’ training, is part and parcel of everything we’ve covered so far.

Beginning guitarists often struggle to hold down chords, and to play scales with all four fingers. This is simply a matter of building strength, muscle memory and dexterity through consistent and correct practice.

Intermediate players who want to get faster on the fretboard must realize that the most likely culprit(s) behind issues with ‘speed’ will be a deficiency in strength, dexterity, correct techqnie or all three.

Newbies should focus on strength building exercises and on performing those exercises consistently and perfectly. If you’re given an exercise that requires you to hit a note with your pinky, but you decide to ‘cheat’ by using your ring finger, know that your playing will hit a wall down the line.

Likewise, players who can’t seem to exceed their current speed on the guitar should examine their own technique. Have you stopped working on your strength training because the exercises are boring? Is your technique ‘sloppy’?

There are some things you simply can’t get away with at 160 bmp (beats per minute) the way you can at 120 bmp.

In conclusion, the key to learning guitar faster – as well as playing it faster – rests in following the M.O.S.T. formula. It really is all about getting the basics right from the start!



Kansieo.com

Andrew Koblick asked:


Whether you are an amateur or a professional guitar player, you will agree that you can never say that there’s nothing more you can learn in playing the guitar. There’s always one more guitar lesson you have to learn in order to become even more proficient. One should never underestimate the power and the advantages of practice, and practice is the only way you can become an ace in playing the guitar. Let this be the first guitar lesson you take! Practice, practice, practice.

Now you can learn guitar with lessons delivered directly to you.

A recent survey has found several guitar newsletters which

include free guitar lessons. Probably one of the oldest and most popular

will be found at http://www.guitar5day.com Lesson, guitar biographies and other items of interest are published twice monthly. Random lessons will also find there way

into the mix.

If you want to learn guitar, the first things you want to do are become familiar with the guitar and learn its anatomy. When someone tells you to turn the second tuner on the head, you shouldn’t start pulling your ears. You should know where the tuners are, which the fretboard is and which the bridge is, and so on. Do not underestimate this first guitar lesson. It is very useful to know the main things about the guitar. You also want to learn how the frets, strings and fingers are numbered as this is vital in learning the right techniques when you’re a beginner. When your teacher (or the book you’re learning from) tells you to pick string 1, with finger 1, on the first fret, you should know exactly what he means.

The second guitar lesson for any beginner who wants to learn guitar should be the stringing and tuning of a guitar. Stringing is a fairly easy process. Tuning the guitar, however, can prove to be a little more difficult for beginners as you should know how string A, for example, should sound. That’s mainly the reason why the usage of a guitar tuner is recommended until you become familiar with the notes. This is a guitar lesson that you can find in any book or online guitar lessons site.

The third and longest guitar lesson (most probably a lifetime if you’re really passionate about it) is the actual playing of the guitar. As any player can tell you, it’s mainly about technique and passion. You can master the technique by continuous practice and feed your passion by playing extensively. And this is the most important guitar lesson you’ll ever learn as ou learn guitar, that it’s not always about the talent, but most importantly, it’s about how determined you are to play the guitar.

Guitar lessons can differ from one player to another, because you have: acoustic and electric guitar equipment. If you’re a classical music guitar player, you should know the correct position when playing, the right way to hold the guitar, and the right to pick the strings with your right hand fingers. If you’re playing electric guitar, you have to know the right way to hold the pick and the best techniques to achieve the speed you want. These are all guitar lessons that are available on the Internet and in every learn guitar book ever written. These are the essentials and if a book does not contain this information don’t buy it and go look for one that does.

And then there are the ‘fine tuning’ guitar lessons where you learn guitar in several styles, such as jazz, bossa nova, rock, rock and roll, country, and so on. But in the end you’ll end up having your own personal style and that’s when you’ll know you have learned guitar well



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