6 Common Guitar Mistakes Beginners Make & How To Fix Them
Here are 6 things every beginner guitarist should learn. If you fix these common guitar mistakes, you will have a much better time with the early phases of guitar.
These are the 6 common mistakes I see guitarists make every day – six things I wish I knew as a beginner guitarist – and I’m happy to be able to share them with you!
FREE PDF Songbook
Play 15 iconic songs on guitar — starting with just 2 chords
- Play your first complete song today – even as a total beginner
- Build real skills (chord switching, strumming, rhythm) through music you love
- Sound like a real guitarist from your very first practice session
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- 0:00 – INTRO
- 0:26 – TOO LAZY TO TUNE
- 1:06 – NOT MAKING SEAMLESS CHORD CHANGES
- 3:29 – PRESSING THE FRETBOARD TOO HARD
- 5:23 – BAD SENSE OF RHYTHM (CONTINUOUS STRUMMING MOTION)
- 9:03 – POOR MUTING SKILLS (MUTE LOW E STRING)
- 11:48 – NOT LISTENING (TO YOURSELF AS YOU PLAY)
- 14:49 – MOVING FORWARD
Mistake #1 – Not Tuning EVERY TIME You Play
This first one is obvious so I’ll make it quick – you should tune your guitar every single time you pick it up! Even the nicest guitars will go slightly out of tune as the temperature in the room shifts, as the strings stretch out over time, etc. It’s good for your ear’s development to hear an in-tune guitar and it’s good practice to be able to tune quickly if you ever want to play in front of others, so please do yourself and everyone a favor and make tuning a regular part of your routine!
Mistake #2 – Choppy Chord Switches
It might seem obvious to some of you, but there’s a HUGE difference between knowing a bunch of chord shapes, and being able to seamlessly switch between them. I’ve seen this many times with students – they’re wondering why they can’t put it all together – and it’s because they think it’s good enough to simply memorize where to put their fingers… but that’s only half of it.
Mistake #3 – Pressing Too Hard On Guitar
If you’re pressing too hard, it’s going to do two things you don’t want. First, it’s going to make your fingertips hurt. Second, it’s gonna make your strings go out of tune. This applies not only to chords, but to melodies as well. That’s why you may have heard people coveting that guitarist who has a light touch…
Mistake #4 – Choppy Rhythm
Rhythm is the most fundamental musical skill that everybody must have, regardless of their instrument. Rhythm is what lets us play with one another and create a “feeling” or “groove.”
Mistake #5 – No Muting Skills
When you’re strumming guitar, you want to keep your arm doing that continuous motion, but another problem arises… there are certain chords where the thicker strings ruin the sound. Some people might try to avoid hitting that string, and that’s a valid strategy, but when you focus on avoiding that string, it can mess with the “flow” of your strumming. So a better solution is to mute the string and keep your strumming arm going with the exact same motion and intensity.
Mistake #6 – Not LISTENING
In the moment, when you’re playing, your brain kind of fills in all the bits – if there’s some note that’s too quiet, your brain plays the note in your head for you and makes it sound wonderful. Your brain smooths it all out! But when you listen back, you really hear what you sound like…
That’s it for today!
If you want some help with the basics of guitar, don’t forget to check out my free eBook: https://goodguitarist.com/learn-rhyth…
Enjoy!
-James
