5 Things EVERY Guitar Player Should Know

0:00 - Introduction
0:37 - Thing 1
3:31 - Thing 2
5:38 - Thing 3
6:12 - Thing 4
7:26 - Thing 5

[MusicisWin]

What's something you think every guitar player should know?

Edit: This comment section may be the most valuable list of guitar tips on the internet. You guys are awesome

[eldredbird]

I think number 5 should be anytime you're sitting around the house doing nothing in particular, have a guitar sitting within reach. It's like having your best friend next to you. Seeing it there will encourage you to pick it and just play with it. Unstructured practice time like that leads to the pure joy of just enjoying the instrument, which in turn will free your creative mind and improve you flow.

[garyanthony]

Being a "boomer", and being a teen in the 60's, with no money, and all this great rock and roll was happening, it was difficult to get any kind of instrument. The cheap guitars where almost impossible to play. Even harder was finding someone that knew how to play and could show you something that was right. Now we have access to the world. Cheap guitars that are decent and playable, men and women like you that have useful content and hundreds of youtubers that can teach you just about anything you can think of. I just wish it had happened 50 years ago. I am grateful for it anyway.

[EricHenning]

Several ideas:
1. Don’t despise the process. You will always suck at some aspect of playing; keep at it. Our culture is filled with instant gratification, but patience brings maturity.

2. Listen to great music in as many different genres as possible. Most of the great songwriters of the rock era have been influenced by their parents’ music. Whether it’s McCartney’s love of British music hall, Jimmy Page’s obsession with Mississippi Delta blues, or ELP’s homages to classical music, they learned technique and improved their taste and style by listening to huge amounts of great music.

3. Don’t overdo it. We’ve all heard the legends about the rock gods practicing for hours a day until their fingers bled. Most of us don’t have that luxury; we have jobs, classes, families, etc. 45 minutes of specific, planned, intentional, focused practice a day, every day, will do more than hours of noodling. I’ve practiced for hours and found that fatigue made me sloppier, and in the end, it did more harm than good. Also, there are going to be occasional times when everything is off: you can’t play, you’re forgetting things, or you can’t even get the blasted thing in tune. It’s OK to put it down and come back the next day.

4. Listen to great guitarists to copy and learn their techniques, but to appreciate, not copy, their style. The same way artists copy museum masterpieces, it’s fine to learn the songs the way they were originally recorded. But at some point you’ll want to put your own spin on those songs, and then write your own.

5. Stop comparing yourself to legendary guitarists. Learn from them, but realize that your audiences don’t expect you to be Mark Knopfler or Jeff Beck. Instead, compare yourself to yourself last year, and work toward who you want to be next year.

[DarktechKelly]

I've gotten into a habit of thoroughly washing my hands before picking up my guitar. This helps me play more accurate and have a better feel for the strings, and it helps avoid gunking up the strings with oils and sweat which can degrade the strings much quicker.

[lazywonderer]

Advice 5 : to my fellow guitar players who wants to improve their playing but don't find the motivation to learn or practice new things, just pick your guitars and start trying to learn new things the motivation part will come later.
We often think that we have to be motivated first then start learning second, but sometimes the motivation part comes second after you start playing and find enjoyment in the fact that you started to learn new things.

[xman]

One of the most important things a guitar player needs to remember, especially when playing with other musicians is to listen. This helps everyone from stepping all over each other. Know when to play and when to back off.

[GregJonson]

My piece of advice is this: In order to get good, you have to allow yourself to suck for months or even years. A lot of my students really want to KNOW but at the same time they don't want to LEARN. Make the learning experience fun for yourself. I heard Steve Vai say in some interiew, can't remember which one, that his "juice" has always been not being able to do something and then working on it until he could do it. The progress feels great, just know it might take a _long_ time and be patient.

[joelpoitras]

All good advice in these comments above.
I'll just add:
Playing standing up.
Most of us pick up the guitar and noodle around senslessly laying down. When you're sitting, you have resistance from parts of your body on the chair or sofa, and you feel lazy, relaxed and inducing your body to go to sleep.
When you go out for a brisk speedwalk, you get energized, pumped up and feel like doing something. So induce that "Feel like doing something" into your playing by standing up, strutting and dancing around. Your are free of any movement without any resistance and it adds energy and creativity into your playing.
Besides, if you're gonna get up and stand, you won't be standing there doing nothing. You're gonna motivate yourself into playing something worth standing for.

[RCSmiths]

There is nothing that a guitarist can't learn and gain no matter the skill of experience. Always appreciate the advice over the years man.

[chaosonreach]

Find the right pick. If you’re using a pick that sounds bad or falls out of your hand or doesn’t feel right its a lot harder to just pick up and play. I’ve only been playing for about 9 months but I’ve already realized that. I recently went to Atlanta Vintage Guitars and just bought like 10 completely different pick to find which one I liked best and for me the .96mm Stadium pick was just perfect.

[unxpected]

5: Don't let inspiration turn into imitation. Seek your own style and voice, don't copy someone else.

[samstring]

Here are my 5 things:

1. Listen and find your inspiration. I mean what kind of guitar player does not listen to guitar music?

2. Know your share of theory. Yawn! It's boring but it will help you.

3. Write your own music with whatever knowledge or skills or gear you have.

4. If you can afford practice with your band or other guitar players. If you are like me and can't make friends practice with metronome, that helps too. You know what? You need to practice with metronome regardless of you have band or not.

5. Go off grid, don't play by rule, do your experiment. Play blues licks in you metal solo, play metal arpeggios in your blues jam. Do something different. That's how you find your tune.

[hotwax]

Thing 5: discipline yourself, noodling is fun but learning things and applying them to your playing is the real way to grow your knowledge in the guitar

[plectrumura]

Number 5: when you hear a really cool note that’s kind of unexpected, figure out what it is and try to understand it in the context of the key it’s in. Lets you apply it to other songs in other keys, or just at other places on the fretboard.

[lucistired]

Basic setup I think is quite important. Knowing when to change the neck angle, when to adjust to the bridge or saddle height, HOW to adjust the bridge/saddle height, how to relax a neck, etc. Lots of great videos on it, which is good because it's a good thing to know how to do yourself

[beamannydanny]

Thing number 5 - Always FEEL and enjoy what you’re playing. I would argue that creating a feeling or emotion through your playing is more important than your rhythm and even your notes. Music at it’s core is about people sharing and enjoying something together. It’s not about perfection. (There’s nothing wrong with chasing perfection though, just don’t lose sight of the importance of feel)

[Bacontruffle]

Realize that there's a difference between "Bedroom tone" and something that will actually sound good in a mix. Most importantly: back off that bass when you're playing in a musical context. It's fine to go for that sweet, sweet thick tone when you're practicing at home, but when you're recording or playing with others, that tone is going to mean you won't be heard, and your guitar parts won't have a punch. Experiment with tailoring your tone over a song or backing track so that when the time comes to share your playing with others, you'll sound the way you want to be heard.

[guitarmaniac]

"Never think bad thoughts about your own playing". Best advice I ever got. Doesnt mean to acknowledge you always can and should improve but belittleing your playing will only frustrate you and keep you from going on

[maximwynant]

Tyler can be so crazy and energised while playing his solos and I love it. Many guitarist have good music but they have no literal emotion while playing