10 COMMON MISTAKES Beginner Guitarists Make

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Rhett Shull 2

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[RhettShull]

My first video course, The Tone Course, is available now! Check it out here.

[KaosII]

When I was a teen guitarist I was known as the guy who could play the beginning riff of almost any song.
Only the beginning though.

[DavidSJ_DAP]

Advice that is just as relevant to someone who has been playing for 40 years as it is for the newbie...

Well done...

[jppagetoo]

Play with other musicians. It's fine to be a bedroom solo superstar but you have to be able to play with others. Also, learn to play through your mistakes. If you stop each time you make a mistake you will never be able to play music. Every player makes mistakes (and often!), they just keep going, learn to do that.

[johnwallace]

When i was learning Chinese, my teacher told me there would be a day that i would not progress at all, that I would spend several years without noticing anything new. Those years would be years people quit learning, because it wasn’t worth the effort to them with regards to rewards. But my teacher told me it is in those plateaus that you actually make the most headway, the reward seems small, but actually people working through those plateaus vs people who have settled on them is the difference between fluency and non-fluency. I believe the math is true for learning anything. When you feel you aren’t learning, that is the moment of greatest learning.

[harolddebarros]

Dont get a floyd in the beginning... just changing strings is uninspiring

[EthanTheMighty]

My biggest struggle was finding my own voice as a guitarist. I did it by stopping playing guitar for two years... i focused on singing, mandolin, and piano. When I came back to guitar, I had a whole new outlook that wasn't flavoured by the old Sabbath and Hendrix licks I used to jam

[varium]

I'm 35 years old right now and stopped playing guitar about 6 years ago. I started playing at 13 and used to practice a lot... In my 20's I used to practice progressive rock songs (Dream Theater, King Crimson, Rush, and many others). Here in my country is really hard to find people that liked that sort of music so I was a bedroom player until someone approached me and asked me to join their band. It was a band that covered Janis Joplin's songs and man... blues, soul and R&B are no joke! I could play the quintuplets from erotomania almost backwards but playing blues??? I couldn't do it without sounding like a robot!!... My point being, I don't know where guitar started in history, but man, you gotta learn how to play the blues... Now I'm a dad and I don't know if I could ever get to that skill again, or even play guitar again, but something is certain, if my kid wants to learn how to play guitar, I'll make an effort and buy him the best guitar I can buy, because learning with a good guitar and getting your parents' support also matters and a huge lot.

[jerrymorganjr]

Tabs ruied most of my friends when I was a teen. That and Percocets.

[professorhamamoto]

I ignored the piano; big mistake. It helps one "see" chord voicings and harmonic progressions; contrary motion.

[ibji]

I'd also include learning to play a little bass. Not a 'little' bass, I mean some bass, learn some bass.

[ElijahRock]

The moment you mentioned Paul Jackson Jr., I subscribed to your channel. He is one of the main reasons why I decided to start learning guitar. He can play multiple styles. What I love is not the solos he does or lead stuff, but rather how he can add so much to a such while still playing behind a keyboardist or another guitarist. When you really listen in, he is doing some really awesome stuff.

[destiny-theseries]

Once learning how to play, I would listen to Prince's vocal lines and follow them on my guitar to learn how to solo. Helps IMMENSELY when it comes to note inflection.

[arthuralzamora]

All very good points & as everyone is adding to this. My addition would be: when you find yourself in a plateau that you can’t break out of & you keep doing the same thing. Take more lessons - one on one - with someone who impresses you as a guitarist. Each time I took lessons for a few years - I improved greatly. Currently - I’ve been taking advanced lessons for about 6 years now. My guitar teacher is my mentor, friend. I’m 64 & love playing guitar, I’ve been playing since I was 13! IMHO!

[TheKiteless]

I'm not kidding you, that is one of the best instructional vids on guitar I've seen. Why? Because I've been guilty of every single one of those mistakes. Every. Single. One. I bought a new rig two years ago (Ibanez through a Fender) that replaced a PRS through a Vox, and it transformed what I play and how I play it. I now have a little book of tunes that I've noted down that include everything from Abba to ELO to Tony Bennett to Casey Musgraves. I have another book that notes music theory, which includes notes on negative harmony and the definitive songwriting process. I spent 20 years in a blues / rock rut. Exposure to other guitar tones and genres led me to solo performances of "Fly Me To The Moon" and "Dream a Little Dream of Me".

[micoksb]

I'd like to add to common mistakes:
1) Getting a shit first guitar. I couldn't get into playing, because most of "beginner" guitars are just terrible. Get a good guitar at the very beginning. With brands such as Harley Benton out there, it isn't hard to get great guitars for a low price.
2) Don't, DON'T start off with a modeller in the beginning. I thought it would be easier for me to learn the guitar, if I had a modeller plugged into my PC. I didn't even realize I was just tweaking the sounds instead of playing. So, I just kept buying modellers until one day I had a Line6 Helix on my desk. While being barely able to hold a guitar. But on the bright side, the modellers helped me realize I loved Vox amps the most. When the realization hit me, I sold the Helix, used the money to buy a Vox, and now I actually practice daily :3

[allenmitchell]

Rhett, the bit about only you can play your voice, I think, is the most important thing you said. I’m a drummer who gigs just about every weekend. But, I play guitar and write my own compositions. The kicker to the story is; I only have my right hand. I’m missing my left since birth. Now on drums, I’m fairly well versed and unlimited to a degree. But, playing guitar I’ve realized that I’ll never be a finger picker, or a shredder. But what I play on guitar, I don’t hear others do. It’s what I can do, and is my voice on the instrument!

[kevingwin]

Solid advice! I've been playing for 43 years now (38 years professionally). I agree with everything you said. Finding your own voice is the most important. Playing good rhythm guitar is also very important. Always learn the rhythm parts to any solo you play.

[irwinm]

Seriously, this is some of the best guitar advice I have seen on YouTube. It really resonated with me, I made all these mistakes (and likely many more) when I started playing and and had to learn from them the hard way as I progressed (try going to a band audition or jam session and not being able to keep time cause you never thought about rhythm or never played an entire song before... Not fun...). If you want to progress as a player, advice like this is priceless, thanks for sharing.

[TheMusicfan]

I started studying guitar at university recently and everything hit me at once. I had so many different styles of music, different types of chords and other ways to play minor and major pentatonic scales thrown at me that it was so overwhelming. I had an idea about all three of those things but nothing like this. Was very close to calling it quits as I got extremely bored with it and didn’t even pick my guitar for a solid 2-3 weeks. I picked it up today and jammed some Metallica and I’m inspired again, thrash riffs are the ones that get me going “I wanna learn that when I get home”. I’d say if you’re ever stuck in a rut for whatever reason, go back to what made you want to pick up a guitar. Does wonders, now I’m back to playing daily while concentrating in my theory on the side, all about finding that balance.