4 Beginner Guitar Habits That Keep You Stuck

52 Week Guitar Player will be reopening for enrollment on March 14 (and March 11 to those who join the waiting list). We will only be accepting 100 new students.

Check out the related video "How Good is 52 Week Guitar Player Actually?" and grab a spot on the waiting list to be among the first in line

[BrandonDeon]

Are you guilty of any of these? Also, 52 Week Guitar will reopen in mid-December. We will take 100 new students. See the related video "How Good is 52 Week Guitar Player Actually?" to grab a spot on the waiting list

[Incentz]

All good if you have big hands and fingers, for those of us that have small hands and fingers you gotta do what you gotta do to play

[TC]

I love these videos so much. You answer all of my questions

[TB_in_the_coffee]

The advice I have given to two players having a tough time with Barre chords was "start with the pinky and work back, rather than starting on the index"
Never found out I'd it helped them, but it helped me

[christian]

Intermediate guitarists end up with a very VERY bad picking hand because the fretting hand has to visually "move" much more than the picking hand, they think they already got the hang of it the only way it will move is down and up, so the picking hand ends up neglected, they end up positioning it the wrong way, holding the pick wrong, picking in a non efficient way, having excessive muscle tension, and a shit ton of other possible bad habits, if you're a beginner learning anything, train your picking hand individually making sure your technique with it is perfect, same thing goes for the fretting hand, if you're an intermediate guitarist trying to fix bad habits do the same thing, no hand should be prioritized to be looked at IN GENERAL, then whenever you're performing or recording and NOT PRACTICING ofcourse naturally look at the fretting hand more.

[jamesray]

I'm still a fooking noob.
Thanks for all the fooking info
Technique is what I'm focusing on the most at the noob stage to set a good foundation.
I salute you sir keep the info coming. It's very useful.
This is my second attempt at playing guitar. The first attempt lasted only a month. Been at it now for about 2 months and practice open chords and scale to get inner self use to playing without thinking. No need to play songs yet if I'm still thinking about finger placement. I only play melodies that pop in my head while I'm practicing scales.
Got the basic noob chords under my hand enough not to think about finger placement.

Just pick it up and play with a fooking purpose.
I play when I have the itch.
Morning and before bed is mandatory for me.
And I pick it up through out the day when I get the itch.
1 to 3 hours a day of practice depending on my itch, some times more with a rest day if I become lazy. Only one rest day a week or none depending on my itch.

If you on cigarettes like me. just practice for 15 mins per cigarette. And if you are not near your guitar don't cheat yourself add them up and add the time to your practice however you please.

Thanks again for sharing your knowledge

[BritishMillitaryEdits]

"You may be doing everything right, you just haven't been doing it long enough"

As someone who already plays piano at an advanced level and is learning guitar, I already understand this. But so many people who are picking up a first instrument don't, don't give up, time is the biggest teacher.

[Trasselsnodda]

My tip for beginners is that if you have problems with switching to a certain chord to another, let's say from em to b7, practice it 5 times in a row every time you mess it up. Its all about developing muscle memory

[TheEveryDayC]

barre chords was the first thing i had to learn in guitar, i didn't even learn the basic open chords until after i had already started with barre chords

[noloveforthehaters]

Spot on about the down up strumming. There's really no need for it at all once you have any level of competency whatsoever.

[cooperellis]

I’ve been playing for about 6 months and within the first month I learnt bar chords and actually prefer to use them for chords like g major. The only thing in the video do sometimes is looking at my right hand which I only tend to do on songs with difficult or fast picking patterns.

[tomdelisle]

Thanks, as someone who is just learning the guitar your beginner advice is very helpful, simple and direct. F chords are hard.

[cisummusic]

I don’t always agree with your teachings, and sometimes they PISS ME OFF, (but im not even mad) but this is one point you’re absolutely right on about.

People need to get it through their heads that economy of motion is always better, and bending and twisting their fingers when playing single note lines will always slow you down. So many guitarists, even ones that are “good” make things so much harder for themselves

[Litfilmz]

Played guitar for 7 years and stopped for about three, feels like I’m starting all over again but I’m trying to get back the love I once had for playing

[xanderscookingschool]

Funnily enough with the F chord, I can do the full barre chord perfectly fine, but I suck at the open chord.

[BellaOptional]

I actually instinctively look at my left hand, sometimes I look back and fourth like when I play on the piano. I suck at both instruments and am way to impatient 👍👍

[kgu]

This video boosted my confidence a lot😍

[marz_cz]

Thans to you, I have decided to learn some music theory, but I don't know where to start and what all I have to learn. I just know about notes, tones, finding tone, creating a chord and thats badically everything. Can you make a video about it please? I am really thankful for your videos.

[thetruephoenixful]

Thank you for that tip for barr chords, still struggling but it was something I was doing without noticing

[mixen]

It would be awesome if you made a deep dive video about strumming like the one you did with the metronome