11 Things That Happen When You Learn to Play the Guitar

In this post we will talk about some things that can happen to you when you start playing the guitar. Some are simply mistakes or movements that you had not noticed until now. This is normal at the beginning so do not worry about them. If nothing of this happens to you, good for you, it means that you have been playing the guitar for some time.  If they happen to you, try to make them all disappear little by little. All this I have seen in my students and I want you to know them in order to avoid them in the future.

1- You will not know how to keep the rhythm

When we begin to play a song, and no matter what it is. They all carry a pulse, that is, the invariable and regular rhythm over which the notes of a piece of music are played. Keep in mind that this rhythm will not know how to take it to the beginning. If you have played other instruments already, yes, but if this is the first time you start playing an instrument, like guitar and metronome with palms you will have problems.

To solve this, take the rhythm of the metronome with palms; make each beat of the palms match the beat of the metronome. Once you get this done, do it by playing the note MI and the note SI (first and second string) in each hit, or with some easy song that you are playing.

2- You will lift the thumb of the left hand of the mast

When you change a note you will stop holding the mast with your thumb. Do not do this because you will lose support and you will have more difficulties when it comes to finding the desired note. Let’s say you are playing 4 FAs in a row with your index finger and in the next measure you have a sun 4 times to touch them with the ring finger (fa far fa, sun, sun, sun).

Your tendency will be to lift the thumb of your left hand to move from one note to another. This is BAD because you will not have a tactile reference of where the frets are located: the thumb is a key point of support because if you do not leave it on the back of the neck, you will end up possibly stepping on another fret, either fret 2 or the fret 4 when what we want to do is go to fret 3 where the SOL is.

Can’t play the tablature the solution: to get from one note to another by stretching the fingers with the thumb, without moving it, at the height of the fret 2.

3- The note will not sound

The fret 1 of the string 1, played with the index finger, is always a problem in the first guitar lessons. 90% of the time it will sound like nothing but noise. This is something normal that has happened to almost everyone and happens because we do not step on the fret correctly or we do not have our fingers properly arched. Consequently, we tread with the softest part of the index finger. Observe the following images:      

If you are starting to play the guitar with your fingers where they are marked with the blue dots in the first image you are doing it incorrectly. If you look at the image next to it, the fingers are arched and the points indicate with which part of the fingers the notes are stepped on: with the tips of the fingers.

4 – pull too strong of the strings as a result of not stepping on the left hand well.

As a result of point 3, where the guitar notes will not sound   due to bad posture of the left hand, you will begin to give strong to the guitar with the right hand. This will cause a shrill sound if you are playing the Spanish guitar and / or acoustic with your fingers. Maybe you can make it sound, but in a shrill way.

This happens because, as we give strong to the strings with the right hand, we are also pressing harder. That is to say, both hands will be coordinated in the wrong way so that when you pull hard, you also step on the frets harder and as a result it will sound, but it will sound bad.

Therefore, you have to get to follow these steps:

1. Step correctly, as in the image above on the right, with the tips of the fingers
2. Stepping hard, without feeling pain in the wrist or the forearm of the left hand (if it hurts you are doing it wrong)
3. Pull the strings neither too weak nor too strong

5- You will play notes followed with the same finger

Due to so much new information that will pass through your head, you will begin to neglect certain aspects, since you will be looking at the rhythm, the notes, the tablature or score, the posture, if you step right or wrong, if you are playing loud and shrill, etc. And you will forget the following: Every fret has its finger.

 When we begin to play the guitar in the area of ​​the first frets, you must know that each fret has its finger; regardless of the rope. This rule then changes when you are in more advanced levels, but for now the rule is: The fret 1 is played with the finger 1, the fret 2 with the 2, the 3 with the 3 and the 4 with the 4.  If this does not It is fulfilled and you touch all the notes with the same finger, to give an example. You will be doing it wrong.

6- You will play consecutive notes with the same finger in the right hand

This is also another habit; especially if we do not have the fingers of the right hand resting on either side in an attempt to avoid supporting them on the lid (see point 8). For example, if we play a note on the first string, a tendency of some guitarists is to pull with the index finger and keep touching all the remaining notes with that finger. The idea is to alternate index with middle finger in beginner levels.

7- When you throw with the right hand you will move your hand too far from the area of ​​the strings

Another very repeated. Move your hand away 15 centimeters or more from where the mouth of the guitar is when you play with your fingers. That is, you will play a note and unconsciously pull to the front. This distance also includes the forearm. It is recommended that you pay attention to this detail. The only ones that have to move when you pull a rope are the fingers. The rest: still.

8- The right hand will not have its fingers in place.

At first the tendency of many guitarists is to support the fingers of the right hand on the top of the guitar for greater comfort. If we play with a pick maybe it will not be so much trouble doing it but if we do it with fingers in the right hand it will be. The right hand should have the fingers arched in the air at a relatively small distance from the sharpest strings and with the thumb resting on the 6th or 5th string.

9- You will touch spine down without alternating or prick up without alternating

If in your case you are playing with an electric guitar, you know that playing with barbed attacks in a row is a mania that we have to avoid completely when it comes to playing the guitar. As a general rule, we will always alternate between barb down and barb up. Being the strong times with barb down (1 and 3 in 4/4 bar) and weak with barb up (2 and 4) barb-up-barb-down.

10- You will feel frustrated and angry because the guitar does not play

You had always thought that playing the guitar would be a piece of cake and it turns out that you have to put in a lot of energy and a few hours a week to really make it sound. The problem is that we are too impatient and we want quick results, we want to run the marathon from the first day when we have spent the previous week eating hamburgers and drinking a soft drink on the sofa. Things sometimes require dedication, time and effort. Hold! That you can!

11- You’ll get bored and look for excuses not to touch or you’ll be encouraged and you’ll continue

Here we get into muddy terrain. When we learn to play the guitar things can be difficult and not at all funny. At the beginning you will leave it aside if you are very discouraged, you will be thinking about alternative futures where you are not playing the guitar, thinking about other activities that do not make us “waste time” and finally end up keeping the guitar under the bed or hanging it on the wall to decorate your room. Another option is that you are so encouraged by continuing to end the pothole and get over your obstacles. Is there anything else that has happened to you apart from these 11 points?