12 Tips I Wish I Knew as a Beginner Guitarist

hi my name is Mary spender and in this video I'm going to swiftly move through my top 12 tips for beginner guitarists in celebration of launching my finger style guitar course for beginners you'll also find a preview of the course towards the end of this video where I play through a slowed down and simplified version of my own song Primrose which you'll be able to play along too so let's get into it number one learn complete songs rather than famous riffs party tricks can be impressive for a few seconds but really the guitar player who can get everyone singing around the campfire is going to be way more popular start simple find beginner versions of songs you actually love not the songs you think you should be learning and memorize them from start to finish to keep your guitar out of its case I'm sure you know the expression out of sight out of mind but it couldn't be truer by a stand for the room in your place that you spend the most time in then you'll actually be drawn to it and more likely to play I know it looks gratuitous having a huge guitar stand with all my guitars out here in my studio but honestly it makes me pick them up way more to practice and we all know the practice is key 3 make a nice sound even if you can only manage one chord or one riff player beautifully listen to yourself carefully and check your volume level tone is in the fingers and the best way to make the instrument sing is to care about the sound you're making for learn to play in time chill out and keep a steady beat obviously when you're nervous and up on stage you'll be likely to forget this one and rush through your song or piece and that's the only time it's actually forgivable however when you're home and nerves and adrenaline aren't causing havoc you have no excuse not to play in time even if you want to be a lead guitar player and shred to your heart's content you still need rhythm don't get caught out use a metronome to guide parts of your practice sessions use a free on your phone and learn to record to a click track no matter what it is it really pays off five call yourself a guitarist as soon as you start learning to play it may sound like a small thing but it's not a level based title I know a lot of people that play guitar really beautifully and yet are scared of calling themselves a guitarist you don't have to complete 10,000 hours to go from a person who plays guitar to guitarists and it definitely has a psychological impact it's always easy to downplay your skill set and even I'm guilty of this as there can be the fear of being put under pressure or being challenged by someone else to perform but as soon as you take ownership it'll help you become a much more confident person and player saying that never get arrogant and profess to be an expert no matter how many YouTube videos you've consumed so 6 be open and honest about what you do and don't know and always ask questions never lose excitement about acquiring a new piece of information the most legendary and proficient guitar players technicians or luthiers are always humble and remain a student of the instrument 7 you've definitely heard this one before and yet it's still tough to hear gear doesn't make you a better guitarist practice does it's so easy to fall into this trap not just with pedals and amps and recording equipment but with the actual instrument too however if you are looking to buy a new guitar don't look to the more expensive models just for the sake of it and don't feel pressured to buy a certain type for the genre you want to play in instead find something you love the look of so even if it's a shredder guitar but you just want to play the blues that's okay choose something so that when you wake up in the morning you get excited about picking it up 8 make the guitar you have playable remember that an affordable guitar with a good set up will be far more beneficial than an expensive one set up badly so maybe seek out professional help with this if you're struggling with your guitar and your fingers are taking an absolute beating why not try a lighter gauge of strings and lower the action which is a term used for adjusting the string height nine promise yourself that you'll play for five minutes a day the five-minute rule is often suggested because it actually works you need to sustain a practice routine to see improvements but you need to make that commitment as easy as possible to fit into your day forcing yourself to practice for more time like an hour feels too big so I promised myself that I'll play through a song each day and usually time disappears and I'll have ended up playing for way longer ten by a strap so you can play standing up sitting down can make playing slightly easier which is great when you're learning so standing up will challenge you to play in a different position and you need to learn to be comfortable doing this if you want to start performing make sure your strap is a suitable length and allows you to play comfortably though 11 this one is a little weird but honestly it's helped me visualize performing and that's practicing in the dark to improve fluency on the instrument it's best to not be looking at where your hands are going and improve muscle memory so closing your eyes works too but playing in a dark room means you can't cheat now for my twelfth and final tip when you're struggling to master a particular technique or chord sequence and it just isn't clicking stop before you end up quitting the guitar entirely and have a good long sleep sleep is proven to be beneficial when acquiring new skills and helps you learn more effectively practicing the guitar can be a mental workout and sleep helps you consolidate and recall memories and often things will click into place when you've had a healthy eight hours okay there are my top tips if you have any more please write them in the comments below we're all here to learn but now I'm going to show you a snippet from my guitar course for beginners and I'm going to perform a beginner friendly version of my song Primrose so that I can help you the first tip of this video and learn a song all the way through if you want to learn more about the course curriculum and enroll you'll find a link in the description thank you for watching this video be sure to subscribe to the channel and now grab your guitar and accompany me performing Primrose [Music] walking through the archway alone Coffee Primrose I was calling you back home other side of the pond tempts me why would I leave this city she knows me and you I see myself and I loyalties [Music] day everything - is haunting everything - is a warning everything into is hurting me City set me free [Music] up in my Garret a out on the roof look out on Bristol I see the truth we have history she's cursed and loved me how could I leave the cliffside this view and you I see myself and time [Music] loyalties [Music] died everything to wish haunting everything you do is a warning everything to wish her to me everything you do is harm 10 everything - it's a warning everything you do is her to me said he set me free [Music] and you I see myself and time loyalty's never die let this work Oh Hey [Music] you forgive [Music] forget everything you do is haunting everything you do is a warning everything you do is hurt me everything you do is haunted everything you do is a warning everything you do is hurting me city set me free [Music] [Laughter] [Music] you you you

Channel: Mary Spender

Views: 985,555

Rating: 4.9656839 out of 5

Keywords: Beginner Guitarists, beginner guitar lessons, beginner guitar songs, beginner guitar chords, beginner guitar riffs, beginner guitar songs acoustic, beginner guitar scales, beginner guitar exercises, 5 things I wish I knew, 12 tips for beginners, guitar lesson, beginner guitar, how to play guitar, acoustic guitar, guitar tips, guitar tricks, how to learn guitar, beginner guitar lesson, guitar tips for older beginners, guitar tips for beginners, how to learn guitar chords

Id: PfndlSCeWeo

Length: 12min 27sec (747 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 19 2020