Here are guitar playing techniques for beginners that every guitarist should know. Having a solid foundation in these guitar playing techniques can alleviate many issues down the line.
If you want to view more acoustic guitar lessons for beginners, be sure to check out The Ultimate Guide to Learning Guitar.
Filled with information from these guitar technique essentials to playing the blues, The Ultimate Guide to Learning Guitar is designed for those looking to live their best acoustic lives.
Your First Guitar Playing Techniques
How to Hold a Guitar
You got your hands on a guitar … so, what’s next? The first guitar playing technique you have to learn is how to hold a guitar.
Learning how to hold a guitar properly will help you learn the guitar without straining your muscles or joints.
If you learn how to hold a guitar as a beginner, you can focus on other guitar playing techniques without straining yourself.
Most guitar players prefer sitting down for their day-to-day practice. Here are some basic tips on how to hold a guitar properly.
- Keep your back upright and your feet on the floor.
- Place the side of the guitar on your right leg.
- Make sure the back of the guitar is resting against your stomach and chest.
- Keep the neck of the guitar parallel to the floor; do not hold the guitar up with your left hand.
- Use the upper part of your right arm to balance the guitar and keep the neck parallel to the floor.
Once you feel comfortable with the weight of the guitar in your lap, you are ready to move onto more guitar playing techniques! Be sure to click here to see all of my guitar playing techniques for beginners.
The Most Important Guitar Tip for Beginners
One of the best ways to understand guitar playing for beginners is to recognize the difference between learning, practicing, and rehearsing.
For starters, learning is the stage that most people are at when they are starting to learn how to play the guitar — which is what you’ll be doing if you go through my guide!
Learning can be difficult, and oftentimes, your playing may not sound great, and that is TOTALLY okay! You can’t expect to sound perfect the first time you try something new.
Practicing is the next step after learning. When you start practicing, you’ve already learned a guitar exercise, song, or scale.
Practicing is all about making your sound smoother, cohesive, and musical. Practicing focuses on musicality and performance by creating the muscle memory needed to play the guitar.
Rehearsing is the final step in playing and mastering a song, exercise, or scale.
When you rehearse, you want to focus on playing through the entire piece you’re working on without stopping. The goal is to understand the nuances in the music you are playing while also committing it to memory.
Understanding the differences between these three terms is crucial in learning how to play the guitar.
If you want to hear more about one of the most important guitar tips for beginners and experienced guitar players alike, be sure to click here to see my full analysis of this tip.
And you might be wondering how this tip is a guitar-playing technique…
It’s a mental technique more so than a physical guitar playing technique. Both are equally important, but I wanted to make sure you got that information ASAP.
If you want more guitar playing techniques, check out this page to see the 4 Guitar Technique Check-ins.
30 Days to Play: Learn How to Play the Guitar
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