Seasoned guitar players have a lot to teach new beginners. For those taking guitar lessons in Miami, whether online or in-person, there are a few key takeaways that any veteran of guitar wants to impart on someone new to the instrument. While everyone’s approach to learning the guitar is different, hopefully these ten suggestions can be a helpful accompaniment to guitar lessons in Miami.
1. Learn Every Chord You Can
While it might be tempting for new guitar players taking lessons with Miami guitar teachers to commit to learning and perfecting one song at first, this is a mistake. While you might eventually perfect the song you want to learn, you’re still only playing the same few chords every time you play that song. Branch out by learning several songs at once, giving you the opportunity to learn and practice different chords.
2. Learn the Art of Disciplined Practice
Some people pick up their guitar and strum around to one or two songs they are familiar with and then call it a day. This will likely hold you back from truly mastering the guitar. You must practice intently in order to progress with your goals and achievements.
3. Let a Metronome Guide Your Sense of Timing
Even though you think you might keep good time, this concept of learning when to play fast, slow, before, or on the beat is crucial for beginners to master. It’s much easier to learn with the help of a metronome. Make sure you’re practicing with one in your early days, and it will pay off in dividends later on.
4. Your Playing Is Nuanced: Pay Attention to It!
Knowing which notes you want to stand out makes all the difference in your guitar playing. In order to master the art of accentuation, pick a song you’re really comfortable playing, but play it 3-5 times through, each time changing the accents on different parts of the song.
5. Expand Your Taste in Music through Different Genres
If you’re into indie rock and indie rock alone, your skillset is going to reflect this narrow niche. You might truly excel at playing indie rock, but exposing yourself to a variety of musical genres gives you a variety of techniques to master, making you an overall much better guitar player.
6. Seek Out the Advice of Skilled Musicians
No matter the skill level of your musically inclined friends, it’s always helpful to talk shop and to seek out advice or feedback from other musicians. Everyone has something to teach, and it’s always better to focus on the positive than the negative when getting a feel for how you can improve.
7. Play with Other Musicians as Much as Possible
No matter how much time you spend holed up in your room practicing, there’s no trade-off for playing with other musicians. Playing with other musicians takes patience and tolerance, on your part and theirs. Everyone must adjust and adapt to someone else whose abilities are slightly different than yours. Everyone needs to play with other musicians in order to find their own rhythm. The experience is invaluable.
8. Don’t Limit Yourself to Playing Just One Instrument
A great way to create new challenges and goals for yourself is to explore playing other instruments other than the guitar. Not only will this test your technical abilities, but it could give you creative ideas on how to incorporate techniques for the violin, bass, or banjo, for instance, into your guitar playing.
9. Learn to Train Your Ear
One way to help train your ear is to associate any new chord or scale with a sound or concept you’re already familiar with. For instance, many people associate the sound of an acoustic scale with the theme song for The Simpsons. By associating scales and chords with familiar things, you’ll be able to better identify these scales and chords.
10. Value Simplicity
When you get to the point where you feel comfortable and confident creating music, remember that the cliche saying, “Less is More,” actually holds lots of weight when it comes to musical composition. Remember that songs get stuck in peoples’ heads for a reason: they’re simple, beautiful, and everyone can remember them.
Lessons in Your Home provides the best guitar teachers around. Our teachers come right to your home for every lesson, plus we offer virtual music lessons, too. Our online music lessons are taught by local music teachers with live lessons tailored to your child!