3 Mistakes that are Stopping you from Learning Guitar

There are many factors to consider when we are an absolute beginner trying to learn something for the first time. There are several difficulties that a beginner faces that can slow down progress or result in a complete failure at learning the guitar which is an amazing instrument.

In this blog, we will discuss 3 mistakes that people make that directly impact their guitar learning.

Mistake #1 – Being Stuck on Warm-Up exercises

When you go to a music school or first guitar instructor, the first thing they are going to do is ask you to play guitar exercises. Typically, to master this exercise you may take a month or more. In our experience, most of the time, students complain saying that “I'm stuck at this exercise forever”. Now, if you're stuck at the same kind of exercise for two weeks or more, it’s obvious that you're going to lose interest. And once you start losing interest, the next thing you do will be to discontinue learning this amazing instrument.

So, what’s the Solution?

The right way to learn is to learn chords at the same time. So, why do you need to learn the chords at the same time? That is because chords by itself are going to take more than two or three weeks to master. So, let’s calculate the total time you’re going to take - you are going to learn the warmup exercise for three or four weeks then after that you're going to start with the chords. Chords will take you another two or three weeks so for two months you're just doing some exercise on the guitar

Mistake #2 - Learning Complicated Chords

When you first started learning to play chords on the Guitar, you tend to learn these chords C Major, E Minor, G Major and D Major. Now, while E Minor and D Major are not so complex for a beginner, the other two chords – C Major and D Major can be quite tricky for a beginner.

So, what’s the Solution?

That is why you should learn ‘half chords’. So, what are half chords? Half chords are simplified versions of the full chords – these typically have less notes that need to be played. These notes are typically played on the first three strings. So, we highly recommend first learning the half chords and how to apply them correctly. Playing these half chords and being able to apply them will help build your muscle memory and confidence. Once you have gained mastery over these half chords and are ready to venture into full chords, then you can start with full chords.

Mistake #3 – No Rewards/Motivation

A lot of students end up spending their first few weeks or even months on warm up exercises. They are unable to move their fingers fast enough, not coordinated or just unable to get a grasp of the instrument. The problem is that, if they are unable to achieve anything, they are going to get bored and lose motivation very quickly.

So, what’s the Solution?

The first thing we need to understand is the psyche of a learner. If somebody is trying to learn anything, it's directly related to how enjoyable that learning process is. How much of a reward system is it based on. So, learning and accomplishing things at a faster pace will keep you motivated. This in turn will keep you motivated to learn further. And if the process is really slow and complicated, you will either get tired or bored and you will ultimately stop learning. At the end of the day, with everything you learn, to keep you motivated, you need to have accomplishments. So, while warm up exercises are important, we advise that you don't spend more time on only exercises. Learn to play songs and learn songs alongside which is more rewarding and keeps you motivated to learn more.

In Summation

So, that was our 3 Mistakes that are Stopping you from Learning Guitar and our 3 solutions to counter that problem. So, make sure you don’t repeat these mistakes on your journey of guitar learning to achieve your goals. If you want to see a video demonstration of these topics, please see the video on our YouTube Channel - https://youtu.be/XcPYZXhdyt0    
 
If you want access to detailed guided lessons and practice routines, please do check out our Guitar courses on https://musicpandit.com – On Music Pandit, you get step-by-step lessons  that are designed to get you playing your favourite songs as quickly as possible. The lessons cover a whole range of topics including easy chords, popular strumming patterns, how to be creative with your playing and how to apply your techniques on any song!
 
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