Five Things That May Be Holding You Back on Guitar
All guitar players are on the same journey in at least a couple of distinct ways. We all are, in one way or another, doing our best to become competent guitarists. We all love guitar music of some type and want to be able to play it. We all have to work hard to become better at it, and practice is king if you’re going to make progress! No one is a master of doing all the things listed in the below list! The important thing is to be aware of the things that could slow your progress on the guitar and do your best to avoid doing them. This list is not at all complete; countless things can help your growth on guitar, but we decided to pick five of the biggest things we could think of that may be holding you back!
1. You Only Practice the Things You Are Good At
Every guitar player has done it – we learn a song we enjoy, and every time we pick up the guitar, that song is the first thing that comes out. Doing this is part of what makes playing guitar so fun - hearing yourself play something that you want to hear all the time. Practicing what we are comfortable with can lead to our skills becoming out of balance - take time to practice things you aren’t good at, so over time, all your skills begin to even out.
2. Not Learning Music Theory
A huge part of playing guitar is art and creativity. Many of the best artists of all time are famous for blending musical styles, bending musical “rules,” and upending musical formalities of the past. Music would be nowhere without creativity, but every excellent guitar player had to develop a knowledge of music theory to learn to play with other musicians, play over their music, and push their music further than they likely ever expected.
3. Sticking Only to One Genre
Just learning songs from one genre is another trap most guitarists get into through their journey playing guitar. We like to focus on what we most want to hear! For some, this is country, blues, metal, rock, jazz, or folk. Whatever you love to play, your playing can always benefit from blending in some new styles. There are unique chords, scales, and rhythms played in different genres. Learning these can help you recognize more patterns in music and expand your musical palette. It is not all so different though, the more you progress, the more you’ll see that all music connects in one way or another and that blending genres is not hard to do!
4. Not Dedicating Specific Practice Time
Having a casual relationship with your guitar is cool if that is what you like to do! But we assume you are here because you’d like to get better. The good news is that this is made much easier by dedicating specific times throughout the day and week to practice your guitar. You can be sure you’re getting in enough playing with a guitar practice schedule. You can write down all the times you want to dedicate and make sure you follow it! Scheduling is better than just practicing when you think of it because the schedule can hold you accountable for your progress on the guitar. It helps you track your progress—seeing how much time you have dedicated can feel gratifying!
5. Playing Is Becoming Boring Because You Don’t Know What to Practice
When you are not sure what to learn is when a guitar teacher could be especially beneficial. When you are unsure of the next direction to take with practicing the guitar, and many of the things you try to learn are still out of your skill range, it can become extremely frustrating and lead to a loss of interest. A guitar teacher helps you build up your fundamental skills and foundation, the types of chords and scales that make up complicated songs. It is all a progression, and it takes time, but with the proper guidance and intuition, mastering the fundamentals will lead you to master highly challenging pieces of music!
