“Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.”
― Ronald E. Osborn
Learning to play the guitar in NYC can be an exciting experience. You may want this because you have a career dream or as a skill to help you connect with music. Regardless of the reason, it is important to know guitar lessons take time and patience.
Some beginners start out thinking their iconic performance before a captivated crowd is only a few weeks away. Well, if you are lucky and quick to learn, you can get applause from a small group of friends who probably had no choice in being present.
A professional and thrilling performance takes skill and technique, both of which you will develop when you give time and opportunity to yourself. You can start by taking guitar classes in New York City with us.
To help you learn faster, here are 8 quick and easy tips to guide you.
1. Avoid the death grip
One of the first things you learn from a guitar school in New York City is how to hold or grip the guitar. Many people experience difficulty in pressing the strings against the fret board. Yes, it’s hard to do this while bearing the pain on your fingers and wrist. Hence, most people end up using a bad technique commonly called the death grip.
The death grip involves hooking your thumb over the fret board and pressing the strings with the flat pad of your finger. This restricts the movement of your fingers and makes you prone to mistakes when playing.
To avoid this, place your thumb behind the guitar’s neck. This way your hand is forced to use your fingertips accurately. Note that this may feel weird and uncomfortable at first, but with time you will adapt and appreciate its effects on your skills. Here is FAQ by Beginning Guitarist.
2. Get acquainted with your guitar
Most expert guitar players still have their first guitar. This instrument is of particular significance because it is the first guitar you must get acquainted with.
First, make sure you select a guitar you like; one you enjoy the feel. Next, learn all its parts during guitar classes. You would be introduced to parts like the fret board, strings, tuning pegs, bridge and sound hole. In no time, you will learn some basic chords as well.
Take your guitar everywhere with you (if you can). Don’t hesitate to hold, and practice the guitar when you are inspired to. Sometimes, consistency and a good guitar are all you need.
3.Tune your guitar
Have you ever heard a guitar sound bad and threaten the integrity of your ears? Sometimes when this happens, it is not because the guitarist is a bad player. The real problem could be that the guitar is not in tune.
Tuning your guitar is not something you do occasionally or when you want to show off your progress. It is something you do each time you pick up your guitar to play. As a beginner or even a player with some experience, this should be the most important tip you learn from guitar lessons in New York City.
4. Go Slow
Initially, we mentioned how it is essential to be patient as you learn. This helps you not to put unnecessary pressure on yourself and become a better player.
In the same way, you must learn to go slow as you play. Don’t try learning how to play fast. Without good technique or precise fingering, it is impossible to play fast successfully. So, rather than setting unrealistic goals and wasting time, learn to go slow and speed will come as a bonus. To practice slowly, a metronome can be a really helpful tool. Here are tips to practice with a metronome.
5. Be particular about correct fingering
When you start taking guitar classes, almost everything may seem hardly to be manageable. Interestingly, after only a few more classes, you start to get the hang of it. Your teachers would teach you the way of guitar scales and chords. This includes how to place your fingers and use them to play notes on the fret board. You may wonder why you need to practice scales. Find out Why You Need Learn Scales on Guitar.
Before you know it, you are becoming a guitar expert and you might discover a new way of playing some chords by altering the traditional finger placement. If this happens, by all means, do not indulge yourself.
Correct fingering when playing the guitar is more than just learning to get a particular chord right. It is about professionalism, variation, and order. Correct fingering helps you to be flexible and add spice to your play with the chords when you need to. You would quickly discover that your new technique does not afford this luxury.
6. Practice standing up and sitting down
This is more about developing yourself to play before an audience. You may find comfort in sitting down to play or practice but this is not a good quality of an expert guitar player. It promotes the common and unappealing habit of hunching over to see your hands move.
Start early. Practice playing when standing up and waltzing around the room. Overcome your fears or difficulty in your first try and push harder. You would be glad about the results.
7.Get more involved
Learning to play the guitar is more than strapping on the instrument and working your fingers. Don’t make your guitar classes in New York City a big secret. Build other areas of your life to support your learning. Talk about the guitar or your classes with friends and family. Encourage others who wish to play and try to show them the things you have learned. This promotes your skills and gears you toward your dream of becoming an expert.
8. Reward yourself
There’s nothing wrong in rewarding yourself for completing different stages of the learning process. Your first victory may be getting a good grip, the next could be learning most chords. Whatever small or large feats you accomplish while learning, they should be celebrated. Set up a reward system for yourself to spur you on and keep you motivated.