Making More Mistakes?

Last week, we looked at 5 out of the shortlist of 15 main mistakes that guitar players make in their playing. Hopefully you’ve heeded the warnings in that post and are on your way to correcting those first 5 mistakes (if you do them at all…).

So this week we’re continuing with common mistakes 6 to 10. If you haven’t read last week’s post, I suggest you go back and read it…but the order here isn’t really important.

1. Effects make You sound better

   This one isn’t really a “mistake”, but more of an outright lie! Just before you jump down my throat on this one (effects are there to add to the sound, right?) I’m not talking about how effects sound.

   What I am talking about is: how certain effects cover up your mistakes. I’m not against people using effects, it’s just when you practise with those effects all the time! Yes, some things do seem easier with distortion- it can make some notes sound louder (hammer-ons for example), and it can cover up any missed notes because it creates a lot of background “noise”. However, if you turn those effects off, what have you really got?

   My rule is: if you can’t play something cleanly, you can’t really play it at all. This means: work on your technique with a clean guitar where possible- as effects won’t make you a better player, but good practise will!

2. Don’t play up against the Frets

   I know, playing “up against the frets” is what we’re all told as beginners. Why? Because when you stop (a.k.a. fret) a string just behind the fret (i.e. just towards the head-side) it pulls the string tighter over the fret wire. The result of this is that you get a clearer sound from the string with less effort.

   Try this: place your finger on a string just right behind a fret (any fret will do, but thicker strings are better for this). I want you to fret that string as lightly as you can without the note buzzing. Now slowly move your finger towards the fret just below (lower number) the one you’re playing. Notice something?

   As you get further away from the fret, the string will start to buzz. The only way to correct this buzz is to press harder. Do you see where this is going? The further your finger is from the fret, the more effort you have to use. So don’t do it! Always play as close to the frets as possible.

3. Bend the Strings

   If you’re not making the last mistake, then you’re probably not making this one. Although if you do find yourself pushing down hard on the string, you might be guilty of this one…

   I’m not talking about stringbends that you want in your playing, I’m talking about when you’re playing chords and you’re gripping the guitar neck so hard that you’re actually bending the strings slightly. The result? The chord sounds out of tune (and it’s not always obvious why).

   When you play chords, the string should be fairly straight under your fingers (only bending slightly towards the fretboard where you’re fretting it). If any string is going towards the floor, or towards the sky it’s a sure sign that you’re fretting too hard and possibly pulling notes out of tune!

4. Not getting a Teacher

   There is a persistent myth going round in the guitar playing world, that being self taught is somehow better than having a teacher. If you think about it, this really doesn’t make sense! A good teacher is someone who can show you the way to learn faster because they have done it before.

   Trying to learn without a teacher is a bit like trying to walk from Paris to Barcelona without a map. Yes, you might arrive eventually, but surely you’re much better off with a map? A teacher can not only give you the roadmap you need to get to where you want to go, but he can also show you where the nearest train stations or car rental places are…i.e. you’ll arrive where you’re going a million times faster than if you were to go it alone.

5. Forget to tune

   This one is pretty straightforward: always tune your guitar before you play. If you’re guitar is out of tune you really have no hope of sounding good! Simple as that.

   If you’re not in tune: nobody will be able to tell what notes you’re trying to play (or what chords), and you wont know if you’ve got things right when practising (because everything will just sound “out of tune”). So tune up!

So there were numbers 6 to 10, next week we have the last five mistakes you should definitely avoid.
Rob.

September 20, 2011 at 11:00 pm | Guitar Technique and Exercises | 2 comments

2 Responses to “Making More Mistakes?”