Top 5 Guitar Playing Myths

OK, this really needs talking about. So many guitarists are working away under false impressions of what it takes to be a guitarist and/or a musician- a situation that isn’t helped by popular culture (which, if anything, exaggerates these myths!). So here they are, my top five guitar playing myths that are held to be true by many guitarists and music fans (even though they are, in fact, complete lies!).

Don’t be fooled again if anyone tries to tell you any of the following:

1) Being Self-Taught Boosts Your Creativity

This is one of the worst myths out there, so it just has to be tackled first! It’s that one that goes something like this:

All the great Guitarists were self-taught: Slash, Jimi Hendrix, Jason Becker, Eric Clapton (the list goes on…)- most of them don’t even know any music theory!

This idea is mostly used by those who are self-taught themselves and I hate to break it to you guys, but most of the above guitarists actually do understand music theory. Even if they don’t understand “Standard” theory terminology, they understand how the music that they want to create works. There is nothing wrong with being self-taught, but often people need to stop being afraid of “theory” and see it more as a way of understanding whats going on in music.

Like I said, nothing wrong with being self taught, but you really do learn faster from a teacher- someone who has been there before and understood it first. Also, you are less likely to make mistakes if a teacher is there to correct you.

2) The Best Technique is to Just “Do what feels Best”

Now, this is something I do hear alot from guitarists, and they are often just trying to give good advice. The problem is that, although some people find a great technique this way, it can lead others to develop tendonitis and other harmful conditions. The truth is that “standard” technique is there for a reason- because it works for everyone! For more on correct guitar technique, try some of my technical exercises or head over to my YouTube channel.

3) I Will Never Be THAT Good, I’m Just Not Talented

If you’ve said this to yourself, stop right there! Do you think Jimmy Page or Eric Clapton had that attitude? Listen, talent doesn’t exist! What does exist are hard work and perseverance, and if you continue to think that you’ll never be “talented” all you’re doing is limiting you’re true potential.

If you want further proof that talent doesn’t exist, or that success is actually down to hard work and effort, check out the 10k project on YouTube- which puts 10,000 hours of practice to the test!

4) Faster = Better

This one shouldn’t require much explanation, it’s silly, yet it’s still one of the most prevalent myths among guitar players today. Yes, fast playing is exciting and, to some extent, impressive- but you have to remember that it’s the mastery of technique that is most impressive. Without amazing technique, there is no speed.

The main reason that this is a myth is that it encourages people to master the guitar, but at the same time forget what a guitar is. A guitar is a musical instrument, used for creating music; music is not a competition, it is an art form. The most important thing about any art form is self expression, not technical fluency or speed, clear?

5) Musicians are too Lazy to get “Real Jobs”

I’ve covered some of this in point 3, above, but it’s so important it deserves another mention. Maybe some musicians become musicians because they are too lazy to get “real work”, but then these are the same people that don’t get anywhere with their music careers. The most successful musicians work very hard at what they do, it’s not “talent”, it’s not “luck”, it’s hard work (just like in any other job).

So, next time you hear your favourite song, or listen to your favourite band, don’t get envious- become inspired to work as hard as they have on something you love! I, personally, couldn’t think of anything I’d rather be working on

November 17, 2009 at 2:11 pm | Music News and Opinions | No comments

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