Tips and suggestions for guitarists who feel that their playing has remained at the same level for too long, and who want to improve their guitar playing. How to make rapid progress, make better use of your practice time, and achieve your playing ambitions.
The first thing to do is to assess where you want to go with your playing. Are there any guitarists you want to sound like? What are your guitar playing aims? Once you know the direction in which you should be heading, you'll find it easier to make progress towards your goals.
The three main areas that you should address are: technique, knowledge and practice. All three are linked: with a poor technique, your playing will not improve however much you learn. Conversely, if you do not learn anything new, your playing will stay at the same level even if your technique is perfect. Finally, if you don't practice, you'll be unable to perfect your technique and new knowledge will not sink in.
Here are some practical suggestions aimed at a guitarist who has the basics down but who feels that their playing has stopped improving:
1. Learn some new chords. If you already know several different major, minor and dominant seventh shapes, try learning (for example) some major seventh chords, some diminished chords or some minor sixth chords. Even if you don't play jazz, you could learn some 'jazzy' chords, such as ninths, elevenths and thirteenths, and / or some altered chords. Any of these will add new color to your rhythm playing and to your songwriting.
2. Learn how to play some of the chords you already know but in another position. This may inspire some new songs or present an easier way to play existing songs.
3. Learn some more scales, or learn some of the scales you already know in another position. Learn a scale that is less commonly used than pentatonics and blues scales - for example the harmonic minor and / or the diminished scale. Both could potentially add a different color to your lead playing.
4. Examine your picking technique. Learn about alternate, economy and sweep picking techniques if you do not already know about them and incorporate them in your playing. Think about your right hand position, and the way you hold your pick. Watch a guitarist who is good at what you want to do and experiment with emulating how they hold a pick and where they rest their picking hand.
5. Learn some fingerstyle pieces. (This tip is aimed at those guitarists who seldom play without a pick.) Find some beginner classical guitar pieces, or some fingerstyle folk or blues - lots of music is available with TAB if you don't read music. Having some solo guitar pieces under your belt is also handy for when you are put on the spot and asked to play something.
6. When practicing, play with a metronome. This is very useful for improving your technique and timing, whether you are a lead, rhythm or solo guitarist.
7. Buy a book! Getting free information off the web is great, but if you buy a respected guitar book, you have made an investment and will be more likely to read and utilize the information.
8. Aim to learn something new regularly - be it a chord, a song, or technique, etc. You don't have to master it - just become aware of it and as you get better at it incorporate it into your own playing.
9. Learn to practice (rather than play) the guitar for a set time each day. It is very easy to waste time going over things you already know.
10. Meet with new musicians. Nothing can beat getting out of the house and jamming with other musicians if you want to improve your playing. If you've been playing with the same people for a long time, seek out some new musicians to practice with.
11. Get guitar lessons. If you're serious about improving, you will get better faster if you are investing time and money on regular lessons.
12. Learn to play the songs / riffs / solos of your favorite players by transcribing them yourself. This will give you valuable insight into how they approach the guitar.
By examining all of the aspects of your guitar playing, identifying what you want to be able to do and making the best use of your practice time, you will find that the improvement comes naturally.
Tom Wright writes for GuitarScales.info, a free online reference site for all guitarists.
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