10 Mistakes Guitarists Make (and how to fix them!)

And here I am again, watching stuff related to playing guitar, while I am not... just because you know, maybe some day, I will :P

"Mindless wankery"! So that's what I've been doing wrong!! 😄

#2: I have a cheap no name travel guitar, it's pretty much the neck with some rods that you attach/detach for travel, sounds like crap when I played. My cousin, who had been playing for at least 20 years by that time, got his hands on it, and I swear an angle was playing it, it sounded absolutely amazing.

Hay man I will like you to be my teacher

Wino beard, wino t-shirt.

Not sure I agree about thumb position, just based on personal experience. My thumb simply won’t accept being in that first position but really goes into the ‘thumb over neck’ position for most chords.

For barre chords my thumb is much more comfortable parallel to the neck, and I don’t understand how that can be ‘’wrong’’ just because I don’t do it a particular taught way. If I can’t play an F shape barre with my thumb in that ‘’correct’’ position and it feels particularly uncomfortable, I’m not going to try and learn to play that way.

Wow, finally I get it! I need to grow a beard to play!!

The reverend uses 7s, if it's good enough for him, they're good enough for me.

I was playing .10s strings for years but then I saw this video of Mateus Asato some weeks ago where he said he is playing .9s because his muscles are not strong enough and he got the tip from another guitar pro to switch from .10s to .9s to fix a problem he had with bending and vibrato. When I reflected on my playing I understood that I was averting bends on the high e string since forever and I quickly knew why: because it was just too tough! Switched back to .9s now and don't like their wobbly feel, but the bends are so much easier and I can practice longer. Maybe I'll try 9.5s to find the sweet spot for me.

I'm a bassist but use 8s on my Strat. Also 35=95 on my Precision and Jazz basses. With 30-90 on my Spector 5 string but with a 130 low B bought separately.

Best tip. Start young. Retiring and having more time to learn to play sucks. Hands don't move. Fingers don't move. Brain is slow. Ten times harder. Get in early.

"let me play it slowly" ive been playing for ten years...... maybe i should practice this

I have a book my guitar teacher's teacher wrote that recommends practicing chromatic scales at "maximum pressure". 😂 I doubt he was a bad guitarist, but I don't follow his advice.
Hand cramps are a thing, and chromatic scales are BOOOORING 🥱 (and they don't teach you much)
How is it it took me until about a month ago to learn about diatonic 7th arpeggios?? They're a great thing for practical method and for putting theory to work. I love how your version finishes with a flourish ☺ music to my ears 🎶

Your Atkin acoustic is the best sounding acoustic I’ve ever heard, but $5000!?

I do this... I have a list of wanted guitars/amps/modelers/pedals/etc... and I make also a list for what I want to achieve on the guitar in a 10 year time. Each year, you get to buy something on your list IF and only IF you have progressed as expected. If not... punish yourself with no new gear!... It sucks.. but next year you will have more saved money and can get something even better, IF (and again) only IF you have achieved the progress expected.

This way of self-reward will also give you a reason to go back to the guitar, when you aren't so prone to practice. You can kick yourself into gear, by thinking what new thing you would have next year. ;)

Myself in 34 years have got 3 electric guitars (only 1 new), an acoustic (new), a bass (new) and a Ukulele (new), as well as my computer, sound interface and midi keyboard. I've had 4 amps, a multifx (the Zoom 505), 3-4 pedals in total, Guitar Software (Guitar Rig, Bias FX2 and AMP2, Overloud TH-U). I want obviously more guitars, fx, amps, modelers, software, etc... It will never end!... But to have anything new, I'll have to progress to a minimum of progress I have established. It may take me 2-3 years. :D

Technique combinations as per situations. 👍🏼

how to I get access to you patron page so I can access the tab for the last exercise?

I love that you emphasize being relaxed and not tensing up. I probably had over 500 shows under my belt before I honed in on this issue and corrected it. My wife actually told me I look like I’m taking a dump when I play which is funny but it made me realize that I need to relax more. I looked more intensely concentrated than I really was, even playing parts that had become 100% muscle memory. It took me months to completely change my breathing, posture (sitting and standing) and focused on being more deliberate with my picking hand and relaxing my shoulders and even my face and my playing improved. I tell young guitarists all the time to be cognizant about these things and get into the habit of being relaxed early in their playing journey.

Oh my god, the Zoom 505... What a hit of nostalgia! I had one around... 1999?

Once upon a time I taught skiing. At the end of each class I'd ask the group "When you look around the mountain, how do you tell who is the best skier?" I would get answers like, "Their turns are pretty," or, "They go so fast," or, "They never fall," or worst of all, "Because they have the cool gear and clothes." NO. I would explain that every day on the mountain one person had more fun, got more joy out of the day, laughed harder, and made better memories than anyone else: That person wins, they are the best skier on the hill that day. It might indeed be that soul skier with the pretty turns, or it may be a 10 year old beginner girl who has that ah-ha I CAN do this, and I'm better than my brother, light bulb moment; but whoever is having the most fun is doing it right.

"let me play it slowly"
plays 360bpm

I had that same zoom 505! Played thousands of hours on it haha

I’m glad you mentioned tabs. I absolutely hate tabs, and I just can’t work with them. My brain does not compute with tabs. I’d much rather do it the way you suggested - listen to the song that you like, find the chords and then match it up in your brain as far as the correct pitch and Tonality. Thanks for this video. This was really helpful.

I think all great artists didn’t look at it as practice , they just loved to play and play and play ….

Don't give up! Keep going! Be brave!
- Keep your fretting nails short, and the pain in the ends of your fingers will go away.
- When learning a song start out by playing it s __l_o__w__l__y. Focus on finger positioning and timing.
- Practice a phrase, then move on to the next phrase, then the next, then go back to the first.
- Play the WHOLE song, don't get stuck on playing one bar over and over. I have found that one tricky bar that I hate, if I play the entire song enough, it just seems to fix itself.
- Pick 5 songs. Play each song one day, one song the next, etc. That way you won't get bored.
- It typically takes ME 4 months of playing a song every day to learn it well. Give yourself time to learn a song.
Practice, practice, practice. Don't compare yourself to better players. They got better by practicing. You will get better!

I dont own a guitar or even play.... but I just watched this whole video for this guy.

The Mika reference lol

I held my breathe while playing for so many years! It took me a really long time to learn to undo that behavior. Great video as always. Thanks.

go for the triads, open your view to the fretboard ! I love it and its fun

Oh my god that candy apple strat is the most gorgeous guitar i’ve ever seen

I play guitar for around 15 years,maybe 16-17,I play professionally and I have around 200 gigs per year.For some months of the year, I play every single day.I use only 9s at those periods, even with my experience, daily use of 10s can be tough.Ever since I changed to 9s ,playing guitar is like walking on clouds,ez peezy.

Yes ro the number 1. As a Guitar teacher I can’t tell how much I insist with my students on the thumb position.

No tabs, and you have tabs in learning videos

Hey Paul where'd u get that textured white shirt? Great video btw

you will just learn anything of this if you play everyday

Now I understand why my classical guitar teacher told me that from the first to the last class I took.

Hey great video! I’ve been playing for 6 months.
i gotta ask, on the arpeggio I noticed you pressed your fingers on the fretting strings? Now I am curious if yours supposed to press on the fretting strings every time you play tabs?

Paul, is that an American Vintage tshirt ? I got the same … great video as always

can I get your beard??

Do other noise distract anyone while practising ? I have the problem.

I was at a bar with a friend supporting his bandmate who was the acoustic performer for the night... she was a great vocalist but... she. Had. zero. Dynamics. Every single song was fortissimo strummed with a 1.0mm pick and it was a terrible experience. No finger picking. No arpeggiating. Barely any held out chords... all just aggressive 8th note patterns for 3 hours lol..

That thing about moving the fingers too much was my biggest self taught bad habit. I referred to it as flappy finger syndrome. I didn't even realise I was doing it until I saw a video of my playing. Linked to that is the fact that callouses make it easier to press lightly. As I explain it, try holding down a stick while someone is pulling on it firstly by pressing down with your elbow and then by sitting on it. You get much more grip with a bony elbow than a squidgy butt.

I am close to intermediate and improving my guitars now. This improved my play style pretty mich because my cheap beginner guitars were so hard to play. So to me it is like work until you hit a wall then get better gear and repeat.

I played scales for an hour tonite….& I’ve been playing guitar for 50 years.Doing this will help you find home base when you’ve played yourself into a “no man’s land”

Your Double stop video has helped me TREMENDOUSLY on my leads.Thank you so much for posting that video.