You’ve been playing guitar for less than a year, maybe a bit longer but something's not right. You’re still struggling to make progress and learning your favourite song seems to be getting further and further away from your grasp...

One or more of these things could be slowing your progress

I’ve seen the same small problems from hundreds of my students, specifically in the past few years where I have been taking much more care in figuring out where my clients are struggling and how they can improve. 

I would like to share with you this list of very simple and very quick fixes you can apply TODAY to make significant progress in your guitar playing and to hopefully help you get over your frustrations.

--LEFT HAND--

1 - Do this finger exercise

The communication between your brain and what it tells your left hand (fretting hand) to do is quite weak at the start. Do this exercise until it is comfortable at medium speed which will help improve not only coordination in general but help improve your chord changing and dexterity too. Get control over your fingers!

2 - Is your left wrist bending too much?

I see so many students struggle with holding chords. If your wrist is bent it creates a weakness in your ability to hold down the strings and puts unnecessary pressure on your wrist. The only time I would suggest bending your wrist like this would be for barre chords.

3 - Is your palm pressed against the back of the neck?

With your left-hand palm right up against the back of the neck your movement is limited. Both when changing chords and reaching the lower strings in general. Keep the palm away for freedom of movement.

4 - Are you pushing hard enough?

There are 2 reasons why your chords/notes might be making that horrible buzzing sound. The first is flat, lazy fingertips on the left hand. Simply squeezing down harder with the fingertips and bending them more will make so much difference.

5 - Are your fingertips in the middle of the fret?

The second most common reason your notes and chords are buzzing is because you are too 'low' in the fret. Make sure your fingers are in the middle or slightly to the right of middle. Too far to the left of middle and you get that buzzzzzzz.

6 - Is your thumb sometimes under the neck?

At no point should your thumb travel around the back and to the underside of the neck. Be sure to keep good control by holding the guitar neck mostly between the thumb (upper side) and index finger (underside).

--RIGHT HAND--

7 - Are your fingers on the body while plectrum picking?

Although it CAN work fine, I find this way of 'anchoring' to be too limiting. Anchoring is when you have some part of your hand or fingers connected to the guitar body to get better control. I personally suggest resting the 'ball' of your right thumb on the lower strings of the guitar for better control when playing notes and melodies on the higher strings.

To play melodies on the lower strings you can rest your hand on the upper body, higher up than the strings themselves

8 - Are you using the thumb to pick every string?

The thumb is a clumsy tool for this job. Either use your index finger in an upward motion or use a plectrum. Plectrums may feel weird at first but once you get used to them they will give you much more control and you will find it easier to play faster.

9 - Are you strumming too hard?

Neighbours complaining about the noise? When strumming you want to 'brush' the strings lightly with the plectrum rather than attack them. Squeeze a little lighter on the plectrum. Imagine the plectrum being like a wobbly loose tooth and see how gentle you can strum in both directions.

​Increase the volume by squeezing the plectrum a little tighter.

10 - Are you holding the pick funny?

Keep your plectrum between the index fingertip and the thumbprint. Holding it between your thumb and your middle finger or the thumb and the side of your index finger is less effective.

11 - Do you make BIG plectrum movements?

When playing single notes make sure you are not swinging your entire elbow... of course I'm exaggerating but keep your plectrum movements small rather than large so you find it easier to come back to the string to play it again. Eventually you will get a 'feel' for the distance when changing strings too.

--GENERAL--

12 - Are you (REALLY) in tune?

Nothing will improve the sound of your guitar playing more than being in tune... like REALLY in tune. Be a bit OCD about making the strings as perfectly in tune as possible and tune very regularly.

13 - Do you hold the guitar completely 'sideways'?

When the guitar neck is exactly 90 degrees to your body it pushes your elbow backwards and creates a difficult playing position. Don't over-do it but a good guide would be to have a 90 degree angle in your elbow itself and have the guitar neck a little out in front of you.

ALSO the elbow should fall where gravity puts it, don't tuck it into your side or push it away to your side.

14 - Are you looking at both your hands too much?

This one takes practice but if you can at least try to stop looking at your right hand and then your left hand and then your right hand again constantly you will make more progress. Practice slowly and try to focus more on your left hand when chord changing or playing melodies.

FOR playing notes/melodies, make sure your right hand is anchored like in TIP#7
FOR strumming you DON"T have your hand anchored in this way and you move from the elbow or wrist instead.

15 - Are you getting the strings mixed up?

You may have already learned that when reading TAB, the bottom line is, from your perspective, the TOP string (closest to the ceiling).... this LOW E is actually referred to as the BOTTOM string and its very common to mix them up when reading TABS. 

​String 1 is the high e. String 6 is the LOW E

16 - Is one hand moving faster than the other?

When picking a single note it is important that your left hand meets the fret BEFORE your right hand picks the string. If your right hand moves faster than your left you will hear a lot of muted notes. So take your time when practising. Slow and steady wins the race.

17 - Are you keeping the guitar in its case?

Between lessons your guitar should not just be sitting in its case. As soon as you get home take it out and keep the guitar close to your favourite seat in the house next to a box of chocolates or whatever treats make you happy. You will pick it up WAYYyyy more often.

18 - Don't forget it's supposed to be fun!

Practice can be a bit of a grind but reaching the end of it, where you can successfully play something, is one of the most rewarding things I know of. If it's not challenging you won't grow but on the other hand if it's not fun you won't push yourself. Strike a balance and remember why you chose to start learning guitar in the first place.

I offer group lessons in Munich and they are a great way to make guitar learning a social activity and connect with people just as cool as you are.

DID I MISS SOMETHING? If you have a specific problem you didn't find in this list I would love to hear from you