- Not using alternate picking: many players will play every note by down stroking with the pick. While you can achieve moderately fast playing by doing this, you can always go twice as fast if you use alternate picking. Instead of plucking the string, bringing the pick back above the string, and plucking the string from the top again, you should pluck the string and then hit it again from the other side with an upward motion. Then you are already set to make another downward pluck.

- Not using your pinky: if you hardly ever use your pinky to fret notes while playing, you are playing inefficiently and limiting your speed and range of motions. Most players who make this mistake do so because the pinky seems like a weaker and less coordinated finger. Your index and middle finger are generally more powerful and comfortable to use but they cannot reach the notes that your pinky can if used correctly, and they will never be able to play some of the more advanced scales that require larger leaps between frets. To get your pinky up to the level of comfort and accuracy as your more frequently used fingers, you simply need to start using it to fret notes and slowly build up its strength and coordination. You have four fingers available; you might as well use them all.

- Resting your picking hand on the guitar: this can seem like a comfortable and energy saving habit, but all you are doing is diminishing your hand’s mobility. Also, becoming accustomed to resting a few fingers on the side of a guitar, or your palm on the bridge can make it difficult to play on different guitars that might have different shapes and parts. Your hand should be flowing freely above the strings, giving you more range of motion and the ability to switch from strumming to single note picking fluidly.

- Griping the guitar neck: the guitar is not a baseball bat. You should not have your hand wrapped around the neck while playing chords or notes. A sign of this improper technique in action is the thumb extending far above the fretboard, instead of being behind the neck. Now, some guitar teachers will say that your thumb should always be pressed against the back of the guitar neck and never be seen by someone viewing you from the front. This may be true for some chords and playing styles such as classical, but it is not a realistic rule. Everyone’s hands are different sizes and so are everyone’s guitars. When playing, concentrate on finding the most natural hand position to form a chord, relax your fingers, and don’t unnecessarily grip the guitar neck.