Guitar Technique

 

 

This section is concentrated on correct and effective guitar technique. Learning the proper way to hold the guitar, play notes, and finger chords and scales lays the foundation to everything you do on the instrument, so it is imperative to learn it the right way. In addition to going over general guitar technique, this section will also feature lessons and articles on other more advanced subjects such as fingerstyle picking, sweep picking, harmonics, and other alternate guitar playing techniques.

 

Alternate Picking Warm Up Exercises

Using correct alternate picking technique on the guitar is a very important concept that many players ignore or are never taught. Many people assume that picking technique is straightforward and does not require a lot of time devotion, but on the contrary, it is one of the most important things to develop. Since everything you play on guitar will depend on your alternate picking, having inefficient technique will create barriers on your playing that you wont be able to get by.

Some players will reach these barriers built up by years of improper technique and find that they have to basically start over from the beginning with the right form to eventually be able to progress. You can save yourself from this realization if you work on correct guitar technique from the start, and a big part of developing effective alternate picking is to always practice it in your warm up exercises.

Warming up is essential and you should do it everytime you practice. You should start with some light stretches of the fingers and hands to get them loose and ready to play. Then find a routine of varied finger exercises that make use of alternate picking and slowly use them to continue warming up. Start slow and slowly play faster as it feels natural. Focus on proper technique and playing each note with the best possible sound. If you are not producing a good sound, it is probably because you are playing too fast.

Warm up exercises like this will not only prevent you from getting long term finger and hand inguries that could keep you from playing, they will also help you improve your alternate picking technique and general finger ability. You might want to try playing without looking at either your picking hand or fretting hand to really start increasing your feel for the instrument and note playing accuracy.

These warm ups will build solid habits that will translate to unlimited guitar playing potential. If you get your picking technique down and solidify it through steady warm ups, you will find your ability greatly increasing. Watch the video linked to in the start of this post to see exactly what correct alternate picking is, and make sure to work on it until it is natural and automatic.

December 05 2009 | Guitar Technique

Bad Guitar Playing Habits To Avoid

When you start playing guitar and decide to teach yourself, it’s easy to develop some bad playing habits. Relatively minor flaws in position and posture can limit your playing ability further down the road. This lesson will point out some common mistakes made by beginners, and some more experienced players, that should be avoided and corrected to ensure that nothing is holding back the limits of your guitar ability.

September 22 2007 | Guitar Technique

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