3 Ways to Graduate from Being a Beginner Guitarist

Now you can press down the F chord, and all the minor and major chords are completely good to go!
You've also somehow managed to play simple solos!
But for some reason, no matter what you play, it sounds clumsy and you don't know what to do.

There are many beginner guitarists who stumble just like this, aren't there?
To put it bluntly, it comes down to "you just need to get used to it, so please practice more," but if I said that, this column would end right here.

Therefore, this time, I will introduce what guitarists who have become capable of doing things to a certain extent should practice toward shedding their beginner status.

■ The Metronome is Your Friend

Among the instruments commonly used in genres like rock and pop, guitarists are probably the ones who practice with a metronome the least, wouldn't you say?

No matter what part you play, if you are a musician, a metronome is an item you absolutely must use in your daily practice.
Just as a soccer player says the ball is their best friend, a musician's friend should be the metronome.

I pretty much understand the reason why it's hard to become friends with a metronome.
It's just fun to play along with CD tracks and the like, isn't it?
Particularly when you rock out to live tracks, you can taste the ultimate feeling as if you've become that artist yourself.

I'm not saying you should quit that practice method right this second; rather, please keep doing what is fun.
But you won't acquire true skills with this alone.

This is because if you play along with a professional track, your rhythm will rely entirely on that source, and you can keep playing with a good feeling even if you make a few mistakes.

However, suppress that desire to just have fun and practice with a metronome too.
Practice over and over again so that you can bring out the groove of the song while staying perfectly in time with the metronome's tempo.

For phrases you can't play, don't just play them slowly; use a metronome to practice them slowly.
Once you get used to it, having it click on the off-beats while you play is also highly effective.

Lately, there are metronomes you can download as smartphone apps, but I recommend purchasing a unit too..
If some kind of notification comes through while the app is running, it will get interrupted, and you can't use it when your battery life is running low.
This is an item you definitely want to own at least one of.

⇒ Sound House Metronome List

■ Make Effective Use of an Amp

Are you practicing your electric guitar without using an amp because of housing conditions, or because plugging it into the jack is a hassle?
Also, when you do practice through an amp, is it distorted to an overly intense degree more than necessary?

When you practice, always make use of an amp, and furthermore, use it the correct way.

⇒ Sound House Guitar Amp List

○ If You Practice Without Using an Amp

○ If You Practice Without Using an Amp If you don't use an amp, the sound is naturally quiet, so any unwanted noise you don't want others to hear also becomes quiet, causing you to stop paying attention to it.
If you keep practicing like that, when you finally plug into an amp, your playing will be so full of noise that it will be unbearable to listen to.

The noise referred to here does not mean noise caused by the equipment, but rather unnecessary sounds generated due to sloppy playing.
You must mute the strings other than the one you want to sound, but if you aren't used to an amp, you won't form the habit of muting the strings, resulting in a performance full of noise.

○ You Cannot Learn Sound Shaping

For a guitarist, shaping your sound with amps and effects pedals is also part of your skill.

"The amps used in studios or live shows are different, so it doesn't matter,"

some people might think. However, can a person who cannot even shape their sound on a home-use amp instantly shape their sound at a studio or a live venue?
Instead of creating the exact sound you will use at an actual venue, you need to practice sound shaping on a regular basis so that you can instantly craft your own sound no matter what the venue is.

By the way, you cannot use effects pedals unless you run through an amp, but effects pedals are also useful for creative activities.
It’s a common story that while messing around and playing with effects pedals, a great phrase came to mind.
While shaping the sounds you normally use is good, simply messing around and playing with various effects pedals and amps expands the possibilities of something new being born.

○ If Things Are Difficult Due to Housing Conditions

BOSS / WAZA-AIR Wireless Guitar Headphone System

For those who live with family and want to practice late at night, even a low-output home-use amp can sometimes be difficult.
In such cases, please consider the WAZA-AIR Wireless Guitar Headphone System.

Since the headphones themselves have a built-in amp simulator and over 50 types of effects, you can practice with an authentic sound even in the middle of the night.

The price is a bit high, but its quality purely as wireless headphones is also top-notch. If you think of it as purchasing a practice amp with superb sound along with headphones, it is not that expensive of a purchase.

■ Preventing Sound from Getting Disconnected Unnecessarily

The guitar is an instrument where the sound can get disconnected if you let your guard down even just a little.
Whether playing chords or single notes, let's be conscious of holding notes for their full duration.

What beginners should pay attention to first in particular is chord changes.
Due to the guitar's structure, there is a moment when changing chords where no chord is being played at all.
The key lies in how close to the limit you can keep sounding the current chord until you play the next one.
In other words, it’s a matter of how quickly your left hand can change chords.

A common pitfall is that, in order to prepare for the next chord, the last stroke of the chord you are currently playing becomes a staccato, resulting in total silence in the gap before the next chord.
Repeating this frequently makes the song itself hard to listen to.

■ Bonus: Puff Out Your Chest

Are you staring intently at the fretboard and playing the guitar with an intense hunchback posture?
It's not as if looking closely will suddenly make you play well.

This habit is quite hard to break, and there are surprisingly many hunchbacked players even after they become capable of playing to a certain extent.
It will also make your neck and shoulders ache, so let's practice with your chest puffed out. Just doing that alone gets rid of the beginner look on the outside.

■ Summary

As written at the very beginning, in order to escape beginner status, practice is everything.
However, efficiency is indeed important for improving as quickly as possible, and it’s necessary to avoid picking up strange habits from wrong practice habits.
Take a moment once again to check if there is anything wrong with your practice habits.

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