How To Play Guitar: We have heard tell time and again by experts in their various fields say, “This is the secret to my success!” or, “Doing such and such is the secret to my success in this field!” There are so many “secrets” to success nowadays, and in the realm of the guitarists’ world, it is no different. Many pros and more experienced guitarists claim to have some kind of secret for being able to play so well.

Admit it, many of you are aching to know what these secrets are so that you can play just like them, right? Well, read on, and you just might satisfy that burning curiosity!

Secret 1: Burn with Passion

 Passion, my friends, is a very important element to have in yourself if you are truly serious about wanting to learn how to play guitar. You may be skilled in all the techniques – you may have mastered the chords, your chord progressions are awesome, accurate, and adept, and you may be playing the most complex songs – but if your heart is not in it, people will hear it. There is just something off about a musician, or any artist in general, who plays with all skill and no heart. You need to love what you are doing, because otherwise, your music will be dead, lifeless, and absolutely boring.

This is the very first secret you need to learn, and take to heart, because in anything that you do, whether it is playing guitar or any other activity, if you do not have the passion and the heart for it, chances are you will eventually just give up and walk away. Having the passion for learning how to play guitar will give you the motivation and the drive to keep getting better, and to keep at playing even when things get challenging.

Secret 2: T.O.I.

 What’s T.O.I., you say? T.O.I. stands for TIME ON INSTRUMENT, dear beginner guitarists. Notice how some people have been playing the guitar for so long but they do not sound anything out of the ordinary – they’re still your typical, average sounding guitarists. On the other hand, there are those who may be fairly new, but they sound really great! Is it because of talent? Maybe, but natural talent can only take you so far.

T.O.I. has a very close connection to the first secret we divulged earlier. You need to have passion for what you are doing because that is the only thing that will drive you to constantly spend time with your guitar and practice. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been playing, because what really matters is the amount of time you spend practicing. If you have been playing for 20 years, but very rarely pick up your guitar and practice, then you shouldn’t wonder why you still sound so mediocre. But even if you have been playing for only a short while, if you take the time every day to practice, then you really will start hearing a difference in the way you sound!

Secret 3: Don’t run from the challenges

 The only way for you to keep a steady level of improvement is for you to keep on challenging yourself. You cannot expect to get better at playing guitar if you keep playing the same songs, keep practicing the same scales and chord progressions, and just stick to the stuff you already know all the time.

How can you know you’re learning and improving? Set goals for yourself, like for example, you want to master the basic power chords in a month. Work on that diligently, and see the results after a month. Meeting a challenge, and learning to overcome it is a far more effective teacher than trying to get around that challenge.

Secret 4: Change it up

 Secret 4 is very closely related to the previous secret we just discussed. One way of challenging yourself is to keep varying what you do, but not so much that you do not even take the time to master one thing before moving on to another.

Here’s a tip for this particular secret: try to make a schedule. For example, you devote the whole month of September to learning and mastering barre chords. And then come October, you learn scales and work on those. Then, for November, let’s say for example that you want to learn songs that will incorporate what you learned in the last couple of months.

Variation will not only make your learning experience more fun and interesting, but it will also keep you from getting bored and stagnant. By incorporating change at the right times (meaning after you have mastered a particular technique, or if you feel you need to take a break from what you have been tackling so far), you allow yourself more room to grow because you give yourself the freedom to explore.

Secret 5: Playing the guitar is an acquired skill, not an inborn talent

 Most of you are probably gasping in surprise now and muttering under your breath, “That’s just crazy!” But think about it – were you born knowing how to talk? You learned how to talk, right? It’s the same thing with playing the guitar, my friends! Yes, some people may have the natural ability to be more sensitive to sound and distinguishing the differences between pitch, tone, and other qualities important in music, but this does not make people like them better musicians. You may have that natural talent of being musically inclined, as people say, but if you rely solely on that musical inclination of yours and you do not practice, then how far do you think that natural ability of yours will get you?

You get better at guitar playing by practicing diligently and keeping at the task even if it gets hard. You get better by not giving up, and by making time for your craft, no matter how busy you are. If it is important to you, then you will find the time and exert the effort to get better!

Secret 6: Practice with others, form a band, and share the knowledge

 Being around fellow guitarists and other musicians will certainly help a lot in improving your playing. For one thing, you get the benefit of the wisdom of the more experienced musicians, and being able to learn from them. You can read all the books you want and follow a rigid lesson plan, but nothing beats learning from those who have actually been there and know what you are going through.

Aside from this, practicing with other people or forming a band will hone your guitar skills because you learn how to harmonize with others in a group. Playing individually is one thing, but to be able to play well with other guitarists and musicians will definitely sharpen your guitar playing skills by teaching you to be more sensitive to music – the changes in rhythm, tone, pitch, and beat will keep you on your toes as you strive to keep up.

Secret 7: Remake songs… or for added fun, make up your own

 You know you are getting bored when the songs you’ve been playing become too easy and you no longer find yourself challenged. When this happens, try playing those songs you know in a different way – add your own interpretation to it! Let your creativity flow, and see what you can come up with.

And of course, the ultimate dream of any musician is to be able to create his own original music. It doesn’t matter if you think your creation is too simple or easy to play, what matters is that it is your own! Try working with other musicians, too, so that you can get tips and pointers on how to further refine your song, if you already have one.

A word before we end

There you have it friends, the seven secrets that all of you beginner guitarists should know! It may seem that these are all very common sense and should be obvious, but you would not believe how easy they are to forget when you find yourself immersed in what you are doing. Perhaps the most important thing for you to remember as you learn to how to play guitar is this: have fun! You will find that you make the most progress when you are actually enjoying yourself.