Guitar Practicing Tips for Newbies

By: Peter Lenkefi

It is often the case that individuals just learning to play the
guitar want to sound like a professional when they really need
to focus on guitar playing/practicing tips for newbies. Guitar
playing/practicing tips for newbies may sound like fundamental
information that is not fun, but that all depends on how serious
you are about learning to play the guitar. The best advice for
you at this stage of your learning is to take it slow and learn
as much as you possibly can. This short tutorial, which features
guitar playing/practicing tips for newbies will present you with
the basics for honing your skills. By following the steps below
you will be playing like a pro in no time at all.

Step 1: Warm Up Your Hands and Fingers

Your hands will get a good workout when you play and practice
the guitar. Just as a typist whose hands perform repetitive
motion for a significant number of hours can develop carpel
tunnel syndrome, so can you too injure the delicate tendons in
your hand. You can experience very painful cramps and in extreme
cases could lead to loss of ability to play the guitar at all.
You should spend at least 5 minutes warming up your fingers and
hands before you perform either of these activities. One of the
most important guitar playing/practicing tips for newbies is to
take a break if you play or practice for longer than an hour.
The following exercises are ideal for warming up your hands and
fingers:

* Use each hand to gently massage the other one; concentrate on
the base of the area located at the base of the thumb * Place
your hands against one another, pressing your fingertips
together * Stretch your fingers out as far as you can and then
curl them inward; repeat twice

Step 2: Practice Chromatic Scale

While playing either major or minor chords is a traditional
method that guitarists use when they start practicing, this
feature of guitar playing/practicing tips for newbies would be
remiss if it did not recommend that students of the guitar
practice the chromatic as often as they can. The chromatic scale
is among the guitar playing/practicing tips for newbies because
you play all 12 notes on the guitar in half steps. This scale is
contrary to a whole note scale, which consists of playing the
notes in whole steps.

Step 3: Get Down to Playing

You have looked forward to another opportunity to play your
guitar and here you are. If you haven't prepared for your
practice session by choosing your lesson beforehand, the guitar
playing/practicing tips for newbies for this step include
suggestions for what you could practice/play during your session.

* Learn a new chord * Choose to learn one section of a new song
* Practice picking, strumming, plucking, or all three

Step 4: Cooling Down

The cooling down phase is a time to bring your session to a
close. Instead of abruptly stopping and putting your guitar
away, this is the time to sort of reward yourself by leaving the
session on a positive "note." Whether you are practicing or
playing the guitar, you are probably challenging your skills. In
the cool down you ease out of the challenging phase.

The following are the best guitar practicing/playing tips for
newbies for cooling down:

* Play a short, familiar piece that is comfortable for you *
Don't focus on playing your finale piece with perfection; just
play it * Closing your eyes while you play the finale can help
to calm you if the practice session was difficult or frustrating

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