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5 Things That Awesome guitar players Do Every Day
We’ve all grown up with our idols and it’s safe to say that every single one of us wanted to know what our favourite rockstars did which made them so great. We are going to highlight the 5 things that awesome guitar players do every day so that you can start making healthy habits out of their wisdom, so without any further ado, let’s get straight to it.
Warming Up – Fingers, Technique, Scales, Chords
You can’t expect to write a masterpiece – actually, you shouldn’t expect to nail down the songs you are completely sure in if you don’t warm up properly. The big rockstar guitarists are well aware of the fact that warming up is as crucial as practicing your technique.
Depending on your skill level, your warm up sessions will look different, naturally. Beginners should take it slow and gently strum along the notes they are most comfortable with, intermediate gutiarists sometimes jam or start playing random easy songs until they kick in the mood while most professionals have their own recipes for warming up – some like to run, do yoga, crack their fingers, or simply pace about before they get to actual playing.
There’s just one thing you should know about warming up – you can’t do it badly. There’s no such thing as over-warming or under-warming up, as you’ll eventually get to the point when you’ll be ready to start playing and rocking off. For as long as you make a habit out of this, you’ll do just fine.
Constant, Consistent Practice
The ever old clichés “through practice you will become the master of your art”, “per aspera ad astra”, and similar phrases are, in fact, very true. Of course, this doesn’t apply to every player to the letter – there are guitar players who feel like they’ve commited a serious crime if they don’t pick up their guitar for at least five minutes a day, but there are also players who don’t feel like they should practice every single day.
If you want to become a big guitar rockstar, you need to find your personal “golden middle” which is usually in between the aforementioned situations. Let’s highlight the importance of the so-called “muscle memory” – while you’re practicing, it’s not just your brain that is getting the information and experience, as your fingers are as well.
Every time you strum a note, your fingers will “acknowledge” the fact that they’re capable of doing it again. Once you nail down a hard, technical solo, your fingers will, again, acknowledge that they can do it again. This is the main reason that practise is so important.
On the other hand, constant practice will keep you “in the game”. You will naturally progress and evolve your technique, what appeared as hard will become easier and easier, and you will begin to discover new, easier ways to do something that used to pose a problem for you.
Back to the Roots – Repeating the Basic Exercises
One of the most devastating things you can do to your technique is to imagine that you “got it nailed” – that you’ve handled the elementary stuff, so that now you should focus on the “harder”, “more important things”. Professional guitarists and true rockstars are well aware of the fact that you can’t “master” the guitar – there’s always room for more learning, and you’ll have to constantly check back on the basics lest the newfound knowledge and skill overwhelm it, and ultimately, diminish it.
So, what are the “roots”? What should you keep doing that you are already doing? If you’re a beginner, you are either playing by the book, or simply mashing down on your frets in hopes of forming a brutal, innovative riff. If you’re an advanced guitarist, you’re after arpeggios and working on your solos.
If, however, you intend to be a professional, you should consult your chord book every once in a while, work in different scales, consult with your fellow guitarists, and polish your technique rather than constantly trying to improve it.
Experimenting with Sound
Sticking to your guns will only get you so far. You’ve purchased your first guitar and you might think that it will be your one and only true love. You got your first amp, a distortion pedal, and some effects onboard, and now you’re starting to explore the vast world of music through a different lens, but what’s the key to making it big? It might surprise you, but the key is to never be satisfied with your sound.
There’s always a better pedal to be had, a better guitar to be played, and a superior rig you could own, but we’re not talking about that – we’re talking about playing around with what you already have. In fact, you could get the sound you always dreamed of with budget gear.
As you continue to play and practice, your “guitarist ear” will also develop, and you’ll start noticing things you otherwise couldn’t. Tweak the knobs, switch the lines, play around with your gear to your heart’s content – that’s what will make you big eventually.
Silent Jamming Sessions
Not many professionals will admit, but there’s a lot of things you could learn while playing your guitar unplugged. Basically, everything you do, every fret you press on will sound differently, and, here’s the part you might not like so much, every mistake will be more apparent and obvious.
Amped guitars tend to muddy up and clear some of the mistakes you make, especially if you’re playing with massive distortion. Try practicing your favourite songs silently and be amazed at how close you are to failing – after a couple of weeks you’ll begin to experience what you’ve been lacking, the accuracy and precision in your sound.
Conclusion
There are no shortcuts to making it big, and there’s not a safe, guaranteed way which you have to cross to become the next big thing. However, by following our recommendations and tips, you just might have a greater chance that you had prior to stumbling upon this well-preserved wisdom. We hope you’ve found our help as valuable, and wish you luck in becoming a great guitarist!
About the Author
I am Austin, owner of consordini.com. My biggest passions in my life are music and journeys. Since my first trip, I started to experiment with a music because every country has own style of music and I realized that I have endless possibilities to express myself in this field. My favourite genres are soul, jazz and classics.
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