Category
Technique & Practice
Playing is one thing, practicing with focus is another. In this category you read how to plan your practice time, how to train rhythm and timing with a metronome and how to master techniques such as fingerpicking, alternate picking, bends and tapping. There are also articles about improvising and playing solos, and about staying motivated when progress stalls for a while. The topics run from simple daily exercises to sweep picking for advanced players.
Just starting out? Then first read how to make an effective practice routine and then pick a few daily exercises for beginners. Mostly play acoustic? Continue with learning fingerpicking. Play electric? Then the guide learning electric guitar is a good next step.
Start here
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How Long Should You Practice Guitar Each Day?
How long should you practice each day to learn guitar? As a beginner, you can get a long way with 20 to 30 minutes…
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Playing Ghost Notes on Guitar Explained
Ghost notes on guitar are soft, muted strokes that you feel more than you hear. Your fretting fingers touch the strings lightly without pressing…
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How to Stay Motivated While Learning Guitar
The best way to stay motivated while learning guitar is to set small, achievable goals, build a steady practice routine and play songs you…
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How to Learn to Play Arpeggios on Guitar
How do you learn to play arpeggios on guitar? You take a chord and play its notes one at a time instead of all…
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Palm Muting Techniques for Metal Guitar
You palm mute by lightly resting the edge of your picking hand on the strings, right at the bridge, and then playing with downstrokes.…
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Learn Fingerpicking for Acoustic Guitar
Learning fingerpicking for acoustic guitar starts with a fixed division of tasks: your thumb plays the bass notes on the E, A and D…
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Improving Your Vibrato Technique for More Expression
You improve your guitar vibrato technique by pushing a note up a tiny bit after you pick it and letting it drop back down…
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How to Learn Tapping on Electric Guitar
Learning tapping on an electric guitar starts with one simple pattern on a single string. You tap a note onto the fretboard with a…
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Practicing Hammer-Ons and Pull-Offs for Solos
Practicing hammer-ons and pull-offs for solos starts with two notes on one string. For a hammer-on, you pick the string once and bring a…
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How to Play Slides and Bends on Electric Guitar
Learning slides and bends on electric guitar starts with one string and a good ear. In a slide, you glide along the string with…
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Alternate Picking: Explanation and Exercises
Alternate picking means you keep alternating between a downstroke and an upstroke with your pick: down, up, down, up. That way there is no…
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Sweep Picking for Beginners, Step by Step
As a beginner, the best way to learn sweep picking is with a small arpeggio across three strings, played very slowly with a metronome.…
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Learning Power Chords for Rock Music
You play a power chord with two or three fingers: your index finger on the root note on the low E or A string,…
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How to Develop a Sense of Timing on Guitar
How do you develop a sense of timing on guitar? By practicing a little every day with a steady pulse in mind: count out…
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Finding Your Own Sound on Guitar
You find your own sound on guitar by deliberately choosing how you sound: with your picking, timing and vibrato first, and only then your…
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How to Keep Challenging Yourself on Guitar
How do you keep challenging yourself on guitar? By always choosing something you can almost, but not quite, do: a new technique, a different…
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Learn Guitar with a Metronome: Step by Step
You learn guitar with a metronome step by step: start at a low tempo, such as 60 bpm, play one note or strum on…
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Learn Guitar Fast with Short Practice Sessions
The best way to learn guitar fast is with short practice sessions of 10 to 15 minutes a day. You hold on to your…
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How to Build Finger Strength for Playing Guitar
You build finger strength for guitar mostly by playing a little every day, supported by targeted exercises such as the chromatic 1-2-3-4 exercise and…
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Guitar Practice Schedule: Learn to Play in 30 Days
With a practice schedule you can learn guitar in 30 days to the point where you play about seven open chords, a basic strum…
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Daily Fingerpicking Exercise for Beginners
A good daily fingerpicking exercise for beginners takes about ten minutes: you warm up on open strings, play an arpeggio on C and G,…
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How to Improvise in Jam Sessions
Improvising in a jam session starts with listening: ask or hear which key the music is in, choose the scale that fits, and play…
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How to Create Flow While Playing Guitar
How do you create flow while playing guitar? You get into flow when you pick music that is just a little above your level,…
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Improvising with the Pentatonic Scale
How do you improvise with the pentatonic scale? Choose the pentatonic scale in the key of the song, get to know one fingering pattern…