Beginner Mistakes to Avoid When You Learn to Play the Electric Guitar

If you have chosen to learn to play the electric guitar, as a beginner there are quite a few mistakes that you can make. These mistakes aren't like accidentally putting your fingers on the wrong fret. These are mistakes that can slow down your progress significantly.

Mistake: Not learning any scales.

As an electric guitarist besides learning chords, you also want to be able to play riffs and solos. You start this process by learning scales. Start with something like the major scale. When you start practicing each day, start with the scales you have learned. You will expand your musical knowledge and get your fingers faster and more accurate so you will become a better soloist in the future.

Mistake: Playing songs but not understand the song.

This isn't some mystical lesson about the meaning of songs. This means giving the song some thought. Why did the chord progression move the way it did? Why did the solo in the song start and play the scale he or she chose to play? As you learn the electric guitar you need to reflect on why things were done so that you can become more creative in your playing. There is nothing wrong with mimicking playing, but you won't be able to create unless you understand.

Mistake: Never playing with other people.

Other guitar players have quite a bit to offer. Sure some don't know what they are talking about, but playing with others has value because there is always a few things you can pick up. Even playing with people who have never played guitar will know a few things. For example, drummers who have been in bands will know quite a bit about guitars even if they haven't played.

Mistake: Cranking the amp and always playing with distortion or overdrive.

It's understandable that you want to play a style where your electric guitar is always going to be distorted. But what happens is you have beginner guitar players playing horribly thinking it sounds good cause of the distortion. Even if you are learning something that requires distortion or overdrive, play it accurately and clearly without it. If you want to become better or really good, you need to have accuracy which will then turn to speed.