Mistakes are somewhat inevitable when learning to play the guitar. These include playing the wrong note to developing a bad practice habit. One is minor and the other is major. Obviously, major mistakes are more important to avoid. Avoiding these types of mistakes will allow to progress at a much faster rate. Let's look at some common, major mistakes most learning guitarists make and how to avoid them.



Most guitarists in the earlier stages of learning practice too much, believe it or not. They often think they have to devote hours at a time to the guitar. This simply is not true. Ever heard of quality over quantity? It applies here. Let's say for example that you can devote a total of one hour per day to guitar. It's better to have four 15 minute sessions than one long session. There are several reasons for this. One, practicing for one hour straight will lead to frustration and a loss of focus. Frustration is the number one reason people quit guitar. Two, it's a fact that the brain retains more from shorter bursts of practicing. So having shorter sessions with more intense focus will greatly benefit your learning guitar.

Another major mistake is playing too fast. What I mean here is learning a piece of music, whether it is a song, scale, chord progression, whatever…then trying to play it at too fast a pace. If you're just learning the piece, you will not be able to play it like a pro yet. This is a very common and major mistake. Playing too fast too soon is a sure path to frustration as well as a bad practice habit. To correct this, play the piece as slowly as you need to play it correctly. Then scale up as needed. This will develop a good practice habit and eliminate frustration with your progress. A quick side note on speed. When you try to play too fast too soon, you greatly increase the amount of tension in your left (fret) hand, forearm, upper arm and shoulder. It also contributes to misalignment in your back as the tense left shoulder blade exerts pressure on the right. Continuing to do this will eventually become painful and could lead to injury.

Playing music that is too complicated for your current level is also a major mistake. I know everyone wants to learn to play their favorite songs. But if you are a relatively new guitar player, how would you know if the song is complicated or not? Trying to play pieces too complicated for your current level will certainly lead to frustration. See a recurring theme? Many just press on until the guitar looks like a chore rather than fun. Believe me; you can get plenty of enjoyment out of playing simple pieces of music. Start simple, and then as your skills improve, you will be able to play more complicated songs.

I bet you have noticed a recurring theme here about starting simple and building on that. The other thing I bet you have noticed is that avoiding these mistakes will greatly reduce frustration. Getting enjoyment out of guitar playing is your number one priority. By avoiding these major learning mistakes, you will enjoy guitar more and learn much faster.