Things About The Guitar I Shouldn’t Have To Tell You! An Encyclopedia Of Knowledge And Doing

These are things that you should be doing on the guitar but some people don’t because they just overlook them or just don’t know any better. But I’m here to expose them all.

Oh! And there’s gonna be a WHOLE lot of elaborating going on! This is of course, an encyclopedia’s worth: [But don’t worry, it’ll all be fun]

1. TUNE YOUR GUITAR

Note: You don’t have to read everything here unless you want it in detail. You can just read the titles where the numbers are and still get helped.

I shouldn’t have to tell you that you should tune your guitar but you’d be surprised that some people don’t tune their guitar EVERY time they get ready to play it. How on earth are you going to be able to play it if you don’t know what it sounds like because you didn’t tune it.

My brother told me the secret to getting good on the guitar is to tune it because when you make a mistake on the guitar and it doesn’t sound right, then you will know it is because of you.

But if you never tune it when you play it, it will sound awful and you’ll never know if you’re playing it correctly, even though you’re hitting the right notes.

2. MAKE YOUR CHORDS SOUND REAL GOOD

Blues guitar player, playing guitar outside, having fun, playing tasty blue chords.

I shouldn’t have to tell you to play your chords where they sound real good and tasty. Yeah I said tasty because I can’t think of a better word but you know what I mean. Don’t play like somebody who just picked up the guitar and sounds like Mickey Mouse just played them.

You think Jimi Hendrix just picked up his guitar and it sounded like cr@p. Or do you think Nickleback or Greta Van Fleet just plucks away and doesn’t care about what they are going to sound like? That they could get away with sounding bad? Of course not, and neither should you, nor will you do this, armed with this information.

The way to accomplish this is to keep practicing playing your guitar until it sounds right and sounds real good.

Just like talking, you didn’t sound real good when you first talked as a child. If fact, your momma look at you strange every time after you first started trying to talk. (Or looked at you like it was cute.) But you caught on eventually and now you sound pretty good, talking now.

This sounding good is also accomplished by getting your timing right. Practice playing exactly at the right time of the song you are playing and you’ll get quite good at sounding good.

3. LISTEN TO PEOPLE

Young man playing green toned guitar, having fun.

I shouldn’t have to tell you to listen to people when they are telling you how to play the guitar. Especially if they are very good at it. Practice it and play it exactly when they tell you, if you can, if the guitar is right there beside you.

I don’t know how many times people have told someone how to play something on the guitar but they don’t ever listen to them and do it right then and there, what they have just been told. They just stand there. And they don’t even do it later on neither, what someone has told them.

4. PRACTICE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN

Very many clocks hanging up, with different times on them.

You should already know this but you’d be surprised how many people don’t know that they should practice as much as they can. They think the guitar is just gonna jump up on them one day and then they are gonna be transformed into this guitar hero who can play guitar on a whim, and play real good.

They don’t even realize that they have to at least practice consistently and at least have a pattern of playing the guitar at adequate times, such as every Friday and Saturday and Wednesday. Or everyday at 6:00 pm to 8 pm or 20 minutes everyday and such.

Try to pick a pattern where you will play the guitar on a good rotation of your schedule, of your time.

I think practicing 20 minutes everyday or more than 20 minutes everyday, if you can, is your best shot.

But practicing 20 minutes everyday or more than 20 minutes everyday, if you can, will make you real good at the guitar. If you do it long enough, over a period of time.

But practicing 20 minutes everyday or more than 20 minutes everyday, if you can, will make you real good at the guitar. If you do it long enough, over a period of time.

5. HAVE A DESIRE TO PLAY GUITAR

Playing the guitar outside, sitting down on a bench, on a beautiful day.

I shouldn’t have to tell you to have a desire to play guitar but some people dread having to practice the guitar because it’s a chore. “It’s something that I gotta do.” They say.

Maybe they never wanted to play it in the first place but maybe their parents wanted them to play it. Or maybe they just wanted to play for the money they might get out of it, if they become famous. But they have absolutely no desire whatsoever.

The way to get out of this and have a desire is simple and very, very, easy. All you gotta do is first listen to songs you like. Yes, that’s what I said, listen to songs you like first and then take what songs you like and apply it to the guitar, meaning, practice and play the songs you like on the guitar. It’s not that complicated.

Why do you think any major star guitar player even plays guitar up on stage? It’s more desire than money, is why they are playing on stage. They have a extreme desire to play because they love the songs they are playing.

From their own songs, to cover songs and to songs they’ve heard on the radio, they are craving to play them and desiring to play them. And not only that, they are playing the songs they like on the guitar.

6. PLAY THE GUITAR TO SONGS YOU ARE LISTENING TO AT THE SAME TIME

This one I definitely shouldn’t have to tell you to do. But I never, ever, see no one do. Well not never but hardly ever.

I hardly ever see, and I’m putting it nicely, I never see them play the guitar and play the songs they are listening to at the same time with them imitating what they hear, or at least trying to imitate what they are hearing on the guitar.

Friend, the way to conquer this is to simply turn on the radio or turn to YouTube and start to play the songs you like and play them on your guitar, ALL at the same time.

Or you can even play them on a Beats Pill Bluetooth Speaker. It is GREAT! I’ve been playing my Beats Pill Bluetooth Speaker for years and it never lets me down. AND I play it to music with my guitar.

All I do is get out my cellphone and my cellphone instantly connects with it by bluetooth. Instantly you’ll be playing music of YOUR choice because you just play whatever songs you want by using YouTube or whatever media you use. And Beats Pill is no joke, it is a quality product. You can find the Beats Pill Bluetooth Speaker by clicking here to Amazon.

Imitate the songs as best as you can. Learn why you couldn’t play some of the parts on your guitar.

Learn from it and then go and find someone to show you how to play the parts you couldn’t play. Even if you have to find that person in real life or on the internet or YouTube etc., or through books or tabs or sheet music and the sort.

You will find in time that your ears will get better and so good that you won’t even need no book, no YouTube videos to play the songs because you’ll be able to play them all by ear.

Because you will in time, figure out the theory of how music works by getting help from musicians and from this website, that you are on now, called: playguitarbyearanysong.com

And also from tab music, sheet music books and whatever forms of means to accomplish this. And in time, you’ll be able to play them all on your own, all by ear. You will have took your training wheels off.

Believe me, I’ve been able to play a lot of songs by ear by going through all these processes. It took awhile but I’m there. Willing and able to play by ear.

7. PLAY THE GUITAR WITH HIGHER AND LOWER SOUNDS [INFLECTIONS]

Guitar player with saxophone and vintage bass players, outside playing, enjoying the sun.

I shouldn’t have to tell you this. But you never talk to anyone in the same tone voice or with the same exact volume all the time, why should you do that on the guitar? It makes for very boring guitar playing when you do that.

And you sound weird when you do that with your voice, It’s the same way on the guitar.

Play your guitar with a good mixture of low and high sounds as your playing it.

As your strumming it. Control it by lightly touching it sometimes and by playing it harder sometimes.

Also, sometimes make your guitar playing sound at a normal volume also, of course. Of course be doing this to songs you are playing.

Whatever the song needs, do it.

8. DON’T HOG UP THE SINGERS SPOTS ON YOUR GUITAR

Young man and woman outside, with him on guitar jamming and her singing.

I shouldn’t have to tell you to NOT hog up the singers voice by playing to loud. And doing real wild squeals and bends when he is singing, because he won’t be able to hear himself singing. Nor will the audience be able to hear him sing either.

Do wild squeals and bends when he is not singing, if the song calls for it.

It’s like a bad rap song where you hear more music than rap exactly when the rappers singing. People hate that. Don’t be a hog, let your singer breathe.

9. DON’T PRACTICE ON STAGE, PLAY ON STAGE

Guitar player maxing out on guitar, doing great on stage.

By the time you get to the stage you should already know how to play the songs you are going to be playing. No one should have to tell you that.

Play in public, not practice in public, should be your motto.

Nothing would be worse than to have a guitarist get on stage and be practicing the song instead of playing the song. Playing and jamming on stage and having fun is what you should be doing. Not sweating by practicing the guitar and trying to figure out how a song goes on stage.

Also try to never practice in public if you have a crowd around, if you can avoid it, as people may become irritated by the horrible sounds coming out of your guitar. Play in public, not practice in public, should be your motto.

But if you practice in public with a crowd around then that’s all well and good in certain circumstances. As you can’t always avoid practicing in public.

Sometimes people are helping you with songs in public. But do know that there maybe people around who may not like it.

Especially if what you’re playing at the time is not sounding good to them. But if they get irritated, oh well that’s their problem. You gots to get good. (You got to get good.)

10. FAIL SO YOU CAN SUCCEED AT PLAYING THE GUITAR BY EAR

Playing guitar outside with guitar pedals. Playing great.

I shouldn’t have to tell you that you’re going to fail at playing the guitar by ear. At least when you’re first starting out.

When you’re first starting out….starting to play by ear, you’re going to fail. But in the failure of trying to play by ear you will eventually get better and better at playing the guitar by ear, in time, where you’ll be able to nail a few songs.

Then some songs. Then quite a bit of songs. And then you’ll get to the point of where you’ll be able to play just about any song.

Then the ultimate thing happens, you’ll become like Jimmy Hendrix and Led Zeppelin and be able to play ANY song by ear…. HEY! You have to think BIG sometimes.

QUICK LIST OF WHAT I JUST WROTE ABOUT:

TUNE YOUR GUITAR
MAKE YOUR CHORDS SOUND REAL GOOD
LISTEN TO PEOPLE
PRACTICE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN
HAVE A DESIRE TO PLAY GUITAR
PLAY THE GUITAR TO SONGS YOU ARE LISTENING TO AT THE SAME TIME
PLAY THE GUITAR WITH HIGHER AND LOWER SOUNDS [INFLECTIONS]
DON’T HOG UP THE SINGERS SPOTS ON YOUR GUITAR
DON’T PRACTICE ON STAGE, PLAY ON STAGE
FAIL SO YOU CAN SUCCEED AT PLAYING THE GUITAR BY EAR

You Are A Elite Member That Most People Won’t Understand. You May Of Not Have Known That Also…..

Some musicians don’t know why is it seemingly so hard to be a musician sometimes. ‘I’m just doing what I love.” You say….

But in the back of your mind, somethings nawing at you from time to time….

Maybe you never noticed it until now, not until I told you. But because you are an Elite Member of the guitar crowd, criticism comes your way, from time to time.

Whether you are a great musician or a beginner musician or an average musician, people will always judge your playing from time to time. Know this, that this is normal and by knowing this, you will gain strength to be able to keep playing the guitar, despite the critics.

But with the bad there is also the good. One in which you will be rewarded from time to time of how much better you’re getting at the guitar or how you’ve become a great guitarist.

The rewards of playing the guitar are worth it.