Top 5 GREATEST Guitar Tips Of All Time!

Like the title says, The GREATEST Guitar Tips. We here at play guitar by ear any song believe in getting you the BEST, that way you won’t be flying around everywhere all the time looking for said information.

Welcome to PLAY GUITAR BY EAR ANY SONG website. Beginners welcome, Professionals welcome and anybody in between……….

Congratulations! You just won yourself some GREAT tips. Now you can’t say you’ve never won anything………

#1 GREATEST Tip:

The Need For Speed

Cars coming out of underpass, surrounded by tall buildings, New York United States. Photo courtesy by Nicolai Berntsen on Unsplash

It was a great movie but it doesn’t mean you need it yet when you are first starting. Now how the heck are you going to play it fast, when you can’t even play it slow.

Yes, you need speed, but not at first. You just need to concentrate on playing at a pace of speed or different speeds, that you can handle. And I guaranteeeee!!! As they say in the south, that it’s not going to be fast, when you’re a beginner.

And if you do happen to play it fast, which you probably will from time to time, because we all get impatient sometimes. But it won’t be productive because you’ll be making ALL KINDS of mistakes. Been there, done that.

We live in the instant generation, we want it now and quick. So because we are not making progress, we are tempted to go to fast. But you don’t need to. THE NEED FOR SPEED, comes at it’s own proper times.

A beginner begins to be frustrated because of slow progress. He then begins to want to throw his guitar against the wall because he’s not at a Jimi Hendrix level yet, after about a month of progress.

Because we watched to many Bio history channels on YouTube of how famous rock stars overcame the odds and are now rock phenomenons. Able to play all kinds of stuff on the guitar. And not only that, but they sound AWESOME!

So because we watched all these videos we think that we too will excel just like them. Because they did it quick, we too can do it quick. But we don’t realize that they didn’t do it quick either.

The videos make us think that, because it only last about an hour or so….. But even Jimi Page of Led Zeppelin had to wait before he became good at the guitar. Noticed how I said WAIT. Another word for wait, is patience.

You will need these two words in order to survive the rock and roll race in the beginning of your guitar playing. Yes, the two words are WAIT and PATIENCE. Remember them. Even when you are a intermediate player or a advanced player or even a professional, you will still need these two things.

Now why would an advanced player or a professional guitar player need to wait and have patience? The best way to explain it is by talking about Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin.

Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin playing double guitar. Having fun. Black and white picture. Photo courtesy of Andrew Smith commons.m.wikimedia.org

Ok, Jimmy Page started from the bottom just like you. EVERYONE starts from the bottom even Jimmy Page. Jimmy found his first guitar in a house his family just moved in. No one seemed to know why the guitar was there, so he just picked it up and started to play at age 12.

He then took a few lessons and he had one guitar player from the school he was going to, show him some chords and he took it from there. And largely taught himself after that, even teaching himself by listening to records of songs.

He even said it was a very personal thing, meaning he was going to personally learn it on his own, basically.

So then after this he did a lot of busking. And it taught him a lot about how to play the guitar better, even saying it was good schooling of learning how to play the guitar better….. Now if you don’t know what busking is, in a nutshell, it is where you play your talents, be it guitar playing or circus acts and magic tricks and various other things, in which people give you money as your entertaining them with all these acts.

Banjo and guitar player busking outside, with people around, with kid giving money in their container.

Men playing instruments outside busking. Two playing banjos, one playing guitar, the other playing a mandolin, at night.

Then as he was busking, he also took his guitar to school. Wanting to always play the instrument, because he liked playing it so much…..

The teacher there would have to confiscate the guitar from him and then give it back to him after class, because he would be playing it in school.

He had to have to have A LOT of waiting and patience before he became famous because it took him 12 years before he became one of the greatest guitars players that ever lived.

He also would go around trying to find musicians to play with him but was having difficulty finding them to play with him all the time on a consistent basis. Because he wanted to play it all the time, not just sometimes.

So he would take up gigging with any musicians he could find. Then after this….. A lot of people don’t know that he toured with the Crusaders, which had Neil Christian as its singer. The Crusaders singer saw Jimmy Page playing in a local hall and liked Jimmy’s playing so much that he asked him to play with him on tour. Which Jimmy did for two years.

Neil Christian, singer of The Crusaders, a rock and roll band of the 1960’s. Black and white picture. — Neil Christian of the famous rock and roll band, the Crusaders, of the 1960’s

Jimmy also played on several of the Crusaders records.

He finally got on stage and performed with various bands and even playing with Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. Another person spotted Jimmy and also wanted Jimmy to record with him whose name was John Gibb.

Jeff Beck
Eric Clapton

He was finally asked to start session work as a full time career. Which he accepted. He played session work and played lots of hit songs in his years as a session guitarist. His guitar session career lasted about three and a half years. Which he also said was extremely good schooling of making him a very good player.

Now he would join the Yardbirds a great band responsible for a string of hit songs. And played with them for two years.

The Yardbirds rock band. Had a string of hits throughout the mid-1960s. The Yardbirds, 1966. From left: Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Chris Dreja, Keith Relf and Jim McCarty. — The Yardbirds. From left: Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Chris Dreja, Keith Relf and Jim McCarty

Then after the Yardbirds, LED ZEPPELIN was formed, in which Jimmy Page was in.

Led Zeppelin posing in front of airplane. Photo courtesy of Julio Zeppelin from flickr.com — LED ZEPPELIN

He had to have to have A LOT of waiting and patience before he became famous because it took him 12 years before he became one of the greatest guitars players that ever lived.

Let’s quickly look at Jimmy Page’s timeline. Now, this isn’t everything he did, but it is a basic timeline of what he did, roughly:

Jimmy Page’s Timeline:

Age 12, first started playing guitar.
Age 12, took a couple of lessons.
Age 13, got on T.V. playing with a group that did skiffle music.
Age 13, he played guitar by busking.
Age 14, played in many groups and gigs.
Age 16, through 17, played backing recitals.
Age 17, toured with the Crusaders for two years.
Age 19, played guitar as a session musician, for 3 and a half years.
Age 22, played with Yardbirds, which had a string of hits.
Age 24, formed and played guitar with the rock band, LED ZEPPELIN.

So we see, it DID NOT! Take Jimmy Page a very short amount of time to become a Guitar Master. A professional. It took him A LONG time to become what he became.

Led Zeppelin blasting guitar with drummer behind him. Photo courtesy of Satry Bacchus from flickr.com

So don’t be thinking that you will master this thing called the guitar in a very short amount of time. Because even to become a master at it takes time…. just look at Jimmy Page’s timeline above and it proves it.

Yes, even from a standpoint of already being a professional STILL takes time. He still had to WAIT and have PATIENCE to become even GREATER than what he was. Which after his waiting and patience, he became one of the greatest guitar players of all time.

But if you’re a beginner guitar player you still have to wait and have patience. Your time will come of what you are trying to accomplish, if you keep working on it and chipping away. And in time, you’ll become good at guitar.

But speed it up to the speed of the song you are playing,….. whether it is your song or someone else’s song, be it on the radio or YouTube or wherever and match the proper speed of the songs. But not at first…..

Don’t rush at first and try to play fast or at normal speed until you learn it at a slower speed first and then MAKE SURE you are playing it correctly. THEN play it at the normal speed of the song you are playing.

Don’t rush at first and try to play fast or at normal speed until you learn it at a slower speed first and then MAKE SURE you are playing it correctly. THEN play it at the normal speed of the song you are playing.

Learn EVERYTHING properly and you will see that speed will happen naturally. Learn good technique and speed will come naturally. It’s a bonus that nature gives you for doing everything right.

Fast moving hallway illusion. — Learn everything properly and good technique and speed will come naturally

We live in the instant generation, we want it now and quick. So because we are not making progress, we are tempted to go to fast. But you don’t need to. THE NEED FOR SPEED, comes at it’s own proper times.

#2 GREATEST Tip:

Improve Playing Sitting Or Standing

Slash sitting down playing guitar, with blue lights around him. Image by AlejandroAlvarino on Pixabay — Slash

Now don’t worry professionals, this is for you too, as well as beginners.

Professionals can even become better at sitting and standing as they play guitar. How many times have we seen on television, Rock Stars rocking out on guitar? But have you ever noticed not all of them are using their full potential of sitting and standing while playing the guitar?

The one’s that draw the huge crowds ALWAYS have great sitting and standing skills when they are playing guitar. Yes sitting and standing while playing the guitar is a skill. Those that master it, get huge crowds. Those that don’t, get smaller crowds. Case In point!….

Look at The Beatles, how they stand and sit and play their guitar. It’s not just some drab holding of the guitar, some homeboy just sitting down and half heartily holding the guitar and soon, it looks like he’s going to go asleep.

The Beatles playing their instruments. Guitars,Bass and drums. Photo courtesy of Lawren on flickr.com — The Beatles

No! They’re moving the guitar with energy and enthusiasm and rocking it back to back and, back and forth. And not only that, but they are standing by moving their bodies and playing it like they got authority and they are leaning sideways and rocking their bodies. Even when they are sitting down they are doing the same thing.

The crowds go nuts when they see this way of standing and sitting and playing the guitar. Look at Motley Crew when they are playing the guitar. You think they are just standing stiff and such? No! They are rocking out.

Also look at Bon Jovi”s rock band or AC/DC, they are all rocking out the same way. BUT the popular rock bands that don’t get fully into it. They too have crowds but not as huge as the ones that go full bore rocking with their guitars standing and sitting.

Even Eric Clapton on his Unplugged videos, when he is sitting down, even though it is ever so gently, is actually moving back and forth rocking and it almost looks like they are dancing with their instruments. All of the people in his band are doing that ALL sitting down, also.

Eric Clapton and BB King, sitting down and playing guitar on stage. Photo courtesy of Aaron Warren from flickr.com — Eric Clapton and BB King

Even SLASH, the guitar monster that he is, even though he is not moving around much when he sits down, he is playing the guitar with much veracity and intensity that he could get away with not having to move around much, when playing. But the way he strums, makes up for it, also.

Metallica, Queen, Green Day, Greta Van Fleet, even some famous country bands know what’s up!, In HOW they play their guitars standing up or sitting down.

Rock it, lock it, but don’t stop it. Let loose, hang loose, but most of all, add your style of playing, the way you would do it. Be yourself!

So incorporate your style of holding the guitar and playing the guitar, whether you are sitting down or standing up.

Rock it, lock it, but don’t stop it. Let loose, hang loose, but most of all, add your style of playing, the way you would do it. Be yourself!

Now am I saying you need to do all this? If it ain’t your style, then don’t. There are many musicians who are as stiff as boards that get away with it and still attract crowds and popularity that are huge acts that make it in the top of the music charts. But stick to what YOU want to do.

#3 GREATEST Tip:

Rehearse what you’ll become

Guy playing guitar with an amp, in an abandoned, graffitied building, having fun.

For beginners, in order to become what you want to become on guitar, I suggest you just move around on the guitar every now and then with it turned off, or if you are on an acoustic guitar which you can’t turn down, do this also.

And just practice getting your coordination down on the guitar and also to remember what the chords are on the guitar. Just fiddle around not really worry about keeping a tune, but just roughly moving around and playing around on the guitar.

What this will do is give you a sense of where you are on the guitar and what the chords are and it will loosen you up a bit, without having to play a song, without having to WORRY about playing a song.

This will help you tremendously in memorizing chords and techniques and things. Nonchalantly do this sometimes, it’ll do wonders for your future playing, when you are playing the guitar for reals, when you are playing a song.

It’s kinda like warming up before you have to run a marathon around the city. You are limbering up and lacing up and stretching and running short paces and sprints and stuff. Until that time when you have to run for reals.

Don’t have a guitar to even do this? Check out these guitars on my website.

#4 GREATEST Tip:

Chill And Only Listen To Music

Point of view type of picture: People listening to and being excited listening to concert, huge, huge crowd. — You can even chill and listen to only music at concerts, also

Sometimes you don’t have to play the guitar to get good at the guitar. How? Well it depends on what level you are at on the guitar. If you don’t have any idea of how to play the guitar by ear, then you can just shut down playing the guitar every now and then and listen to songs only.

Listen to songs wherever you can. The radio, music streams, YouTube. Wherever. Listen to songs you like. The more you like them, the better. And what is gonna happens is,… is that it will give you a burning passion to play the guitar. Because hearing songs that have tasty rhythms or fiery solos and catchy riffs and tunes will cause you to want to emulate, copy them on your guitar.

Chill and have a Coke while you listen to music

It’s called, copping a tune. And you’ll enjoy playing the guitar even more than before because the songs will be fresh in your head.

You’ll find that after awhile, that this is actually therapeutic. It can cure your ills, meaning your restlessness and such. And settle your mind after a long day, as you listen to music and play the guitar.

Now if you are at the stage where you can play a little bit by ear, or a lot by ear. Then you can also shut down your guitar playing and just listen to music. And as you do, be trying to figure out the chords to the songs in your mind. It’s solos, techniques and all. As the music is being played, picture the guitar fretboard in your mind.

And then when you get to a guitar, see how much you got right on the guitar. In time you will get real good at this with practice. You’ll notice that you got 30 percent of it right, then, at other times, you’ll only get 20 percent of it right.

Then after some time, you’ll get 70 percent of it right, and then 90 percent of it right. Then after much practice, you’ll get it right 100 percent of the time. But this is a skill that will definitely take time to master.

You’ll find that after awhile, that this is actually therapeutic. It can cure your ills, meaning your restlessness and such. And settle your mind after a long day, as you listen to music and play the guitar.

Pink playing guitar on stage, sitting down. Photo courtesy of Corbuzon. commons.m.wikimedia.org — Pink

Even PINK knew this. The song, “Perfect,” which has guitar in it. Has inspired a whole generation of fans to not give up, even though you’re not perfect, try, try, again. It’s very therapeutic.

#5 GREATEST Tip:

Stack Up Little By Little On Guitar

One little secret to getting great on the guitar is the ol learning little by little trick.

Just like when you were a kid and were hunting for loose change everywhere. And before you knew it, you had so much loose change in your pocket it was to full to put anymore in it.

Those days are coming to an end now with the popularity of credit cards. No one uses real money as much, but with this strategy, you can apply this to the guitar also.

One little secret to getting great on the guitar is the ol learning little by little trick. Just like when you were a kid and were hunting for loose change everywhere. And before you knew it, you had so much loose change in your pocket it was to full to put anymore in it.

Stack up the things you learn on the guitar little by little. Learning something new everyday. Learn a technique here, a chord there, a strumming pattern there. You get it.

Learn a bend technique you been wanting to learn real bad, learn tapping, learn hammer ons, pull offs. All kinds of things, little by little. Day after day. And before you know it, you will have a pocket FULL of things you can do on the guitar.

Also stack up learning full songs you like, little by little. And before long, people could’ve swore you used to suck on the guitar, but now you don’t. YOU KNOW THE SECRET!