19 Essential Technique Tips For Advancing Guitarists

*Pickstyle Guitar Technique Tips*
 

==> Hold the pick between your right hand thumb and the left side of your index finger tip. Keep your thumb perfectly straight so that it is tension free.

==> The pick should be held loosely enough that there is a little give and take or flexibility when you strike a string. This way you won't feel like you're digging in or dragging across the string.

==> The pick should strike each string perpendicularly or straight on - as opposed to striking the string at an angle. You will get a fuller sounding note this way.

==> Only the tip part of the pick needs to strike the string. There is no need to dig your pick down between the strings. This creates too much resistance.

==> When you use a pick, your up and down picking motions, known as "alternate picking", come from your hand, wrist, and forearm at the exact same time. They move as one unit in a rotary motion and your wrist should stay perfectly straight.

==> When using a pick keep your middle, ring, and little fingers loosely held back in the palm of your right hand. Don't give in to the temptation of resting your little finger on the pick guard or the face of your guitar. This will only serve to glue you into one position and will cut down on your mobility and freedom of motion.

*Fingerstyle Guitar Technique Tips*

==> "Free Stroke" means that after one of your right hand fingers strikes a string it clears the other strings and follows through into the back of the palm of your hand. This whole technique idea of "follow through" is critical to getting the maximum amount of volume and projection from each note that you play.  It will also enable you to get a fuller tone out of your notes.

==> Keep your right hand wrist slightly arched and elevated so there are 3 - 4 inches of clearance between the face of the guitar and your wrist. 

==> Keep your right hand wrist perfectly straight at all times. This alone will probably help you avoid tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome.

==> Strive to keep your right hand fingers as straight as possible so that you are moving them mainly from the knuckle joint instead of the middle joint like most guitarists do. This way you're using the muscles of your entire finger instead of just half of your finger.
 
==> Play on the left side of your fingertips where the flesh and the nail meet each other. There's only one spot where this happens and it will feel like there's very little resistance at that point. Your tone will also be as good as possible at that point of impact.

==> Keep your fingertip segments relaxed and flexible so that they give or bend backwards as they strike the string - thereby absorbing the impact of hitting a stationary object without hooking or snagging. This whole idea of relaxation is trained, as it is definitely most people's natural tendency to tense up their entire body when they are trying to play guitar. The only way you will ever become as technically proficient as YOU could ever be, is to eliminate all tension from your hands and fingers as well as from your arms and shoulders - or for that matter, from your entire body. According to the "theory of muscular interaction", if there is tension anywhere in your body it will affect your hands and fingers to a certain extent as well.

==> Train your fingers to stay about 1/8th of an inch above and 1/8th of an inch in front of the string they are about to play. This will not only help your accuracy, but will also improve the tone of each note.  In other words, you are always striving to keep your fingers so close to the string, prior to striking the string, that they almost touch the string before they strike it.

*Left Hand Technique Tips*
 

==> Keep your left hand thumb perfectly straight - bending your thumb is just another tension habit that should be avoided at all costs.

==> Your thumb should contact the back of the guitar neck slightly on its' left side, pointing towards the ceiling and in the middle of the back of the neck. Resist the temptation to hang your thumb over the top of the neck.

==> Your left wrist should be slightly arched and your wrist joint should be directly underneath the guitar neck itself.

==> Keep your left hand fingers arched and play on the tips of your fingers close to the fingernails, being sure that the right side of the palm of your left hand is the same distance from the fretboard as the left side of the palm of your left hand. This will balance and center your left hand so that all of your fingers have an equal reach advantage.

==> Never lift a left hand finger more than 1/2 inch away from the strings. This alone will improve your accuracy because now you have less chance of missing the next note, since you won't be traveling a great distance to find it.

==> Print these pointers out and read through all of them once each day before you practice guitar. All of these technique pointers usually take about 2 - 3 months of focused thought and practice to get them to become habits. If you would like to become a better guitarist or focus on a particular style of guitar music then click here to learn more!

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