1. Keep your strings fresh – Electric guitar strings lose some of their luster, and can sound tinny over time. A good rule of thumb is to change them every 3 months or so.
2. Get a tuner – Nothing is worse than listening to some wannabe bang out Clapton’s “Cocaine” on an out of tune guitar. While you need to develop your ear, you also want to keep that electric in tune.
3. Don’t be afraid to play loud – You’ve got the skills. Now let your neighbors hear it. If you want to play with the big boys, you’ve got to build that confidence. Nothing helps with that more than being able to hear what you’re playing. If you wanted to be quiet you would have bought an acoustic anyway.
4. Get an effects pedal – If you want to sound like Guns ‘N Roses, Green Day, or The Red Hot Chili Peppers, you’re going to need an effects pedal. Whether you want reverb, chorus, echo, distortion, or other sounds, you can’t get them without a pedal or a special amp. The pedals are cheaper.
5. Stretch your fingers – Many aspiring guitar players don’t realize the importance of a solid stretching routine. Stretching loosens the fine motor muscles involved in playing electric guitar, and allows faster muscle memory retention. It also increases dexterity, and diminishes fatigue.
6. Know your fret board – Most electric guitars have six strings with about 21 frets. That makes for about 126 notes. That allows for a ton of diversity in note selection. Knowing the board can speed up your guitar learning, playing, and mastery.
7. Learn and practice scales – The cornerstone of any good electric guitar player is often mastery of scales. Working on these exercises helps increase speed, dexterity, muscle memory, strength, and you’d be surprised how many riffs are actually just adapted scales.
8. Slow down to speed up – Sometimes a riff can be difficult to learn at full speed. When you are having difficulty with a rocking riff, slowing it down can often speed up how fast you learn it.
9. Actively listen – Many new guitar players fail to realize the importance of having a decent ear. The tonal quality of a guitar has tremendous impact on an overall performance. Knowing when you are a little out of tune is helpful, and so is knowing what your common chord structures sound like, so be sure to work on that ear.
To improve your guitar skills, be sure to implement the nine tips above as you learn how to play the electric guitar.
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