The stage was set, the crowd was roaring, the band was kicking it in the green room waiting for the top of the hour, and I was tuning my guitar and feeling slightly nervous about this duo guitar lick that kicked off our set. One might say I didn't feel quite up to speed.
When I was learning how to play guitar I was more concerned about looking cool than I was about playing with speed. After all, I was just beginning and hadn't yet developed the skills to play better, stronger and faster. I had some online guitar lessons under my belt just so I could learn how to play guitar chords and be a rhythm guitarist.
I also could sing a little so I found myself in a band situation fairly early in my music making career. The band was about sounding good and looking like rock stars while we were doing it.
As the years ticked by more and more was expected of me as a player. Unfortunately for me, my rock star look (with my low slung guitar) was hindering my playing ability. And worse yet, I didn't even know it.
When it was time to kick off the show with me and the other guitarist blazing this power lick...well, let's just say it was interesting. I had practiced the run and had it down, but when I was on stage I couldn't pull it off.
Don't be a slouch!
See, when I learn to play guitar licks I usually was sitting down. I was positioning my body better for playing without my even knowing it. And when I stood, all that good positioning shifted down to where it has hampering my technique.
All this happened about the time I start college. With all my interest in guitar, it was only natural of me to make music my major. And, since college professors don't view rock music as serious music, or as seriously as they do in some online guitar lessons, I enrolled in the first of my many classical guitar classes.
It was then, after years of poor positioning I learned the secrets of how to play guitar better, stronger and faster. And at that point, I decided playing better was much cooler than looking good and sounding like a hack.
I had some hurdles to get over and it would have been much easier if I had learned how to play electric guitar properly in the first place. Here's what I learned:
Get in line...
Regardless of whether you're finger picking or using a pick, you can greatly increase both your speed and accuracy by having your right wrist, fingers and forearm nearly in line with the strings at the bridge. With your wrist directly above the bridge you can let the strings ring out, or by placing your wrist on the bridge you can play with a palm muting style.
Rolling your wrist towards your thumb allows you to only mute the bass strings, allowing the treble strings to ring purely which is great for the Travis picking stuff.
If you're speed picking, you'll find your wrist perfectly positioned for alternate picking, which is using your pick stroke down-up-down-up regardless of which note or string you're playing on. Even if you skip a string or have a syncopated rhythm, you always play with the down-up-down-up stroke.
Assume the position!
Good clean speed technique applies when learning how to play guitar to your left hand as well. Your thumb shouldn't be draped over the top of the fingerboard when you learn to play guitar in this position, but rather be placed in the center of the back of the neck of the guitar. With this positioning, you'll notice that the palm of your hand doesn't grip the neck. Instead, a loop or U shape is formed by the outline of your thumb and first finger which droops to the floor. While some guitars have necks that look like Louisville Sluggers, they're not baseball bats.
Positioning your thumb in this way takes off some of the pressure work your fingers would otherwise have to do so you'll be more nimble.
With your thumb in the center of the back of the neck (and pointed towards the headstock), you'll also find that your left wrist is now parallel with the neck. Your fingers will also be parallel with the frets, which will make using your little finger much easier as it won't have to stretch nearly as much.
Distance is time, meaning the further your fingers have to travel the longer it will take for you to finger the correct note. So, if your little finger is aligned with the fret, you're halfway there.
If you did this while sitting, you can adjust your guitar strap so the guitar is held in the same position when you stand.
It might feel uncomfortable when you learn to play guitar positioned like this for the first time after years of improperly holding the guitar. Just relax and don't give up. Try to use this technique whenever you're practicing, using online guitar lessons, or up on the big stage.
Sounding good looks good...
And as for looking cool...look at it this way...you may look more Steve Howe than Jimmy Page, but sounding bad never makes you look good.
I could go on, and on, and on, but space here is limited. Here's a great resource about how to play guitar that dives deeper into this and includes video examples. Now, go forth and make music!
You can also find more details on how to play electric guitar
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