5 Common Mistakes Beginner Guitarists Make and How to Fix Them

It's time to address five common mistakes that beginners often make when learning guitar. Most players can correct these mistakes themselves, but it can take years of trial and error - we'll help you bypass that by giving you some clear things to focus on. It's often that a small fundamental principle has been overlooked and a small amount of practice on that will make a huge difference to your playing. Let's dive into the top 5 common mistakes and how to fix them!

1. Hugging The Guitar 

Okay, this is a big one, regardless of skill level. We love wrapping our thumb around the neck of the guitar, with that giant thumb peeking over the fretboard fence, staring at its neighbouring fingers with envy, thinking, “I’ll have some of that.”

“What’s the problem? I see the pros doing it...”

It's not so much that there's a fundamental problem with holding the guitar this way, it will allow for lots of important techniques like bending and vibrato. The issue is more that if you only play this way and neglect learning to position the thumb behind the neck you'll be limiting yourself and will find some techniques, including barre chords much more difficult. Check out these images showing the difference:

While we may manage to get away with this to some extent, there will undoubtedly be moments when it becomes a significant hindrance, preventing you from executing certain passages of music. The truth is, there is never just one way to do things, we often need different tools for different tasks.

“So what’s the fix…?” 

You don’t have to start from scratch, even though it may feel that way. In fact, you'll encounter this at many stages of your guitar journey; it’s all part of the process!

2. Flat fingertips?

Stop being flat-fingered! This is directly connected to the positioning of your thumb. The higher you position your thumb, the flatter your fingers will be, whereas positioning the thumb lower allows you to fret the strings more effectively with the tips of your fingers. Remember context is everything! Being flat-fingered or on the tips of your fingers is neither inherently good nor bad; It’s just another tool! 

For example, there are many instances where being flat-fingered is a powerful tool, such as in funk guitar where delicate muting of the surrounding strings is needed, or in a rock riff where you need to control the strings beneath your fingers to prevent feedback.

However, looking at the other side of the coin: Let’s say you have a beautiful finger-picking piece of music that incorporates chords and melody at the same time. It is impossible to do this with flat fingers, and the tool required for the job is lowering your thumb position and using the tips of your fingers. 

3. The Strumming hand

So far we've focused on the fretting hand, but the strumming hand is very often the biggest reason your timing is, well... maybe not the strongest. I truly believe everyone has a sense of rhythm, but the biggest thing holding you back is not having a solid technique to allow you to transfer that inner rhythm to the strings. If we can develop a strong foundation in strumming, you’ll have unlocked 50% of music; the other 50% is finding the notes that resonate with you or an audience.

The fixes are simple, but simple doesn’t mean easy. It will take time to develop. Give these a try.

3a. Keep it moving

Let’s say you have a strumming pattern like this;

When you complete the first strum, don’t leave your right hand hanging until the next strum; keep it moving. It serves as your metronome! And if you happen to hit the wrong beat, don't worry, at least it’s in time!

3b. Count out loud

This can feel awkward, especially in front of a teacher, as the task seems simple. But to hammer a point home, simple doesn’t mean easy! Once you can do this, stop counting and feel the rhythm!

3c. Tapping out

This one is great to do away from the guitar, especially when you're listening to music. Try focusing on a repetitive rhythm within the song and see if you can tap along with it. Going one step further, can you determine which beats you are playing by counting out loud, or maybe in your head if you are in a public space? This will 100% translate to your instrument when you are learning a song. 

4. Listen to the music!  

It seems obvious but remember to listen and absorb the music you are learning! If you can't hum it don't expect to be able to play it!

When I started teaching, I didn't appreciate the power of teaching nursery rhymes on guitar to younger students. I wanted to present something modern and cool, but the issue I ran into was that the young students didn't know the sound or the rhythm; they basically had never heard the song.

Whereas, nursery rhymes are ingrained in them - even if they're too cool to admit it, they know them! So when they encounter the notes on the paper and find their positions on the guitar, everything comes together quickly. They don’t have to work as hard on the rhythm; they can usually sing or hum it while playing, sending signals from the brain to the fingers. All of a sudden, you're the world's greatest teacher because you've got a young student playing. Introduce them to a slightly edgier alternative song, and it all falls apart again.

The takeaway here is to know the songs you are learning. Take time to analytically listen to them and imagine yourself playing them. If you can’t hum a section or tap out a rhythm, perhaps replay it over and over again. There are always sections we gloss over; maybe you will hear something new in the music you have never noticed before. 

5. Commit 

This is the last point, and it's a very short one at that: commit to focussing on one goal and stop jumping on YouTube, thinking you are going to find that magic wand or shortcut. It is absolutely okay to learn lots of different things at the same time, but you should try to counterbalance this with a focused goal. If you do this, you will be developing a fundamental skill that will transfer to other songs, only making you a better player! If you need help finding a focused goal to work on consider arranging a private 1-2-1 lesson with one of our tutors or check our Guitar Club course material!