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I began playing guitar 25 years ago. Mainly tabs and by ear with no instruction. When I met my wife who was a music major in college she made me learn some music theory and memorize the circle of 5ths. I hated it. I had a love of spanish guitar and so i bought myself a harp guitar. When I started using the weight of the arm instead of the old squeeze the neck method that i just l learned it was soo moving. I was nearly in tears as all my cord changes became fluid and I am not feeling for the strings anymore . Its like letting the hands weight press down the piano keys.
I had the opportunity to go through Nathan’s “Fingerstyle Journey” course and the first lesson was all about weight. I was amazed at how much sweeter my guitar sounded when I wasn’t squeezing the neck so hard. I was more relaxed and that totally transferred into how my guitar sounded. It was nothing short of magical for me. I love that course and am so glad I went through it. Thanks Nathan!
The bass stopping when using a different chord or key was helpful and actually intensified the clarity of the notes. The best things to add in a composition is the mess you subtract, cleansing the sound! Thank you so much!
I love the tips that are beyond the technique. We get in our own heads when most people don’t know the difference between 80% perfect and 100% perfect. Just play and share it with the world.
When I first started, There was a stereotype that you have to start learning guitar with a "trashy" instrument. "If you will study with the trashy one, then you'll be super good with a well-made instrument!" (c) :D But, now I understand that you have to start with a proper guitar :) No need to have super-duper instrument, but it have to be at least comfortable. This way you can put more effort in musicality, instead of fighting instrument...
I've been playing for three years, and half of these tips I've not even thought about. As usual amazing work Nathan! Appreciate the free learning content you put out.
OMG, I broke my wrist and collarbone two years ago and I couldn't play guitar like before. Nobody taught me the first tip, you just gave me hope of playing again
I see a lot of beginners having issues with vibrato, like they are shaking their hand pivoting around a pressure point. Good thing to learn from your strings colleagues is that you need to push the string left to right, like you are trying to slide the whole string up and down the neck.
Hi Nathan ! I was already pretty comfortable with 1 and 2, but 3 and 4 were fantastic to me. And 5... Man I'm terrified at the idea of playing for a friend ! Your last piece of advice is a blessing to me. Never stop what you are doing, you are so talented ! 😁
I am playing guitar and several other instruments as well and although I had great teachers mostly, I always knew from the lessons how to PLAY the music and not how to PRACTICE. I never heard about the game changers Nathan is talking about in this video that make guitar playing waaay much easier. And many of these can be applicable to other instruents as well. Never ever met or heard about anybody who cares about musical instrument practice as Nathan does.
I really liked the video, funny story when I started playing a long time ago by myself, and started reading tabs, I thought there was only one tuning option...I really thought I sucked for two years because music didn't sound the same haha
I've been playing for a while and I've never heard that first one. I think it could really help me to play longer and without pain in my hand. Thanks for the tips.
To tackle number 5 I enrolled in music school. This was a game changer. Even as adults we’re not obligated to perform for an audience I did choose to. First time was a nighmare. Had to start 3 times over, my fingers were shaking, lost all control. Alone I could play it perfectly though, but I simply didn’t practice playing for people. I learned a big lesson!. Second time I needed to perform I took in the week before my guitar to friends, played for whoever I could. Guess what? I nailed it and impressed my teacher. Still was nervous, but I was not so daunted anymore by a crowd listening to me. I thought: I’m gonna give these people a good time instead of thinking ‘I hope I don’t screw up’
Each tip was helpful , but for me the tips with the weight of the arm and the last one about performing. Now im learning your arrangement "Brothers" from Fullmetal alchemists and i notices with those jump from first fret to barchord on 10 fret , with plenty of those stretching and again barchords in this piece my muscle in the thumb gets very tired and i feel pain halfway through the arrangement. So im gonna focus on that for a while. And also in this arrangement i had problem with the pull of from 12 to 10 fret. And to just place the finger on the string beneath , maaan , that was so simple , intuitive and brilliant. Dont know how i didnt come up with that by myself. And the preforming tip is the most important i think. Cause these technical moments, i think i will achieved them anyways with discipline. But this performance one , it requires changing the way you think about yourself and this is what is really hard to do. To reprogramm your way of thinking. Thank you a lot for this video , Nathan
Great takeaways. Those mental pathways can take a while to retrain - but it can be done. Just like we have physical habits, we have mental habits. Ways of thinking and viewing the world by default. If we're intentional and patient, we can change it all
Great tips! I definitely find myself get caught up on the 2nd one from time to time, especially being in my 30s, and having not achieved anything major in life. 😂 Oddly enough, I learnt about Tip #1 from Henning Pauly (EytschPi42) recently, in his Strandberg Boden Essential review, of all places. I tried it out immediately and it's easier to play. Also, my thumb pain had subsided ever since. I still go back to the habit of gripping with my thumb at times, but after knowing that nugget of information, I try to be more conscious about it, whenever I tensed up. Tips I would add would be, don't think of guitar playing as a 100 meters sprint, but instead as a marathon, potentially a lifelong one. So be patient, be kind to yourself, and you'll reap the rewards of the work you put in. Another would be, don't fawn over gears (especially as an Electric Guitarist), because they'll never make you a better player. A well built guitar that is setup properly, sure 'cause that's important, but having an obsession over new gears (G.A.S = Gear Acquisition Syndrome) will never replace actual times invested on playing and practicing the instrument.
The first thing is what I experience now after 3 years in guitar school. I learn some more complicated songs like "Your song" or banana pencake with constant bares or shape of my heart with really stretchy cords. And i dont know why but after playing some hours my left hand is hurting in this area you described. And the last point...oh boy. My guitar schools makes some concerts in summer and winter. So everyone who wants to play something for parents and friends can do it. So you get practice playing infront of people you dont know in a more safe place. But I rember playing my first song live infront of 20-30 people was nothing else matters. Boy...i needed to start it 4 times because I was so nervous, heads getting red like a tomato. Fingers cramp together, no chance to do the intro well. Second concert was better, but still problems with timings, cramping fingers. But its getting better. :)
Great content as always! ❤😁 You always inspire me with your guitar and it seems that you know the formula to make it work haha I want to play the guitar but I don't find where to start.
ahoi, very wise and very kind words to encourage - you give great advise and your music is beautiful - thanks so much for sharing your experience =) its very nice and worthy - grateful greetings for your great work and channel =)
Probably the weight, I started realizing it by myself, because I came to the point, where I can not hold whole pieces by using thumb pressure. Just getting to much pain and started looking for a workaround. But yeah - its very hard to relearn it... Just made a goal on focusing less power with left hand while playing as hard as I can with right hand, second step would be focusing on thumb pressure.
