If you want to learn how to play guitar from me, be sure to check out my entire lessons program at www.the-art-of-guitar.com. 👍🎸🎸

If you just crank the distortion up enough, you can ignore all this advice

Timestamps for people returning to this video and just want a list: 1. Playing out of tune 0:06 2. Over/Under Bending 1:09 3. Pushing Way Too Hard 2:46 4. Lack of Vibrato 4:08 5. Overthinking 5:14 6. Lack of/Bad Sense of Rhythm 7:45 7. Being clueless about your tone 9:22 8. No knowledge Guitar Maintenance 11:31 9. Not Playing well with others 12:57 10. Poor Muting Skills 14:41 11. Bragging/Boasting 17:41 12. Lack of Improvisation Skill 19:28 13. Not Standing While Playing 21:50 14. Having A Lack Of Theory Knowledge 23:03

One of the best feelings ever when you make that transition from overthinking to just feeling the playing.

Yesterday, I spent ten whole minutes trying to tune my guitar with the clip on tuner, getting progressively more frustrated and baffled, and at one point even shouted at my D string, because every time I got it to C, I thought 'ok, we're nearly there', and then it would just skip straight to G. Yep, it took me ten entire minutes to finally realise that I would never get to D, no matter how hard I lectured the fourth string, because my tuner had set itself to Ukele mode 😭😂

"And now with just a little vibrato" *adds a shit ton of vibrato, pinch harmonics, and more bending*

"Sucking at something is the first step to being sort of good at something" - Jake the Dog

"I have know idea what these strings are called, but wow watch this" - Angus Young

He protec He attac But most importantly He tell me 14 guitar habits that are holding me bac

Muscle memory... practice slowly, "slow is smooth and smooth is fast."

You missed one: playing an electric guitar without an amp, for years and years.

20:50 "Take a solo!" "You know what? I'm just gonna go home to practice, see ya"

The "people don't wanna play with you" one hit hard

I'm a really great guitar player except for my timing, phrasing, bending, improvisational skills, muting, picking, and I don't know any chords or scales. Other than that, I'm Jimi freakin' Hendrix.

Beginners mistake number one. Failing to pick up the guitar. You see, the guitar is very hard to play unless you're actually holding it. Free tip. 🤘

Mistake #11. Just realized the other day that when Zappa said "Shut up and play your guitar", what he meant was SFTU and actually LEARN how to play the guitar, and the comment might have been aimed at many players out there, like me, who never did learn how to play it right, cheating anyway you could, and avoiding the painful practice needed to overcome playing difficult chords, and nailing certain chord changes that will seemingly haunt you your whole life. In my recent travels, I picked up this information I'd like to share; "To get the basic guitar chords down put one finger down at a time and check for buzzing, if it buzzes it's not right. Make small adjustments in your finger placement so that it works. Now once you have got to the place where the chord is not buzzing, raise your fingers off the fretboard and place them slowly into place, Keep doing that until you are confident that your can grab a chord quickly. You are building memory in your nervous system and that works best if you move slowly and as relaxed as you can. Memorize and learn each basic guitar chord so that it is an automatic reflex you can use without thinking. Be patient with yourself. I've found what seems to be impossible is possible if you take your movements very slow and relaxed at first and then speed up slowly until they are a lightning fast reflex."

1 of the biggest mistakes i made in the early days of my playing was always practicing fully distorted. When it came to playing clean i was bad, so when i started practicing clean so many things became more accurate during regular play. Some music jokes...how do you know when a drummer is knocking at your door? the knocking starts speeding up. How do you get a bass player to leave your porch? you pay him for the pizza. How many lead singers does it take to screw in a lightbulb? He doesn't have to do anything because the world revolves around him. How do you get a lead guitarist to turn down the volume? you put a music chart in front of him.

I'm easily twice your age, and I've been teaching for over 25 years, and you pull me in every time kid. You're a wonderful instructor, players, and video producer. I appreciate all you do. Keep up the good work!

Dude, you're a great teacher. You seem so patient and your tone of voice is really good and sounds very positive. Great stuff.

The over-thinking thing I was taught in grade school. My band teacher brought me up to the front of the class and had me read the sheet music. He blocked it off to represent thinking. Then he took his hand away so I could read "ahead", leaving me options to play, rather than being so focused on the next note. That little lesson really stuck with me.

Earth bending Fire bending Water bending Air bending Guitar bending

""just add a little vibrato, I'll show you how much of a difference it makes" - does a full step bend. Good advice though.

The tip about "not overthinking it" was literally just saying "get good at guitar so you don't have to concentrate".. thanks lol

You are so right about "standing." It's really a trip until you get used to it.

You can use the guitar itself to check your bends e.g. a full step bend on the 15th fret will sound the same as the 17th fretted note.

sometimes under-bending can be awesome if you know how to use it right. BB King did it a lot. 1/4 bends and such.

Damn, I wish I would have watched this video about 10 years ago. Would have saved me soooo much time effort, frustration, headaches and all manner of bad things. I can just see myself in all 14 of the stages at some point. Great compilation.

Also don’t forget. Don’t rush anything.. getting honestly good at any instrument, or just any skill in general, is gonna take some decent time, and the more time you put into it, the better it’ll be. You’re not gonna be the next James Hetfield in 2 months, or even in a year in some cases... it takes time.

20 years I've been playing... I've known for almost that entire time that it's the metal fret that makes the sound... Never once thought about how that means I don't have to press into the wood... Twenty years of practice and you just made me better with one sentence.

I must say I really like your style of teaching. Wish I could be your student. Not just a virtual student... Thank You very much for interesting content on KZfaq.

Mike, really do appreciate your lesson (advice). I'm a late learner, 76 years not playing guitar and now 3 years learning, so I am guilty of most of your 14 habits that I'm sure are holding me back. You are a good teacher. Thanks.

I've been playing guitar for about ten years now, and I can say that I've unknowingly worked through everyone of these issues, and I'm glad I stuck with it

when your ear is so bad that the "out of tune" You Shook me all night long part sounds the same as the "in tune" one

Wow, that pressing too hard habit was exactly what I did wrong for so many years omfg.

Also, the tip on practicing precise bends with a live tuner attached is brilliant. I'm going to start doing that for sure.

When I first started playing, before I even learned a chord I would practice Pete Townsend windmills....out in my front yard.......I looked ridiculous.....as a 42 year old I should have known better.

When you said “I’ve been a drummer longer than a guitarist” I saw myself in that. Been a drummer since I was 5 and just a month ago I picked up the guitar (I still drum obviously, drums are my heartbeat) and have been trying to learn and incorporate many of the things I’ve seen on your channel and others. Thank you for your videos and your insight!!! Much love.

Your pointers are detailed as Hell, and I couldn't be happier that someone expanded on the list of things holding me back. Good on you.

I'm day 3 into learning and the tip about pressing too hard on the frets is something I've never even heard from anyone and you'd think that would be the first thing people want to tell you. Insane tip that immediately affected how trying to play feels 👌🏻

A lot of the points made are definately applicable to me!! Poor vibrato skills, unable to improvise, not standing up to play, serious lack of theory knowledge etc etc!! Having these things talked about in a "friendly" way gets the point across so much better than someone telling you you're not very good at certain things!! Gives me hope and determination to improve on my shortcomings. Thanks for sharing your tips and knowledge.

how did you not vibrato that dude. that was probably actually difficult

Man, I wish this guy was my personal teacher!!! I watch ALOT of tutorials, but this guy has an amazing way of not only explaining the technique, but also making you feel comfortable, and not like an idiot. Good job brother!! You're awesome!! Also, you hit one thing on the head with me. As much as I hate to admit it, I was that guy that talked like I could play like Dimebag Darrell, then when it came time to jam,I looked like a fool!! Lesson learned!! Lol

this is a great mental checklist even for experienced players. i would summarize the first 4 points plus 7 and 10 as "improve you listening skills". thanks for the video!

I love when you intentionally do something to make your sound bad and it accidentally sounds amazing

man.. this is my 20th year to have been playing the guitar.. so much of the problems you said for beginners i actually went through.. this is a really really good video for new guitar players.. i wish i had this back when i started playing.. thanks for the video man!

This really makes me realize that while Ive been playing for 13 years, I havent progressed past that “intermediate” stage. I am so comfortable on the instrument but I have a lot of blind spots - mostly theory. It is so easy to neglect learning new stuff, I feel like there are simply too many options to choose from when it comes to learning something “new” - and a lot is skewed towards beginners.

This is the second video I watch from you and it is very helpful. You seem genuine and your tips are actually real things I deal with as a beginner, and you come across like you really want to help others. Thank you for that.

Glad I found this video. Instant subscriber! Extremely grateful for your efforts! Excellent instructional and informative video! Soft-spoken, humble, knowledgeable and talented! Thank you young man. Keep em coming!

I knew I sucked before but after watching your video I know I really suck! So what is the first step other than smash the guitar?

Your Patience and careful explanations make you an excellent teacher I am sure. I have been browsing videos here on you-tube. Most are Brittish which isn't easy to understand when you are trying to learn and watch at the same time. Best vids here for sure. You raise the bar several levels. With being left-handed, I already have real Barriers already. I am also disabled and cannot afford to buy lessons. I still cannot play a thing but you encourage Practice with clues that matter. Thank you

This is one of the most sensible guitar-basics videos I've ever seen. Congrats, man!

You're an amazing teacher. Clear, concise, straight to the meat with no BS. Us beginners appreciate you so much. Thanks for everything you do.

Overthinking definitely is me right now, pushing way too hard, vibrato, not knowing theory, and I need to learn more about maintenance and tone. I haven't even attempted to play with anyone except a couple very basic training videos lol. Thanks for this video, I'm about to go work on a few of these! I was getting frustrated at being stuck, and you definitely helped me realize some things!

3:21 minutes is me for sure! I've stopped pushing so hard this week. Also, I was overthinking! Been practicing all this week and have jettisoned those bad habits! Thanks for the advice!! God Bless!

I've seen every one of these done by guitarists I've met over the years, this is a bloody great video! Very coherent, well delivered, and even one of them can really take alot out of a persons apparent skills. Great job getting a list like this together!

Your examples are so good, really helps drive the point home. I've only been learning acoustic but still enjoyed this video. You are a great instructor

I'm learning guitar right now and it's come fairly naturally as I've transitioned from piano, understand my thoery and play by ear, but I'm so so glad I watched this video because I didn't realize how many bad habits I had!! Like pressing too hard on the strings (a habit from acoustic steel string playing) amongst other bad habits I noticed I have which I can address now! There's no shame in making mistakes, and it's always nice to know how to fix them so you don't fall into ruts. There's always room for improvement. Really enjoyed the lesson! Cheers

The-Art-of-Guitar > Music Is Win Fight me.

You’re great to listen to my friend. Thanks for the tips. No wonder you have so many subscribers. Keep up the good work

i've had this video on my watchlist for over a year since i found it and am finally watching it. Love your stuff

Expanding on the standing and playing live thing- I'd recommend going through all the motions including flipping your toggle switch while playing (even when your not plugged in) and setting up pedals to hit for changes. These things can become overwhelming if you never practice them. Also make sure if you have pedals you have some sort of light to illuminate them. I've played a lot of underground gigs and most of the time the lighting was terrible. Good video for starting out.

Way better than most other guitar channels. I feel like they have so much fluff that they just put in to make their videos longer. Your stuff was to the point and made sense. My biggest problem from this list is muting strings. I'll get cleaner eventually. Makes such a huge difference :(

This video is right on point. Timing is literally EVERYTHING! If you’re out of time, everything else will go wrong too. Overthinking is still an issue, especially when playing improv lead. I tend to get nervous when people are watching me jam and I overthink and it doesn’t have that “soul” it did earlier. And using a clip on tuner to hit those bends, you helped me sooo much. It takes a community to make a good guitar, lol,

I learned really well with your laid-back demeanor and teaching style. Thanks for the upload!

Thank you for the video. I do not have a good ear. I do not have a good sense of timing. And I am old. BUT I do have a great sense of humor and enjoy playing for my own entertainment. The best phrase that I picked up from this is: "A little bit of inadequacy." LOL, Thanks for doing this.

I'm fat, so my guitar is always tilted while standing.... :D Great vid, man! The only thing I'm lacking is theory. I do know stuff, but not enough to create those smooth transitions while playing with others, although I did have a knack for improv during those high school band days.

All I ever say about my own playing is that I love to practice. Every point in this video is incredibly helpful to me - thank you!

Excellent teaching channel, my friend. I am not a complete beginner , just a home guitarist and not advanced - these clips explain a lot, I wish I had them when I was a beginner ! There is lots to learn at any playing level - fantastic instructions

Awesome advice! It’s all important stuff! I think one of the worst habits is definitely that “maybe later” mentality about practicing/playing. Try to push yourself to play regularly. Can’t stress how much you will regret not just doing it. This is an obvious one and basically falls under the practice-makes-perfect idea. Just PLAY and try to explore multiple styles and techniques too. Work on your weakest points, play sitting, standing, with other tracks and without. The more the better, but do your best to identify problems and avoid ingraining bad habits. Unlearning is harder than learning! Cheers 👍

Good tips. Thanks for posting, Mike!

Excellent content, been playing for years and your videos always open my mind

Bang on man, very orecise detailed info. Very important stuff for any level

A lot of good advice for beginners. I really like the one about good players/bands don't need to be overly loud to impress an audience. My advice: It's the tightness of all players in a band, beginning with bass & drums. That's what will make you good.

One thing about timing, don't feel disheartened when you can time the notes or chords right. I felt that way too while I was trying to play along to my favorite songs. It doesn't mean you're a terrible guitar player if you have one of these habits, it just means you're learning and progressing if you notice you're one or more of these.

This instructor is so insightful I am glad I am taking his course.

Really enjoy your videos, you dont make me feel overwhelmed with things i need to practice!

I could add a few things I've been doing wrong almost 15 years. I found myself almost only improvising after a while, playing the same stuff over and over or just playing random stuff rather than learning from other people's solos etc. I've played a lot without a metronome and trying to play it fast right away which means it becomes sloppy. Playing random stuff also doesn't really equal practicing.

15:07 I really identified with that. It’s happened in the same scenario. I’ll be explaining something with an example thought of on the fly. Comes out way better than intended.

Your comment about playing about overthinking your playing is so true! At a certain point, you observe and get a feel for your playing instead of thinking about it.

I whole heartedly agree with and have suffered from pretty much everything on this list. Subscribed!

12:30 Dude, I've been playing guitar for 31 years (professionally for 27) and I don't change my strings unless they break, lmao! Well-worn strings can give you *hella* tone, yo! Now, if one breaks I *do* change them all and start fresh; however, I don't change them every so often, as is recommended. I just don't like my guitar sounding *that* bright. 😉 Oh, and regarding 12:50 -- learn to *not* leave your instrument sitting in the lights on the stage while you're waiting to perform. Yeah..... out of tune *real* quick, lmao! Learned that one the hard way -- thank god for bending!

I think I'm the one who had all 14.... But already got rid of some, because of that video! Thanks!

Ive said it before, You my friend present your lessons in such a way that it is truly an Inspiration to tune into this channel, In turn, An Inspiration to pick up my Guitar and Practice. Thank You.

Great video Mike! A lot of these are things I try to tell to my friends who are just starting out. Really useful stuff.

All good tips, but I don't think a strat is the best example of how tone can be sapped, clean it might have done better but I am personally a big fan of a treble cut on the neck pup with a nice drive, not all the time though of course. Getting to know your controls is well worth it as you said. Nice video, very clear.

Best thing that happend to me .I found a real good metal guitarist,thats what i want to learn, he gave me the best lessons for 6 years.Find a teacher who fits you and plays in a band. Thats most importend when you stard, in my opinion.I had 3 teachers before i found my 'match'.

Great great video. I watch a lot of these as a guitar teacher to gain ideas and I have to say you covered a lot of excellent ground that I deal with on a daily basis. Truly appreciate this particular video more than most. Keep it up my man. Great job.

Love this perspective on learning to play better, keep preaching brother!

The kinks: so, we need some tone-- *proceeds to grab a knife*

Habit #13. A useful tip I was once taught was to set your guitar strap so that it hangs the same distance whether your standing or sitting. The stuff you've practised whilst sitting will be comfortable to play standing up and not having to adjust wrist angle etc and struggling because the guitar is now too low. Hope that makes sense!

This is a phenomenal channel for sure.

This guy is a great teacher awesome approach. He really talks to you on your level and everyones level for that matter. Ive been playing 17yrs and still some of these i can work on. Always quality videos subscribe to this guy it will help your playing if you apply it

When he played Steve Vai for the vibrato part my heart melted lol

20 years you’ll be considered a guitar god because of how many people you’ve helped and taught

Thank you so much, your videos are really helpful.

Great video. Glad I found you. Can't argue any of your points as I'm certain I've done each of them. A few things on here such as the tone/personal instrument sound, suggestion really hit home. Thanks a bunch and nice to meet you!

15:30 this guy makes a sloppy section sound awesome

15:04 is my favorite part -- "actually that sounds kinda cool." :)

How in the shit do you have the time to intentionally play out of tune? You’re ridiculously good. I’ve learned so much, thank you!

Pressing to hard held me back for a long time; Your videos help me a great deal easy to understand. Thanks a lot.