10 Tips for Making You a Better Guitar Player

Stuck in a rut and want to take your guitar skills to the next level? Here's ten ways to do it easily and quickly and they won't cost you a penny.

1. Check your posture. It's something that's too often ignored, but posture is very important when you play guitar. You spend hours practicing and playing and most of that time is spent in the same position. Get it wrong and you you could be lining yourself up for all sorts of aches and pains. Also, correct posture helps you form chords and get those difficult to reach finger positions more easily. If you're sitting down, sit upright, don't slouch over the guitar. If you're standing with the guitar on a strap, keep your back straight and shoulders back.

2. Hold the guitar properly. Again this is something that's often overlooked, but it's important. And your right hand is as important as your left when it comes to correct positioning (swap that around if you play left handed). Your right palm shouldn't rest on the guitar, the only time it should make contact is if you're using it to dampen the strings to achieve a specific sound. Otherwise it should be off the guitar. Your left hand should bend at the wrist toward you and should be positioned so that the tips of your fingers can reach every string without obstructing the other strings.

3.Choose a time to practice and stick to it. There's no getting around it, playing guitar, like any other learned skill takes time, effort, and discipline. If you adopt an ad hoc approach to practice, you'll soon get out of the habit. So set aside some time, even if it's only an hour two or three times a week and make that your practice time.

4. Don't just play chords and solos. Your fingertips are the only point of contact between you and the keyboard and so they need to work perfectly. Playing the same chords and solos will allow you to become very good at those chords and solos, but nothing else. Find some guitar exercises on the internet or in a guitar book and do them at the start of each practice session to keep your fingers nimble.

5. Step outside your comfort zone. We all have styles we enjoy playing and chord patterns and solo licks we love, but, as in No. 4 above, only playing those won't help you develop as a guitar player. Make a conscious decision to learn different styles, and new chords. Deliberately stop yourself playing your favourite licks and chords and play new ones instead. You'll be a better player for it.

6. Play with others. No matter how much you practice alone, you won't achieve nearly as much as you will jamming with other players. Bouncing ideas of others, picking up tricks, different ways to play chords and learning new songs are just a few of the products of a good jam. And it makes practicing much more fun.

7. Focus on a goal. We all have days when we can't be bothered practicing. Whether it's because we're tired, hungover, are just lack motivation, the result is the same. It doesn't have to be like that. If you have a goal, something that really motivates you, it's much easier to practice regularly. For example, there;s a new guitar you really want why not print out a picture of it pin it up near where you practice and promise yourself that as soon as you reach your next target, you'll buy the guitar.

8. Get lessons. Teaching yourself, learning from friends, DVDs, books and online guitar tutorials, such as Jamorama is all very well. But there's no substitute (cue Pete Townshend) for one to one tuition. Yes, it's expensive, but you don't need to sign-up for a full-course, just get a few lessons to conquer any recurring problems your having or get yourself over the next hurdle.

9. Keep your guitar in good condition. This is a no-brainer. Keeping your guitar clean, wiping off sweat from the strings and keeping it out of harms way are essential. You should also change strings regularly and give it a complete 'spring clean' every once in a while.

10. Practice more. Because you can never practice too much. However, that doesn't mean you should practice for hours on end without a break. Fatigue sets in and destroys concentration, which leads to mistakes and in turn that causes discouragement. Have a break from the guitar completely at least once and hour, even if it's only for five or ten minutes. You'll be much fresher and practice more productively as a result.