How to Play Guitar Easily

Learning how to play guitar easily is simply a matter of beginning with the end in mind. In other words, one can learn to play the guitar by learning to play with ease right from the beginning.

Most beginner guitarists who attempt to learn how to play guitar play with a lot of tension. This is understandable as the muscles are learning new actions and this tends to cause tension. The problem is due to the fact that trying to learn a new skill puts a strain on the brain. There is a lot of new information coming in and the brain finds it difficult to process. There is simply too much information coming in too quickly. This causes a slight anxiety or fear response and as a result the muscles tense up.

One way to reduce this stress is to play slowly. By slowing down we reduce the amount of information coming into the brain. This tends to relax us. Other ways to reduce this flow of information is to work on a small music passage, practice each hand separately or even visualize your hands playing the passage.

These are all methods that reduce the information overload that the brain experiences. These techniques are all taught traditionally by most guitar teachers but rarely is there an explanation of why we should do it or what is really going on overall.

We only become tense when we learn to play guitar because we are stressing our system. Stress is a result of a fear or anxiety response. Notice the slight feelings of panic that you experience when you work on a new song or piece of music that you find difficult. If you slow down your playing, you may notice that this slight panic disappears and you are more relaxed.

It is important to notice these inner reactions as they can guide our practicing. By practicing guitar just under the panic threshold we stimulate ourselves without creating excess tension.