10 Guitar Truths You’ll Probably Learn Too Late

Hello, Nostalgia here. I’m a long time musician, but a newbie guitarist. I’ve been playing for about 3 years now, but I’ve been told by others that I’m already an intermediate player. Some guitarists who have played way longer have told me I can do things they can’t.

Now, it’s not that I’m some prodigy or anything, trust me, I am not even close. Heck, I played keyboard for 20 years, but I can only play some basic songs my keyboard taught me. If you put sheets in front of me, I would need to write down the notes, memorize them, and practice for weeks or months to play it confidently….but I can jump right into tabs or chords for guitar, improvise a bit, and learn songs pretty well in a day.

But there’s a lot of things I had to realize to get to where I am right now. Guitar has honestly been one of the most complex instruments I’ve ever picked up as it requires a lot more technical skills. Even if you knew the chords in your head, you’re fingers wouldn’t be able to contort into that shape just yet. You gotta learn to hold a pick, strum properly, etc.

And then the guitar is just full of possibilities! It has over 130 notes for your disposal! it can play chords and melodies, and there’s a lot of unique sounds that can only be played on guitar, like tapping, bending, and slide guitar. It’s used in pretty much every genre so it’s no surprise why it’s one of the most popular instruments.

In the past, people strictly played by ear and feel. Then later, some only learned with diagrams and tabs. Very few guitarists ever took a music class or learned theory, and this creates a lot of division and conflict between guitarists, and between them and other musicians. Some are so proud about being self-taught that they will ignore and reject valuable lessons and material that could speed up their progress.

Then, when you ask a question, every guitarist will say something different, and it’s hard to know who is giving you the best advice. You have to be wary of guitarists with egos who may not have the best intentions for you, nor want to share their secrets. Then some will overcomplicate a simple concept like modes because they don’t know the theory behind it or truly understand it. It’s all hard memorization and hard work to them!

Since I wanted to learn a genre that majority of people aren’t familiar with, Japanese rock music, no one was really able to help me. While it was really frustrating for some time, this focus forced me to dig deep into theory so I can understand it sooner, and I had to improve my playing quickly to be able to play the songs my band wanted to cover. I’ve also had the opportunity to dig deeper into Japanese music and the guitar world as I started to blog, and it’s been very insightful.

More recently, I shared a post with 5 guitar truths in a Facebook group just cause I felt others needed to heart it. Not only was the post popular, but no one disagreed with my points, even saying that one really changed things for them.

Below, I have divided a couple of those points as they could be in a section of their own, and also added a few more that I felt was really vital to growing as a guitarist and a musician ^_^

1. You Need To Join A Band Or Jam Group

If you’re only playing guitar for yourself, as a hobby or past-time, don’t worry too much about this…but if you have any desire to perform, record, or just do anything public with your guitar, then joining a music group has tremendous benefits.

Playing with others is a great way to keep you not just motivated and accountable, but you’re going to learn a lot more faster when around people who know more and can teach you. You’ll get used to listening to others as you play and this will help train your musical ear. You’ll also learn about timing and groove, which is easy to ignore if you’re only playing by yourself.

Through this, you’ll learn how to communicate with other musicians and also gain a lot more insight and experience which will give you confidence for future musical endeavors. Many beginners grow a lot faster and get further since they took that step to joining a band or a jamming group early on. Not only would you sound better with a team, but you’ll have more fun!

Suggestions: If you’re still in school, then check out what music clubs and programs are available. Joining other programs like drumline or orchestra can be amazing even if you’re not playing the guitar. Otherwise, classified sites like Kijiji or Craigslist can be a great place to find other local musicians who are looking for members. You can also make your own add and get a band started like I did! Here’s a great article on what to include in your ad.

2. And Also Put Yourself Out There Asap

Joining a band is a big step, but many bands also stay in the basement. So when I say ‘put yourself out there’, I do mean start performing or recording videos for others to see. It’s understandable to wait a few months until you at least sound decent, but once you can play through a few songs confidently, it’s time to take that step.

In general, the longer you keep your music to yourself, the harder it will get to finally break through this wall. You’ll become more insecure and more scared to perform as time goes on. You’ll never feel ready and you’ll become increasingly more afraid of the criticism you may receive. The sooner you can get over this hurdle, the better. Trust me, you’ll quickly realize people are more supportive than you thought!

Suggestions: Whether you’re a solo musician or in a group, open mics are an easy and free way to get some experience. Local bars and small venues may hold open mics once a week/month, and all you have to do is show up about half an hour beforehand and sign up. Otherwise, Instagram or Tiktok is a great casual way to share clips or covers. I kinda recommend performing in front of strangers as friends or family can create more pressure and they may tease and mock you, even if you were decent ^^”

3. Don’t Get Defensive When Criticized

On that last note, once you put yourself out there, you do open yourself up to criticism. Even if 9/10 people congratulate you and cheer you on, that 1 person who wasn’t impressed can sting. Regardless, you should still listen and take that to heart.

There will be haters of course, but if someone actually takes the time to give you some constructive criticism, especially if they are a musician themselves, you should listen. Some criticism I received was that my audio quality should be better on Instagram or people won’t care, that I was strumming too high up the neck, my timing was a bit off (in my early rhythm guitar days), and so on.

Even though I record myself and can certainly hear and see things that need work myself, some people have really brought things to my attention that I may not have realized otherwise. For example, I was taking trial lessons with one teacher and he asked if I always anchor my pinky on the fretboard when I do lead. I learned to do that really early on from a lesson, but he said not doing that could help with speed and flexibility such…and he was right!

There is certainly a lot of pride and egos in the guitar community (even when they aren’t that great just yet), and this has led to many of them getting kicked out of groups and bands since they refuse to take advise or listen to criticism from others. People will be much more willing to not just connect with you but work with you if you don’t get defensive. Always be willing to listen and learn from others, especially if it’s free!

Suggestions: While criticism may come anytime, one thing I would recommend is to ask people who you actually like and trust to give you their honest feedback, so at least it comes when you’re ready to hear it. They don’t have to be musicians, just someone who will pay attention and who can give you an unbiased view of how it sounds. Are you strumming too hard? Maybe they felt your solo was a bit rushed and messy. Anything can give you a bit of perspective of how you sound to others.

4. Don’t Ignore Music Theory

I took music through school, but they focused most on reading. I knew what the C scale was and what it looked like, but I didn’t understand how the scale was created. I just blindly memorized chords and scales. I thought those who were able to create and improvise had some natural talent because when I tried, I would hit some bad sounding notes or it would sound like something I knew. I was only able to cover songs.

When I picked up the guitar, after learning a few basic chords and scales, I stated to see patterns for the first time. A major and A minor were only 1 note apart. The F chord was just the E chord moved up. Scales…are moveable because the pattern to create them are the same!

With a bit more research, things were starting to click, and I was able to put some chords together to make a song and improvise to a backing track within 3 months of playing guitar. Something I could have never done in my 20 years of keyboard. Japanese music is quite complex, so I really needed to dig deeper into borrowed chords and modulation and such to play it, but everything just makes so much sense.

When I go on guitar Facebook groups or Youtube comments about this topic, while some still proudly say ‘I don’t need theory’, other people who have been playing for 20+ years are now seeing it’s benefits and regret not learning it sooner. There’s so many valuable lessons out there that you won’t understand if you don’t understand scale degrees or what roman numerals mean in music.

Not to mention, if you do plan to play with others, not only will you need to understand what they mean when they say ‘I-IV-V progression in the key of G’, but you’ll also need to be able to express your ideas in a way that makes sense to people that have never played guitar. If you’re playing something cool with power chords and they ask you what’s the home chord, you should know.

Suggestions: Music theory can be a bit intimidating, especially if you jump into the deep end. I created a truly beginner series starting with my How Scales & Modes Are Made, followed by How Chords Are Made, and How Chord Progressions Work.

5. Be A Team Player

Music is a social art. Unlike visual arts which is usually done independently, music is like drama in that you can only do so much alone. Even if you used backing tracks, there’s nothing more spectacular than playing with others in a band or an orchestra.

Since I took music through school, I was often playing with other students in classes and in clubs. Whether it was choir, drumline, or my band class, we all had our own parts to play and everyone was expected to follow their parts well so we can sound good together. Rehearsal was meant for us to get more insync with playing in time with one another and to prepare for a live performance.

It didn’t matter if you had a big or small role, it was just exciting to be part of something bigger than yourself and to make good music! The focus was always on the group and serving the song.

But after picking up guitar and getting into the rock side of things, it’s clear that many have the ‘me, me, me!’ mentality. They want to play what they want to play, when they want to play it and how they want to play it. Many are attracted to lead guitar because they get the attention and the freedom. They build this ego where they feel they are better or more talented than everyone else and thus have the power. But it’s these same individuals that lead to bands breaking up or just having a bad reputation among people or venues.

Other musicians want to work with people who will collaborate with them as equals and see their value. Every instrument serves a purpose and adds to the song. Every person could ruin a song if they wished, but they choose not to because they put the band first. You need to as well cause trust me, when you’re trying to find a band to rock in, many would rather take an average, humble guitarist who can play with everyone, than the best shredder in the world who is selfish and hijacks every song.

Suggestions: If you’re in a band, why not volunteer to play rhythm guitar now and then? Or maybe even pick up bass for a few songs? Playing lead may be fun and it definitely gets a lot of attention, so practice playing a role or instrument that is a bit more in the background with the rest of the band. Not only will you realize it’s not that easy, but you’ll also appreciate the role everyone plays and truly feel like part of the team.

6. You Don’t Have To Be Good At Everything

There’s sooooo much to learn on guitar, it’s truly overwhelming as a guitarist. You thought it was just going to be some basic open chords and scales? Oh, no no no. There’s triads, power chords, barre chords, 7th chords, and jazz chords. There’s modes, and there’s alterations of modes. There’s slides, bends, hammer-ons, pull-offs, tapping, etc. Let’s not forget fingerstyle! And then every genre has something that’s unique to them as well, like slide guitar and comping.

As a beginner guitarist, here is this immense pressure to learn everything, and people are constantly pushing new things on you, but honestly, there’s only so much time in the day. You can’t possible learn and practice everything…and even if you could, you’d just be a jack of all trades. Think about the greats for a second. They’re only known for mastering one or two things, so why are you putting so much pressure on yourself to learn everything!??

If you wanna do blues soloing, focus on that. Wanna do jazz improv? Go for it! You love metal rhythm? Nail those syncopations! You wanna just strum? Be an amazing acoustic pop guitarist then! If only classical or fingerstyle applies to you, you don’t need to get an electric guitar. Don’t let other guitarists tell you, ‘you need to learn this and that’ cause it’s not true. You should learn the basic scales, chords, and strumming patterns, but otherwise, it’s free rein!

And also, if the music you want to play only requires a couple scales and a handful of chords, then don’t force yourself to learn things like modes and jazz chords that you’re never going to use or implement. You’re just going to waste your time. Some basic chord progressions have been used 10,000+ times, so never doubt all the possibilities that are available with the basics. Learning another scale is pointless if you can’t even learn to play 100 things with the scale you already know.

Suggestions: If you’re not at least 90% sure what you want to do with guitar, take a few weeks to really sit down, do some research, and think about it. It’s easy and kinda fun jumping from technique to technique, or exploring different styles and genres, but try to settle on a couple playing styles that you really enjoy and that align with the music you really like to play. As you focus and dig deeper, you’re going to learn more and more things that you can apply for that style that will keep you interested long-term.

7. You Can’t Compare Yourself To Others

It’s natural to compare yourself, and up to a certain level, it can be healthy. Heck, if you have a rival who is around your level or just ahead of you, then sure! Use competition to stay motivated and work harder. But nothing will kill your spirit more than seeing people light years ahead of you and getting discouraged when you compare your talents.

Listen. I know how it feels to be a beginner and it feels like everyone’s an amazing guitarist besides you. I picked up the instrument in my 20s while most have been playing since they were babies. You can’t even play one bar of what they play as it’s too fast or too complex! It sucks!!! But there were a couple things that helped me get over the intimidation.

For one, I don’t even want to play what they play. I wanna play Japanese rock rhythm, so why would a metal shredder or math rock virtuoso intimate me? We have different sounds and will appeal to different audiences.

And two, sometimes I go back to a song that was very hard for me last year, could barely play it at 50% speed and now, it’s so easy! Or there’s songs that I didn’t even try because they were intimidating, but now….like wow, I’ve grown so much. I have to be proud of my own growth and progress.

And good news! There’s enough space in the music world for all of us. There will always be space for a guitarist somewhere. And heck, if you don’t even want to be in the media (maybe you just want to play for local bars, weddings and events, or you just want to make money as a session guitarist), then why does it matter what they’re doing? There’s no reason to compare!

Suggestions: You need to realize that any great guitarist has years on them, and accept that you won’t be able to play like them anytime soon. It’s time to just focus on you and your own growth. I think journaling or recording yourself every now and then will give you something for reference, like my video above. Become obsessed with your own journey and the progress you are making.

8. You Gotta Play As Much As You Can

Someone made this comment on my post. Initially I was on the edge as I took a lot of breaks (and I’m talking, week and month long breaks at times) on my journey. But more recently, I’ve been getting up early and playing guitar first thing in the morning. I was able to see how much I’ve improved in so little time.

I know many talk about that 10,000 hour rule to mastery. While somewhat baseless, let’s consider it seriously. Guitar takes a lot of time to understand how it works, to remember chords and scales, and to build the technique and coordination to play. Even though I had a musical foundation and have played other instruments in the past, it still took me weeks to play a single chord quickly and cleanly.

So, if learning to play and master the major scale took 10 hours, you could easily learn it in 2 weeks if you played an hour a day. But if you only pick up your guitar twice a month for 30 minutes….it will take longer than a year, because you’ll have to keep reviewing and relearning things. Your mind and muscles forget what you don’t rehearse regularly.

Sometimes we want to take things easy and be lazy and just expect results, but any person who is extremely ‘talented’ at something has practiced their butt off to get to where they are. Musicians, athletes, artists, computer scientist, gamers, they all became obsessed with their art and worked at it diligently, sometimes even sacrificing fun events and hanging with friends to practice.

Even if some had a bit more natural talent or it was easy to learn, they still practiced for months and years to get good, so stop thinking you’ll become a guitar master without practicing a fraction of the time they have. But more time into your craft, and you’ll see more results a lot faster!

Suggestions: Even the busiest people can make time for the things that matter to them. It’s definitely important to build a habit for guitar if possible, so try to pick a time or condition on when you’ll play for a bit. I find that first thing in the morning, or also after dinner/before bed worked best for me. You can also find ways to incorporate it into other activities, like working on strumming or scales while watching a show.

9. Get A Teacher If You’re Stagnant Or Lost

Guitars love to say that they don’t need theory to play, and they also love holding onto the title of ‘self-thought’, but honestly, what’s wrong with getting a teacher or taking a course if you need it? Teachers are there for a reason. They have a lot more knowledge and experience than you, and good ones know how to guide you and lead you towards whatever goals you have.

Similar to having a band, having a teacher is another way to keep you motivated and hold you accountable. If you’re someone who gets lazy, who doesn’t finish songs, who tends to shy away from harder things, a teacher can kick you in the butt and get you moving.

And considering all there is to learn on a guitar, they can also save you time by making sure you’re learning what you need to learn instead of irrelevant stuff. They can also ensure you’re learning things correctly so you don’t have to spend time correcting it later.

During my trial lessons with one teacher, while he didn’t have a whole lot he could teach or show me with my knowledge, I did show him a few Japanese songs I liked, and he brought to my attention that I need to learn 16-beat strumming and funk rhythm. I had no idea what funk rhythm was until that moment, and now I’m obsessed!

If you’re more of a self learner, there’s still lots of useful courses that have a clear path and can ensure you’re building upon a certain skill. When I was lost among the huge amount of Youtube lessons and blogs, GuitarTricks appeared and I was able to build a strong foundation, and also get some beginner skills for other genres and skills. I’ve also purchased some cheaper courses on Udemy.

For me, I’d rather boldly proclaim that I had some teachers or help and be where I want to be in a couple years, than to become stagnant playing the same things or getting lost and wasting time as a self learner. In the end, all that matters is how well you can play, not how you learned.

Suggestions: It can be hard finding the right guitar teacher, so hard that I had to write an article on how to be a good teacher as me and many others have had nightmare experiences. I do recommend reading it so you can see the green and red flags of any teacher you may come across. But otherwise, you’ll have to do research to see what’s offered in your area or online. If you’re a true beginner or are still trying to figure out what you want to do with guitar, I’d also highly recommend Guitar Tricks! You can read my full review here.

10. Have Fun While Working Towards Your Goals

It is important to have fun while you’re learning anything. Once something becomes dreadful and you find yourself forcing yourself to pick it up and play, you need to take a break. The last thing you want is to come to hate it and get to that point where you never want to touch it again.

But at the same time, you don’t want to get comfortable playing the same songs, the same scales, and such everyday and never actually improving or building your skills. I’m sure there’s many songs you want to play that you can’t play yet. Guitar isn’t that fun when you’re a newbie and your abilities are limited.

So there needs to be a balance. You do need to spend time regularly working on the boring things like working on your strumming patterns and doing scale exercises, working on songs that are a bit outside your currently level, but also spend time playing songs you love and just having fun with the instrument.

Playing with a band, doing open mics, and performing can also be a lot of fun! You don’t have to be an amazing advanced player to start doing amazing things. If you do have big guitar goals, then doing these things should be done sooner as they help you gain valuable experience.

I think those things are great because they force you to work on songs more thoroughly and perfectly instead of getting bored and jumping from song to song. You’re going to pay a lot more attention if you want to put on the best performance possible. So play things you enjoy but also do things that will push you and your playing forward.

Suggestions: When you sit down to rehearse, I think it’s good to have a 50/50 or 60/40 balance between learning new things/techniques and running through exercises, and then you can spend time playing songs you know and like or soloing and improvising. Just don’t fall into the trap of only playing what you know or what’s easy. Sure, easy is fun, but if there’s things you still can’t play, or great guitarists that you’d like to play like one day, then you need to work on things that can help you get there everyday.

Conclusion

I hope this article has given you a lot of insight on what you should do next or where you should go with your guitar playing. It can be overwhelming as a beginner, and sometimes it’s hard finding lessons that are within your skill level, so you tend to get comfortable in that stage. However, if you have a focus and you put yourself out there, you can break into the intermediate level sooner.

Guitar has certainly been the hardest instrument I’ve ever picked up, but I had big dreams with it so it pushed me to learn more and get out there asap. Even after a couple years with guitar, I felt more confident with it than I have with keyboard after 20 years. I felt trapped in a box with my limited keyboard abilities, but I dug a little deeper with theory and practiced more regularly with guitar.

Joining a band, uploading clips, learning theory, taking lessons online and a few with some teachers, getting on stage, changing my schedule to play more consistently, and just keeping focused on my main goal made the difference. I was able to stay motivated by not comparing myself to others and just reminding myself that there’s space for everyone.

Below is another video from Music is Win. I first watched this when I was at my “Rekindled Spirit” phase, and now I’m at the “Live Player” stage. Honestly, it’s so relatable, and also encouraging to know that others deal with this too. Guitar is a struggle for everyone, so don’t get discouraged! Keep playing soldier!