We need to admit it – 2020 is, by far, the weirdest year we ever had in modern history. The entire world has been put to test after the spread of COVID-19 and things are tough. Sure, this will pass, we don’t worry about that. But at this moment, we’ve lost some of the great benefits that we kind of took for granted all these years. In the midst of all this, the question some folks ask is: how to improve guitar skills at home?
From a musician’s perspective, restriction of movement and enforced social distancing is making a huge impact. But aside from canceled performances, festivals, and other related events, we need to think of one crucial issue – music lessons. Yes, even this aspect of musicianship has become increasingly difficult. And if you’re a guitar player, you know how important music lessons are, and how important regular and systematized practice is. But if everything stopped, does that mean that you should stop taking lessons and improving your guitar skills?
Well, the simple answer is – no. If you love playing your instrument and if you enjoy making music, there’s absolutely no reason for you to abandon music lessons, practicing, jamming, and working on your overall improvement as a musician. This is the main goal of this guide, so let’s dig in!
Motivate yourself
One of the first things to think about is motivation. And this is actually the trickiest part. Even if you’re working from home, being stuck there all day every day can be pretty harmful to one’s motivation. After all, the ways you inspired yourself to move on as a musician often include activities outside of your home. Being a guitar player, you definitely yearn for a stage and a spotlight to share your work with the rest of the world in person. But remember that the best guitar players never gave up, despite even suffering injuries and other major setbacks.
The first thing you need to bear in mind is that this will eventually end and you’ll finally get the chance to play live gigs in front of an actual audience. Sure, it might take some time, and it might feel pretty discouraging at some point. But in the meantime, focus on what you love about music and the guitar. Listen to your favorite records, listen to new music, and watch an abundance of concerts and live footage that’s available to you online. This is one of the best ways to keep yourself motivated.
How to improve guitar skills at home: Online guitar lessons
Thankfully, we live in the time of fast internet, with so many very useful apps, video chats, and other options that make everyday communication easier. Although not as effective as face to face meetings, taking lessons online is definitely a huge step forward compared to not taking lessons at all.
While motivation is essential for getting you to start working, guitar lessons are the key component to your progress. While having so much free time on your hands might feel like an advantage, it can be counterproductive if you don’t have any direction or context that you’re working with. And that’s exactly what a guitar teacher will help you with.
Livestream or share your performances through social media
But you still yearn for live performances, don’t you? Well, the internet is there to help you once again! Sure, practicing and learning new stuff is all nice; but having no way to share it with the rest of the world might seem discouraging.
But there is a way. You can always use your social media accounts to either live-stream your performances; share what you learned with the rest of the world. Or, if you don’t feel confident enough about doing it live; record a clip, do some slight mixing and editing work on it, and then share it through your social media profiles. After all, that’s exactly what the big names in the business are doing now.
At the same time, this can also be a good opportunity for you to learn more about recording music at home, mixing, and video editing. And those are skills that you want to have today.
An abundance of online resources
Just imagine – there’s a whole world of online guitar communities, all sharing their resources with the rest of the world. Do some digging, try to find a book or a video lesson that can help you. You can also find cool lessons on YouTube, dealing both with technique and music theory application in practice. And there are both simple lessons for some techniques and tricks, up to long in-depth lessons that can help you with advanced music theory concepts.
How to improve guitar skills at home? Discipline is key.
Just like with motivation, discipline is another thing to think about during this time of quarantine. While motivation will keep you interested in practicing and lessons, discipline will just keep things from going off the tracks. Having good discipline is actually pretty simple, although it’s kind of hard to achieve.
It’s all about changing your habits through simple rituals. Force yourself to be punctual; you should set the exact time of day when you want to practice, and stick to your regiment. It’s hard in the beginning, but you’ll get used to it. Of course, it’s all easier said than done. But there are no other ways for you to become more disciplined.
