Today I am going to share with you 3 simple but often overlooked things that’ll really make a difference to your playing RIGHT NOW!

Hopefully making it EASIER for yourself to practice each and every time you pick up the guitar ;)

There are many different ways to hold the guitar, hold the pick and positions to sit/stand whilst playing.

Some are better than others and that is what I want to focus on in this lesson...

Firstly...YOU MUST RELAX! You will not be able to play properly if you have lots of tension in your arms, hands, neck, back, legs and FACE ( I have seen many funny and awkward facial expressions over the years!)

For now, realise that you need to be playing guitar with only as much tension as you need to make the notes come out !

Any more than that is a waste and will prevent you from making significant progress on guitar or any instrument for that matter...

A general rule is to keep your hands as close as possible to the guitar when playing. The right hand (or left if you’re left handed!) is used for picking, strumming, palm muting, tapping and techniques that need the hand to be near the guitar.

Accuracy and speed will be affected if you’re using either too much force or if there’s too much distance between the strings you want to play and your picking hand!

*We don’t get into alternate picking across strings in this video but I’ll cover it soon *

Make sure that your fretting hand and wrist is relaxed.

Simply raise the arm into position, keeping the elbow relaxed and tucked in.

Bring the thumb to the back of the guitar neck (roughly in the middle) If you place your thumb too far over the top of the neck, it will reduce the distance your fingers can stretch and generally affect correct hand positioning...

What we’re aiming for here is a good arch position for the fretting hand fingers so that they don’t get in the way of the strings (mute or make noises we don’t want) and allow greater fluid movement with the fingers also.

I hope you have found this useful :)

Try this out and you WILL see improvement. Practice and patience, proper technique and persistence will get you there!

Take Care

Speak soon

Jimmy

Since 2011, I have helped hundreds of:

Anxious bedroom guitarists become strong, “rockstar confident" individuals …

Stressed out, frustrated guitar players become “Zen” calm...

Beginner and advanced players practice more efficiently than ever and watching them grow at guitar effortlessly…

I help my students:

Build self-esteem and grow confidence…

Make guitar practice become fun and something they actually want to do…

I teach my students the most important guitar lesson of all:

"HOW TO PRACTICE!"

I offer 1-2-1 lessons via Zoom. Whether you're looking to sharpen your skills, get unstuck and break through a certain plateau, or just have a killer session, these one-off 60-minute lessons are perfect for you. No long-term commitment—just an hour of focused, personalized guitar coaching.

You can book your session here for just $47:

https://calendly.com/jimmykane/guitar...

(Limited availability. Good internet connection and quality audio required)

Catch ya soon!

In-Person Guitar Lessons in Southampton:

www.guitarlessonsinsouthampton.com