Today it seems that everyone is trying to be the next best guitarist. So many people dream of playing in a legendary band or being the next Jimi Hendrix or Eddie Van Halen, and have the innate desire to learn the instrument inside and out and be able to express their own style and play many different types of music.
No matter what any advertisement for a guitar course or private instructor states, there are no shortcuts to mastering the guitar, and no guarantee of stardom even after mastery. There are basic skills that must be learned in order to get the most out of the instrument that memorably fantastic guitarists have achieved through hard work and many years in the business of accruing various types of musical knowledge.
There are seven major abilities that are critical to the development of any player that truly wants to become not only an excellent guitarist, but also an excellent musician: technique; tuning; musicianship; creativity/flexibility; ear training; practice; and confidence/stage presence.
1. Technique
The greatest guitarists put an effort into fully understanding the underlying techniques of guitar playing. Too many people try to mimic a great guitar sound, merely doing whatever it takes to copy it, rather than getting to know the underlying technical applications that go into making the sound.
"Technique" is not just a collection of tricks, rather a body of knowledge that opens the doors for the growth of a great guitarist. It is the basic ability that will build a foundation for skill development. Learning techniques such as picking, hammer-ons and pull-offs, string bending and vibrato are all basic and essential skills that must be understood by any guitarist hoping to reach further levels of playing.
Without technique, guitar playing can be lifeless and stagnant. Technique gives a guitarist solid footing on the instrument, and makes learning new music and more complex skills later on easy. In fact, if a musician doesn't learn the fundamental techniques of the instrument from the start of instruction, he/she will never be able to keep up with the growing demands of the instrument.
2. Tuning
Playing in tune and keeping the instrument in tune is critical to good guitar playing. Everyone has heard a band play live or even on a recording that doesn't quite hit the mark in the tuning category, and the results can be painful and sound amateurish. Guitarists in certain genres of rock music, such as punk and other types of hard rock, have even been known to mistune slightly to achieve a more rugged or rough effect. A guitarist that tunes and is aware and sensitive to the tuning of his instrument at all times is a great one; proper tuning can lead to inspiring solos and good ensemble playing in a group or band situation.
Although certainly helpful, having good tuning skills does not mean having "perfect pitch" by any means. "Perfect pitch" in reality is fairly rare in the musician population, but can actually be learned by a guitarist as he becomes more familiar with the instrument and its sound. Tuning is a practiced skill that is easy to learn because it happens or at least should happen every time a person picks up the instrument.
3. Musicianship
For many, the desire to become a guitarist is based on some natural creative talent or inspiration that begs to be developed. But many with this natural affinity for music and for the guitar in particular mistake "inspiration" for skill and musicianship. Just because someone has the talent to play the guitar does not necessarily mean he/she needs less practice than a person for whom music might not come as naturally. Musicianship, or artistry in performing music, is another essential ability for a guitarist, and like any other skill, takes concentrated practice and effort to fully develop.
No guitarist should simply wait for inspiration to hit before practicing. Even if inspiration is not present, practice is essential. Being a creative guitarist and developing musicianship is a process. Achieving this ability takes creating a balance between practicing essential technique, like learning basic scales and chords, and allowing oneself to stray from the regiment a little by playing along with a favorite song and thinking about creative ways to personalize it. Any great guitarist will say that often the most inspired work can come after a few hours of playing, even on days when creativity seemed initially elusive.
4. Creativity/Flexibility
Another essential ability for great guitar playing is creativity as it relates to flexibility. As mentioned previously, creativity is both a cause and effect of musicianship and practicing. But by practicing being creative by improvising with basic technique on a regular basis, a guitarist will learn the critical tool of flexibility. Flexibility will allow a great guitarist to adapt to any situation and easily keep up with other musicians, even when they throw things out during rehearsal or performances that are different from the expected. Flexibility is what happens when a guitarist innately learns the basic techniques of guitar playing and hones musicianship, and can lead to exciting and inspiring performances and rehearsals.
5. Ear Training
Some claim that ear training is the single most important part of being a great guitarist. It certainly does bring the ability to process all the other skills - flexibility/creativity, quick technique implementation, musicianship and even others such as stage presence/confidence, but it is one of the more complex skills to learn because it takes a lot of different types of practice, particularly for those without natural aural abilities. While most that have learned rock guitar playing often start playing on their own because they listened to a lot of rock music and were excited and inspired by it, classical guitarists are often more enmeshed in technique and sometimes have more of a difficulty transitioning into playing by ear rather than by sight or feel.
So how can a person improve aural skills, both when they come naturally to a person and when they do not? One way is to listen to a lot of music. Recognizing patterns in great music and understanding chords and techniques when applied successfully in favorite music will certainly help. But training an ear for the guitar can also be achieved through some of the following practice techniques: transcribing songs and melodies with the guitar; transcribing music without the guitar on paper based on listening; singing scales, arpeggios, intervals; sight singing; transcribing rhythm on paper, without notes; improvising melodies and solos over chords and music; taking an aural skills class with a trained instructor.
Luckily there are a variety of ways to train even the most untrained ear. While they take time, the result will be better guitar playing.
6. Stage Presence/Confidence
Stage presence and confidence are tied in with personality and natural charisma, but even more so with practice and knowledge of basic techniques and all the other skills mentioned that make up a great musician and guitarist. While certainly those to which leadership roles and performing come most naturally will exude natural charisma and presence that makes them shine, this will not get them very far in guitar playing unless they are familiar with all the basic techniques and practiced in guitar creativity. Even those a little shyer will find their confidence building as they hone their technique and inspiration, and start getting the desired sounds out of their instrument that express their musical spirit.
7. Practice, Practice, Practice...
Practice is a difficult necessity for being an outstanding guitarist because it demands time, but it is also the most obvious way to tie in all elements of great guitar playing. Practice is simply allowing time to implement the techniques and musicianship, the ear, the confidence and all other elements of the guitar and the guitarist as they develop.
There are different opinions about what is the most important "skill" to learn in order to truly excel at the craft of guitar playing, but a lot claim there is no one skill that can exist alone or is all-important - all work together like puzzle pieces to create a whole, functioning being capable of growth, innovation and inspiration.
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