8 Beginner Mistakes You’re Making Now! (How To Avoid Them)

[@PaulEldridge1]

Diego, I can't thank you enough. I'm a 70 year old male and am 7 months into the guitar learning journey (never too late!). Obviously, all the areas covered are significant, but I was able to incorporate the first 2 into my practice routine instantly. I have been doing spiders but now have slowed right down (also #8) and listen to the raising and dropping of my fingertips. Like all beginners I probably press too hard. After listening to what you said, I quickly jumped from the individual string practice to multi-finger chord/shape practice and found the relief in the tension helped. I'm not learning classical or Spanish (yet) and am happy to have John Denver drag me down those "Country Roads" (one of many familiar classic pop sangs I have in my book). However, I appreciate the insight into technique and the learning process - it's very well presented. Take care, Paul.

[@darrylbrooks3361]

Excellent video. I've heard the first part of the finger pressure exercise a hundred times. But it's the second part that gives value. Now, it's part of my daily warmup.

[@timothykeech7394]

Good analysis, highlighting some very important points.

[@holzhausholz8215]

Thanks for sharing your advice!

[@iandiandi]

That's incredibly helpful, thank you!

[@michaelwood7427]

I trawl different teachers for better ways to help me identify mistakes in my own beginning student’s playing and to better explain the solutions. Of course I also end up identifying problems in my own playing. This discussion on hand/wrist/forearm kinesiology is the best I’ve encountered. Thank you for the conversational way you tackle complicated issues with our playing.

[@atomic432]

Great advice

[@Leapingthrutime369]

Great video. Very informative. Number 8 was spot on, like you're psychic. 😅 I find that I do that quite a bit and I've been trying to correct it and relax and enjoy. I will pay a lot more attention to being tense after watching this! Thank you so much.

[@bahramkhamissi8994]

As always, perfect👌 The basic and fundamental points that you described are very important and essential in learning guitar. Without these, nobody can improve his skills and will freeze progressing one day. Thank you Thank you

[@joekail8031]

Great advice friend . I’m one of those knuckleheads who had to, and still am learning the hard way after 53 years of hacking away. Back in 1981 I developed focal dystonia in my right hand (m) and now just coming out of it.

[@DiegoAlonsoMusic]

Hi! Thank you so much for your comment. I am also part of the knucklehead group. 😂 Diagnosed with focal dystonia about 10 years ago. It’s been progressively improving. But as you know, it’s a giant pain in the butt! It’s actually one of the main reasons I started making these videos. To try to help people avoid this condition and other injuries. I’m going to make a video on focal Dystonia in the future. Really glad to hear that you’re coming out of it! 💪🏽Thanks again!

[@joekail8031]

@@DiegoAlonsoMusic like wise Diego!! Your knowledge is deep and well pondered and you certainly have impressed me with facilities

[@THFrenchteacher]

This was helpful. Thank you!

[@jsenger24]

Could you please share with me some tips on recognizing right hand tension vs normal muscle exertion? There has to be some kind of tension to make the fingers move, hasn't there? I strained my hand recently so would love to know any tips or if I'm approaching this the wrong way.

[@DiegoAlonsoMusic]

Hi! Thanks for commenting! Yes, there definitely needs to be a certain amount of tension to make the fingers move the way we want but it should be the least amount amount possible. I developed a serious movement condition 10 years ago from practicing way too much with too much tension. I’ve also seen this happen to a lot of other musicians outside of guitar. One thing that has helped me the most in my recovery has been to focus on producing the sound(s) that I want at the tempo I want with the least amount of physical effort possible. I’ve practiced tapping or moving my fingers on a table or on my leg with minimal physical effort and have found that very helpful. Flamenco guitarist Antonio Rey does the same thing on the guitar. He always looks for the least amount of physical effort needed to produce the sound he wants. I hope this helps! So sorry about your hand. Hope you recover soon!

[@jsenger24]

@DiegoAlonsoMusic hi Diego, thank you for your reply. I'm sorry to hear about your injury/condition as well, glad to see it hasn't stopped you from making beautiful music. Thank you for the suggestion, I will explore this in my practice. I appreciate you bringing awareness to movement issues on the guitar. I don't think injury prevention is taken as seriously as it should be.

[@stackhom656]

I finally started recording my exercises lately after watching your videos and I also noticed I was playing staccato. The gaps between by notes were usually 0.150s as I practiced quarter notes at 60bpm. It was a eureka moment when I found out the problem was my right hand instead of my fretting hand. The issue was that I was picking the string too slow; I was planting the pick on the string in anticipation for the next note, and was striking too slow. I managed to get the gaps down to 0.030s but it still made me wonder of the question: While an ideal gap would be 0.000s (e.g. midi), it is inevitable to have gaps due to the momentary muting caused by the contact between the pick and the string. How much gap (in millieconds) between notes is acceptable to be considered as playing legato?

[@zu0832]

If playing in classical position, do you recommend leaning into the guitar?

[@DiegoAlonsoMusic]

Hi! Thanks for commenting! Yes, sometimes you will have to lean forward and left a little bit to help your left hand reach and to help prevent your left wrist from bending too much. Hope this helps!

[@zu0832]

@@DiegoAlonsoMusic thanks!

[@degunelee9757]

Can improper fingernails shape and length make mistakes even if I played from the flesh (tip of flesh) to nails? Whether the attack is from the left side of the nail, straight on, or from the right side? Can there be fixed attack of the nails? Or play from any angle? And be freely? Thank you in advance for these questions.

[@DiegoAlonsoMusic]

Great question! Yes, improperly shaped fingernails can make a huge difference. I would recommend starting with a short and roundish shape. What works best for me is to have my fingernails peek out about one or 2 mm beyond my fingertip. I hope this helps!

[@degunelee9757]

@@DiegoAlonsoMusic Alonso, thank you for the respond. Much appreciated. I hope that you can provide a consistent nails filing technique in your future video. Again, thank you.

[@wholovesyababy5574]

You glossed over this way too fast. Your masterclass - Do you teach classical guitar, or only Spanish guitar? And please, for students at the late beginner level (can read music and play in the first position), what is the difference in teaching classical guitar vs Spanish guitar? Lastly, would your masterclass be appropriate for someone at this level, or is it aimed at intermediate and advanced students? Thank you.

[@wholovesyababy5574]

Hi. I read through all the info on your page, including all the Q&A’s. You answered everything there. Right now in my life, I’m caring full time for a very elderly parent. But I think one day, in the future, I might be very interested in your program. If you will still be running it in a few years. You are a wonderful teacher on these videos. Thank you.

[@DiegoAlonsoMusic]

Hi! Thanks for your comment! I wish you the best in caring for your parents. 🙏🏽❤️