Effective Ways to Improve Your Guitar Playing

[Newmusician93]

I've been learning guitar for a year now and I'm trying to get in soloing and all that but are there effective ways to get there? To be honest I just spam the solos I want to learn and try to make them listenable but it isn't really a good strategy from what I've learnt.

Are there any theories like scaling I should learn to be effective with getting solos up to speed? Also, should I focus on learning techniques like vibrato or tapping?

[GearNerd]

Learn songs. The song will teach you what you need to know. Once you've squeezed the learning out of a song, find another. I spent a lot of time on random scales, noodling, never really was musical. Learning songs to completion changed things significantly.

[MetalPlayer]

Mental preparation: Visualize and practice in your head. In effect, you’re increasing your practice time this way.

[UKPete24]

Spend more time each day practicing. After a year you’ll have made more progress than if you hadn’t! An increase in velocity, if not quite speed.

[Markw72]

Work on your picking technique and rhythm. Learning how to count rhythm and play in different rhythms will improve your playing overall.

[BluesGuy]

I found learning techniques in the beginning opened doors to other songs. I spent the first couple of years just developing the physical aspect of playing the guitar. When it comes to speed I would recommend working on your picking. Choose video tutorials over tabs if available - I learned faster being able to see how the hands were placed, how it sounds, it's broken down strategically.

[Robguitaruk]

Working on your physical technique and understanding music theory will help you progress in your guitar playing journey.

[StudioPro]

Don't neglect rhythm. Lead guitars need excellent rhythm chops. A good rhythmic feel makes playing fast a lot more comfortable. Once you've learned a bit more and if you find yourself wanting to start making your own solos or music, start music theory.

[Daniel_uk]

Frank Gambale's Chop Builder and John Petrucci's Rock Discipline are great resources for improving your technique and speed on the guitar.

[Leeacoustic81]

Practice consistently and focus on technique and rhythm. Developing a good rhythmic feel will make playing fast more comfortable.

[sam54]

The best thing is "how to play guitar" instead of just playing songs or riffs. This means understanding and implementing music theory, or what I call "practical music theory". The key concept is intervals and how you can build scales and chords from intervals. Understanding how the instrument works (and how music works, really) will make you a better player.