Top 40 Common Newbie Guitarist Mistakes

1)      Investing in distortion boxes instead of a good amp 

2)      Learning 100 intros and no songs 

3)      Limiting yourself to one style of music – usually metal 

4)      Not taking the time to learn music theory 

5)      Playing “Smoke on the Water” on the high-E string 

6)      Playing too loud, and with too much distortion 

7)      Setting your amp’s Gain on 10, and Mids on 0 

8)      Relying on picks 

9)      Not learning how to perform a basic setup 

10)  Not maintaining your gear 

11)  Not jamming with other players 

12)  Over use of legato with a complete disregard for tempo 

13)  Poor Phrasing 

14)  Weak vibrato 

15)  Buying too many effects 

16)  Listening to tone snobs 

17)  Immediately launching into thirty-second-notes during a blues solo 

18)  Thinking that playing the local bar circuit constitutes a “tour” 

19)  Believing that opening for a national act means you’re on your way 

20)  Not knowing the difference between tube watts and solid-state watts 

21)  Relying too much on printed music and tabs 

22)  Thinking a year of lessons and $5,000 worth of gear makes you ready to play in a band 

23)  Wearing the guitar way too low 

24)  Using too much hand pressure when fretting  

25)  Taking guitar lessons from a friend 

26)  Giving up immediately because you sound like dog doo 

27)  Not learning how all your gear works 

28)  Tuning every guitar at Saied Music Company to dropped D and then not retuning them to standard pitch 

29)  Bringing full stacks to tiny bar gigs 

30)  Saying “All (insert hated style of music) sucks, Dude 

31)  Learning with your eyes, instead of your ears 

32)  Not learning to play in time with good groove and feel 

33)  Not investing in good earplugs for playing loud gigs 

34)  Obsessing about playing burning solos, and not caring about rhythm guitar 

35)  Thinking that playing fast pentatonic-box patterns makes you a hot guitarist 

36)  Not putting casters on viciously heavy amps 

37)  Wearing bowling shirts emblazoned with flames and dragons 

38)  Realizing guitar is too difficult and taking up bass instead 

39)  Spending more time on Harmony Central than actually practicing 

40)  Forgetting that playing music is meant to be fun