[0:00] I've been playing guitar for more than
[0:01] 20 years, and if I had to start over,
[0:03] this is exactly what I would do to get
[0:05] good at guitar as efficiently as
[0:07] possible. So, let's make sure we set
[0:08] ourselves up for success right off the
[0:10] bat. No matter where you're at with your
[0:12] guitar playing right now, if you haven't
[0:14] had your guitar properly set up to suit
[0:16] you and your playing style, you're going
[0:18] to need to get that done. It's going to
[0:20] have a massive impact on how efficiently
[0:22] you can improve. You can pay to have it
[0:24] done by a local shop or someone you
[0:26] know, or I'd really recommend learning
[0:28] to make some of those tweaks yourself.
[0:30] You'll find that every guitarist kind of
[0:32] likes something a little different. So,
[0:34] being able to make those quick
[0:35] adjustments to fit what you like can be
[0:37] a total game changer. Now, let's get
[0:39] into the things that I would just
[0:41] completely ignore. The first thing,
[0:43] reading sheet music. I played bass
[0:45] guitar in middle school band. So, I did
[0:47] learn how to do it back then, but for
[0:49] the majority of guitarists, it's just
[0:51] not necessary because since those days,
[0:53] I've never needed it, not even once.
[0:55] There are some very specific reasons you
[0:58] may want to learn to read sheet music,
[1:00] but for most of us, it's just not worth
[1:02] spending the time required on it. The
[1:04] other thing that you really shouldn't
[1:05] worry about at all, at least for a
[1:07] while, are modes. For most music styles,
[1:10] you're going to be sticking to the
[1:11] major, minor, and pentatonic scales.
[1:13] Once you master those, then you can
[1:15] start looking into Dorian or Mixelyian.
[1:17] But really, for now, don't even worry
[1:19] about it until you're really solid. Now,
[1:21] there are a few big rules that I would
[1:24] set for myself. The first would be that
[1:26] I'd set up my guitar right by my desk,
[1:28] out of the case, and on a stand, just so
[1:31] it's right in plain view, and easy to
[1:33] grab whenever I have a spare second.
[1:34] Another rule would be that I'd have to
[1:36] pick it up at least twice a day. It can
[1:39] be for 5 minutes or 5 hours, but a
[1:42] minimum of twice a day. Next, I choose a
[1:44] few specific players that I look up to
[1:46] as examples of how I want my playing to
[1:48] sound and develop. I realize I'll
[1:50] probably never quite get to that level,
[1:53] but it gives me some form of direction,
[1:55] something to aim at. Finally, I'd pick
[1:57] just a few good teachers to guide me.
[1:59] There are so many great teachers and
[2:01] resources to learn from out there, but I
[2:03] don't want to be learning the same thing
[2:05] a bunch of different ways. I'd pick one
[2:07] or two that really resonate with me and
[2:10] my learning style and stick with them.
[2:11] Okay, let's get into the good stuff. The
[2:13] things I would actually be focusing all
[2:15] of my time and efforts on. First thing,
[2:17] I'd start learning to play by ear, which
[2:20] is something you can begin to develop at
[2:21] literally any skill level. And I'd start
[2:23] very simple with just being able to
[2:25] recognize the difference between major
[2:27] and minor chords like this.
[2:46] and then work up to putting a massive
[2:48] focus on being able to find the key and
[2:51] chords of the song completely by ear.
[2:53] Those basic skills unlock a whole world
[2:56] of opportunities for your playing long
[2:58] term. And in my view, they are the
[3:00] things that bring you from just being a
[3:01] guitar player up to being a true
[3:03] musician. My next point of focus would
[3:05] be on developing my rhythm. Something
[3:07] that gets massively overlooked,
[3:09] especially when your goals revolve
[3:11] around soloing and being a lead player.
[3:13] Rhythm is the most universally important
[3:16] skill you can have. And that spans every
[3:19] genre and every style, too. So, every
[3:21] single time I'd sit down to practice,
[3:23] I'd be doing at least one thing that
[3:25] focuses on building my sense of rhythm
[3:27] and timing. My favorite and the most
[3:29] accessible rhythm exercise that I'd use
[3:32] is muted picking along to songs like
[3:34] this.
[3:58] Next thing I get into is improvisation
[4:00] as early as possible. My goal with this
[4:02] would be to start training my brain to
[4:04] think creatively about the instrument. I
[4:06] know that one of the biggest things that
[4:08] holds players back is being stuck just
[4:10] playing the same generic songs over and
[4:13] over. So to make sure that doesn't
[4:14] happen to me, I would take just the most
[4:16] basic scale ever, like a small major
[4:18] scale or pentatonic scale, and noodle
[4:20] around with it over some songs that I
[4:22] like. I'll give you the example that I
[4:24] used many years ago. If you pull up the
[4:26] song Slow Dancing in a Burning Room by
[4:28] John Mayer, you can use this major scale
[4:30] here
[4:36] or this pentatonic scale here
[4:46] or any combination of both of them over
[4:49] the song like this.
[5:40] One thing that resulted in me wasting
[5:42] literally years was refusing to learn
[5:45] any music theory whatsoever. Now, the
[5:47] truth is I'd probably still ignore most
[5:50] of it, but there are three key things
[5:52] that I would definitely learn as soon as
[5:54] possible. The major scale and why it's
[5:57] so important, how major and minor keys
[5:59] work, and how chords are made. With just
[6:02] those three things, you'll understand
[6:03] most of the magic behind music and what
[6:06] makes it sound good or less good. I have
[6:08] a great lesson that you can check out
[6:09] that covers all the truly essential
[6:11] music theory that I'll link down in the
[6:13] description for you. Next, I'd learn a
[6:15] few fretboard navigation systems. Now, I
[6:17] understand that different things work
[6:19] for different people, but we need some
[6:21] way to break the fretboard up into more
[6:23] than just a grid of notes. What I found
[6:25] really worked for me are many of the
[6:27] systems I teach here on my channel. So,
[6:29] things like octave centers, the home
[6:31] base, and the horizontal and vertical
[6:34] cage system. I put a good bit of time
[6:36] into building up my fretboard
[6:38] understanding by learning systems like
[6:40] these. And that's because they allow me
[6:41] to play comfortably in any key at all
[6:44] times, which is incredibly important. I
[6:47] actually have a free printable ebook
[6:48] called the Fretboard Navigation
[6:50] Guidebook where I have all of this stuff
[6:52] laid out for you. So, if you want it,
[6:53] I'll put a link right at the top of the
[6:55] description. Again, it's 100% free, so
[6:57] make sure you go grab it. I'm sure
[6:58] you'll find it super helpful. Now, my
[7:00] final big area of focus would be on
[7:02] jamming or playing with others. If you
[7:04] talk to literally any experienced
[7:06] player, they will all be in agreement on
[7:08] this one. As soon as you can play some
[7:10] chords to a beat, you're ready to team
[7:12] up with other musicians and start
[7:13] jamming. One of the easiest ways to kind
[7:16] of get your feet wet is to find another
[7:17] guitar player or piano player, choose a
[7:19] set of like four chords, pick a tempo,
[7:22] and start cycling through those chords
[7:24] together. Then once you're feeling good,
[7:26] take turns improvising a little bit with
[7:28] some simple scale. For example, C major,
[7:34] A minor,
[7:37] F major.
[7:46] Now, I'm just one player here, so I'm
[7:48] going to kind of play both parts. But
[7:49] the idea would be to use something like
[7:56] the A minor or C major pentatonic and
[7:58] just noodle around over those chords.
[8:19] If you're not lucky enough to know other
[8:21] musicians to play with, I'd recommend
[8:23] searching for some groups online because
[8:25] they are out there. So, to recap, I'd
[8:27] work on playing by ear. I'd spend time
[8:29] developing my sense of rhythm. I'd learn
[8:31] and practice improvising, even if it's
[8:34] just super simple. I'd make sure I know
[8:35] those three basic music theory concepts.
[8:38] solidify my knowledge of the fretboard
[8:40] using the systems that work best for me.
[8:42] And finally, I'd apply my skills to the
[8:44] real world by jamming with others.
[8:46] Something you might have noticed is that
[8:47] learning songs wasn't really on my list.
[8:50] I think most people would choose to
[8:52] include that, but for me, it wasn't as
[8:54] much of a differencemaker, especially
[8:55] since my focus is on creativity more so
[8:58] than being able to repeat what someone
[9:00] else has already played. But that's
[9:01] going to change based on your goals. So,
[9:03] I think it's still worth considering.
[9:05] From here, I'd recommend you check out
[9:06] this lesson up on the screen. Don't
[9:08] forget to grab that free fretboard
[9:09] navigation guide book linked at the top
[9:11] of the description. Thank you so much
[9:12] for watching and I'll see you in the
[9:14] next one.