4 Beginner Guitarist Problems that your child will most likely face (with Solutions!)
As a beginner guitarist, your child will inevitably face some problems while learning to play the guitar. It might be that their chords sound a little “off” or that they’re a bit slow at moving between the strings. These problems are all part of the learning process and they will go away over time as your child’s fingers become stronger and more dextrous. However, there are some common problems that I see on a daily basis with most students that can be fixed very quickly to help minimise any frustration that your child experiences during their guitar learning journey.
In this article, we are going to outline the 4 most common problems that beginner guitarists encounter in their guitar lessons and more importantly, how to fix them so your child moves through these barriers relatively easily and keeps progressing at a consistent pace.
Problem #1 - The Frets are buzzing when my child is playing their riffs
To fix this problem, your child should:
Use the fingertips of their left hand to push down on the strings, not the squishy, pad part of their fingers
Curl their fingers, imagining that they are holding an invisible can of soft drink. By curling the fingers, they can push down with their fingertips more easily and with more force
Their left-hand thumb needs to be pointing up at the sky and it needs to be low, at the back of the guitar neck (image below). Push the thumb against the back of the guitar neck and at the same time, make sure they are pushing against the fretboard and string with their fingers at the front of the fretboard. These two actions will create a vice-like clamp and will help in producing a clear sound.
The fingers need to push down in a specific part of the fret. I call it the ‘sweet spot of the fret’. It is located just behind the fret bar of each fret (image below).
Problem #2 - My child can read a chord diagram we found on a website but can’t remember their chords by memory
That’s great that they can read and play a chord diagram - that is half the battle! Now we need to program the chords into their muscle memory and focus on building up their chord recall.
At Level Up Guitar School, we have specific guitar games that I have created to 10x students’ chord memorisation and recall. If you’re looking for guitar lessons near Underwood, QLD, Book a trial guitar lesson here to dramatically improve your child’s guitar chord playing.
We also have a specific formula of exercises that students perform for each and every chord to program it into their muscle memory.
Problem #3 - My child is playing chords - The frets are buzzing and we can’t hear the chord
To fix this problem, your child should:
Use their fingertips to push down on the specific strings involved in that chord. When a guitarist uses the pad of their fingers to push down on the strings instead of the fingertips, the fingers can accidentally touch the other strings, thus stopping them from vibrating and making a sound.
Apply more pressure to the string. Squeeze harder with the thumb low at the back of the guitar and the fingertips pushing against the front of the guitar
Move the fingers closer to the edge of the frets. Remember, by placing the finger right next to the fret (also known as the ‘sweet spot’, there is a minimal amount of effort required to fret a note and get a great sound.
Problem #4 - My child is having trouble changing between chords at speed when playing a song
There may be a few reasons for this:
Your child hasn’t memorised the chord fully and is thinking too much about where their fingers go every single time that they change the chord.
Your child needs to develop more of a muscle memory connection with the two chords through repetition
To fix this problem, your child should:
Use the Level Up Guitar Method Book - Complete the chord challenges in the guitar method book to fully develop their muscle memory associated with the chords
1-minute changes - Set a timer for 1 minute and practice changing between the chosen two chords. Count how many changes they can do within the minute. DO NOT STOP before the 1 minute is over. Do one more 1-minute round of chord changes and count the changes. More often than not, just after 1 minute of this chord change exercise, the guitarist can change between chords a lot faster. Continue with the exercise until your child is confident with the change between chords.
Simplify the song - If the music instructs your child to play 4 strums per chord, just get them to strum only once per chord. By only strumming once per chord, it will give them the time to change chords easily. If they are confidently doing the 1 strum exercise without mistakes, change it to 2 strums per chord and then 3 strums per chord. The idea is to start with a task that is super easy for them and then slowly increase the challenge for your child until they can complete the full chord change.
About the Author
Alex is the Studio Director and Head Teacher of Level Up Guitar School. He is on a mission to transform people’s lives through teaching guitar lessons and creativity. If you’re looking for guitar lessons in Logan, book a free trial guitar lesson here.