Starting a new hobby, like playing the guitar, is both exciting and challenging. Once you start to practice more, you may encounter a few minor setbacks or unexpected issues. Here is a list of challenges that a new guitarist might face so that you can press on and keep playing. 

What Are the Challenges of Learning to Play the Guitar?   

1. Developing Calluses

When you first start practicing the guitar, you have to practice doing cords and holding strings down. Eventually, with frequent practice, you will start to develop calluses. This will help your playing since your fingertips will feel rough, and it won’t hurt to press down on the cord if you are practicing for long periods.  

2. Underdeveloped Pinky

Another challenge for beginners is to get their pinky to work with the other fingers in a chord progression. When you start practicing guitar, it might seem like your pinky is not trained to work with your other fingers. To improve mobility, you can do various exercises that will enhance the flexibility and strength of your pink. Moving your pinky with your other fingers while also allow you to minimize the movement of your hand when playing. 

3. Chords Progression

While you practice building up hand strength and muscle memory, the songs might sound slower than usual. Even if you know how to play all the chords individually, it might not be easy for a beginner to smoothly progress through the chords at the song’s normal tempo. Practicing is the key to overcome this challenge. You can also purchase or download a metronome to help you stay on beat. 

4. Practicing Barre Chords

Barre chords are challenging to play since you are focusing on multiple strings, and you have to hold them all down at once. With enough practice, you will build up strength and mobility so you will feel more comfortable playing barre chords.   

5. The Pick

The pick is small, and it might take some time to get used to hanging on to it while you play. You will not be the first to drop a pick into the soundhole and then spend time trying to fish it out. Like most aspects of learning to play guitar, you will get used to it as you continue to practice.  

Start your music journey by visiting 5J Music in Elko, NV. For over 20 years, they have been selling a diverse collection of electric, acoustic, and classical guitars. Since customer satisfaction is a priority, they will talk with you about your musical needs to recommend the best guitar for you. To look at their collection, you can go to their website or call +1 775-778-0484 for hours of operation.