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Playing guitar can be challenging – especially if you’re faced with learning a hard song. The process can be frustrating and time-consuming, but if you push through, you’ll be so glad you did.
Here are four of my top tips for learning a hard song. Give them a go, and hopefully you’ll overcome any difficulties in no time.
1. Practice the trickiest section again and again
Learning a longer piece can be daunting, and I always advocate for breaking a composition down into smaller chunks before pulling the whole thing together. This is exactly the technique I use in my in-depth video lessons.
So, with that in mind, pinpoint the trickiest section of the song. Now, practice this again and again until you can play it at tempo with confidence. Once you’ve mastered the difficult section, you’ll fly through the rest of the piece.
2. Slow right down
Ease into a difficult song by slowing right down – play as slowly as you need to and focus on hitting every note perfectly. A metronome can be a useful tool here. Start slow, play in time, and then speed the metronome up slightly. Repeat the process until you’re playing at the intended tempo.
And here’s a quick tip if you’re preparing for an exam. Try playing your exam pieces faster than the intended tempo. Then, when you slow down, it’ll seem a whole lot easier.
3. Memorise the song
If you’ve managed to play the song in its entirety a couple of times with only a few mistakes along the way, try committing it to memory. Do this piece by piece. Once you’ve memorised it, playing will feel a little more natural.
4. Take a well-deserved break
Still no luck? It sounds like you need a well-deserved practice break. Put your guitar down or focus on another song. Wait a couple of hours or even a couple of days. When you come back to the piece, you might like to try a different approach.
Access in-depth video lessons for life
When you learn guitar online at the Steve Flack Guitar Academy, you get lifelong access to my video lessons. This allows you to learn at your own pace, in your own time. If you’re facing a difficult piece, you can watch the video again and again, pausing where you need to. Find out more about my online guitar lessons today.[/fusion_text][button link=”/online-lessons/” color=”default” size=”” stretch=”” type=”” shape=”” target=”_self” title=”” gradient_colors=”|” gradient_hover_colors=”|” accent_color=”” accent_hover_color=”” bevel_color=”” border_width=”” icon=”” icon_position=”left” icon_divider=”no” modal=”” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”1″ animation_offset=”” alignment=”center” class=”” id=””]GET ONLINE GUITAR LESSONS NOW[/button]