Pay Attention to Details and Improve Your Sound

Make your music more musical.

What makes a great guitar player sound that way? Attention to detail. No strings buzzing, no squeaks, no deadened strings, playing clean, clear notes. It's things like that you need to listen for. What's the best way to hear them? Record yourself. Recordings don't lie, they pick up every sound good or bad. When the strings buzz you need to push harder or play closer to the frets. A deadened string is almost always caused by something being in the way. Keep your fingernails short, push up your sleeves and arch your fingers so they don't bump into the other strings.

Listen closely to the recording and you'll hear the trouble spots.

A lot of times we get so intent on playing that we don't hear ourselves. I've had to tell students to listen to their playing and gotten blank stares in return. You need to hear what you sound like before you can  fix the bad spots. Once you pick them out, then you grab your guitar and start slowly and methodically making the song sound better.

Attitude means a lot.

Once you find the phrases that need work, practice them slowly and build up speed so you can play them with confidence. Saying to yourself: "here comes the part I always screw up" becomes a reality. I hear lots of negativity during lessons and it will definitely affect the student's performance. A positive attitude can make a big difference in helping you progress.


Put it all together, practice it and try again.

After you've eliminated the rough notes, cleaned up the chords and corrected the timing, record yourself again. If you've followed through and worked hard at improving your sound, the results should make you very happy. If not, repeat the above steps.