From common knowledge one would assume that the guitar player is using a pick to hit the strings. While this is the most common way of playing electric guitar, you might be surprised at the amount of top guitarists who occasionally will play fingerstyle instead. Some always play with their fingers, others use makeshift picks, such as coins. It all boils down to preference and finding your own unique style. Here we will take a look at the pros and cons of playing electric guitar with a pick or simply using your fingers, with quotes from some of rock's greatest guitarists.

When you've just started out playing guitar, it is always a good idea to draw inspiration from other guitarists around you. There's nothing better than learning from other musicians. An experienced guitarist can certainly steer you in the right direction as you try to strum your first few chords on the six string. But surely, nothing would be better than getting advice from your guitar heroes, right?

The term “dynamics” in music can indicate a number of qualities about the way a note or series of notes or chords are played, but typically “dynamics” refers to variations in volume — the degree of loudness or quietness with which a part of a performance is delivered.

There is always a lot of emphasis put on a player’s “roots”, and just how they translate into their playing and their sound. Most of all, it’s really defined as to what ultimately gives you your identity as a player, and defines where you “come from” musically speaking.

It’s one of the most heavenly, downright gorgeous sounds in rock history: a ringing 12-string acoustic guitar playing an ethereal chord. Or it’s one of the most sonically exciting: an overdriven electric 12-string playing a pedal tone riff punctuated by big chord jabs, like in Led Zeppelin’s “The Song Remains the Same.”

There are many “aha!” moments when it comes to being a creative spirit, but there are surely some that stick with you more than others over time. I have had many times of amazing “clarity” and realization on the instrument that seem to rival and feel literally like a “religious” experience.

I certainly can’t emphasize enough just how important it really is to be able to see in “shapes” on the fingerboard of the guitar. Many students come to me often with an already too-well entrenched notion that they must always practice scale upon scale, with very little regard to actually making what they are playing sound like music, and chord changes, too. What happens is that the ability to see in “shapes” on the guitar gets a bit nullified by all this pre-determined single-note work, as opposed to learning about the notes you should be playing from the chordsand the shapes we should know!

It can be a hard thing for an up and coming musician to really stand up for themselves and to hold their ground when it comes to the tough task of negotiation. It has always been rather difficult for me, and I can’t really say I’ve gotten all that better at it, but I certainly hope I’ve at least improved a little, certainly enough to help you with my experience!

Getting the right guitar for your own style of playing can be an arduous task, or it can be an endless and fun ride for sure! The instrument you choose will not only be the result of how you play it, but it will also help shape the way in which you play, and will definitely play a role in making who you are as a player.

There is so much to be learned from doing live performances, and also so much that can be achieved in terms of making yourself a better player, and a more professional musician. I have found this over the years to be very true, as much of my learning really occurred to begin with in front of live audiences! There were countless times I had to be thrust onstage with many different acts, barely knowing the songs or anything, but being able to use my musical and performing instincts, able to quickly learn, process and perform with feeling, the given material! Of course, it helps to be a good improviser in the first place, but this really did help me become a better one, with a better ear too!