How to practice guitar

Why Fretboard Awareness Matters More Than Memorising Random Patterns

2026-05-16T13:19:35+01:00

Many guitarists spend years collecting shapes. For many players, the more patterns they learn, the more confused they become. They may know where to place their fingers, but not always why those notes work, where they are on the instrument, or how to use them musically. This is where guitar learners discover why fretboard awareness matters more than memorising random patterns. A pattern can help you play something quickly. Fretboard awareness helps you understand the guitar. Fretboard Awareness Gives You Musical Freedom Fretboard awareness means knowing the instrument well enough to make informed musical choices. It is not about turning [...]

Why Fretboard Awareness Matters More Than Memorising Random Patterns2026-05-16T13:19:35+01:00

How to Use Simple Theory to Learn Songs More Efficiently on Guitar

2026-04-29T14:42:15+01:00

Many guitarists learn songs by repeating shapes and sections without always understanding how the music fits together. As a result, each new piece can feel like starting again from the beginning. Understanding how to use simple theory to learn songs more efficiently on guitar becomes far more effective once you begin to recognise patterns, chord movement, and simple musical relationships. Even a modest understanding of theory can make learning feel clearer, quicker, and more secure. At the London Guitar Institute, we often see how this kind of understanding helps adult learners absorb songs more easily and remember them with greater confidence. [...]

How to Use Simple Theory to Learn Songs More Efficiently on Guitar2026-04-29T14:42:15+01:00

How to Avoid Wrist Pain When Practising Barre Chords

2026-04-01T13:36:33+01:00

For many guitarists, barre chords mark a turning point. They open the door to a far wider harmonic vocabulary, greater freedom across the fretboard, and a more mature, versatile way of playing. Yet for all their usefulness, they can also be one of the most uncomfortable aspects of learning the guitar, particularly for adult students who are trying to develop strength and control without unnecessary tension. It is very common for players to experience discomfort when first working on barre chords. In many cases, this does not mean anything is wrong with the guitar, the hand, or the student’s ability. More [...]

How to Avoid Wrist Pain When Practising Barre Chords2026-04-01T13:36:33+01:00

How to Practise if You Only Have Limited Free Time to Commit

2024-06-28T13:15:41+01:00

Practising guitar: one of the weekly tasks that often fall by the wayside for some of us with busy lives. So how do we find the time to practise if we only have limited free time to commit? Schedule in your practise Gym training, school pickups, your kid's basketball game, after-work drinks with your buddies, date night. Life is busy, and no matter where we look, it is often hard to find a little slice of free time for guitar practice. This is why it will be incredibly important and valuable for us to schedule in our practice time. Just [...]

How to Practise if You Only Have Limited Free Time to Commit2024-06-28T13:15:41+01:00

Getting Back to Guitar After the Holidays (how to get back in the groove!)

2024-06-28T13:11:00+01:00

Going on holidays is lots of fun, but often when we come home we find that our fingers don’t want to do what we tell them to do when picking up a guitar for the first time. Try these simple tips for getting back in the groove with your guitar practice after returning from a holiday.Start simpleThere are positives and negatives about coming home from a holiday. Positives: you had a great time, you come home feeling refreshed, you now have a sun tan.Negatives: you get the post holiday blues, you have to go back to work, you fingers are now [...]

Getting Back to Guitar After the Holidays (how to get back in the groove!)2024-06-28T13:11:00+01:00

The Role Of Funk Guitar

2023-04-05T12:21:30+01:00

Less Is More When we’re talking about funk guitar or just funk in general, less is more is the mindset that we need to approach it with. Funk is all about the space between the notes, rather than the notes themselves. In fact, what usually makes up a funk song is rather simple. Unlike other musical styles, funk is often centred around one or two chords, usually one chord per section of a song, meaning it is much more rhythmically driven rather than harmonically. When we think of funk we often think of one artist in particular, that artist of course [...]

The Role Of Funk Guitar2023-04-05T12:21:30+01:00

The Importance of Rhythm Guitar

2023-03-16T08:47:15+00:00

Rhythm Guitar is The Glue! So we all love a good bit of lead guitar. Slash’s “Sweet Child ‘O Mine” guitar solos, Angus Young’s iconic solos during “Back In Black”, and Kirk Hammett’s shredding in “Enter Sandman”. But one thing that all these great songs and guitar solos have in common is that they all possess a great rhythm guitarist keeping the whole thing together. Guns ’N Roses have Izzy Stradlin playing a mix of arpeggiated open chords and thick distorted powerchords throughout Slash’s guitar solos, AC/DC have Malcom Young rocking away on those classic rock open chords, and Metallica [...]

The Importance of Rhythm Guitar2023-03-16T08:47:15+00:00

How To Get Started With Strumming On The Guitar

2022-12-06T15:22:57+00:00

How do I strum properly on the guitar? How do I hold the pick? Which way do I strum? All are valid questions when learning how to get started with strumming on the guitar, and are important to think about when learning the basics. Strum Some Simple Open Chords With A Plectrum Strumming can be a strange concept to a beginner guitarist who has perhaps played more simple riffs and single note melodies on the guitar. Many beginners will start off by learning a few simple open chords (such as C, G, Am, D, Em ect.) and may be strumming [...]

How To Get Started With Strumming On The Guitar2022-12-06T15:22:57+00:00

II V I Tricks and Tips for Jazz Guitar Playing

2022-09-06T21:05:31+01:00

Play In One Position One thing that will prevent you from playing smooth lines through ii V I’s is having to jump all around to different positions on the neck because you’re only comfortable in certain positions for different arpeggios. Before you start trying anything too crazy with your ii V I’s, spend the time to get super familiar with playing all arpeggios in one position on the neck both for if you have the root note on the low E string or the A string. Once you have learned the minor 7th, dominant 7th, and major 7th arpeggios in this [...]

II V I Tricks and Tips for Jazz Guitar Playing2022-09-06T21:05:31+01:00

What Are Power Chords And How To Use Them?

2022-08-16T11:18:47+01:00

How To Make A Power Chord A sound that many of us will know well even if we have never played one before, power chords are used excessively in all different genres of music. Although these are most commonly heard on the guitar, specifically the electric guitar, they can also be played on piano using the same combination of notes. To make a power chord you will need your root note of the chord and the 5th above the root note played together. For example; for an A power chord we will need the root note A, and the 5th above [...]

What Are Power Chords And How To Use Them?2022-08-16T11:18:47+01:00
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