You Have Come a Long Way
By reaching this lesson, you have covered the complete foundation of guitar playing — from holding the instrument correctly to harmonics and open tunings, from your first three notes to barre chords in every key. Everything a guitarist needs to keep growing is already in your hands.
The difference between good guitarists and great ones is not talent — it is consistency, curiosity, and the willingness to keep practising even when progress feels slow. Every expert guitarist was once a beginner who refused to stop.
Polish Your Playing
Always try to make your music flow. Pick or pluck your strings evenly and clearly. Always start to play the next note as soon as you are ready to play it, keeping your left-hand finger in place on a string until you need it to play the next string.
Practise right-hand fingers by placing them in position on the strings and playing each note, walking the 1st and 2nd fingers alternately. Keep the notes even and try to connect each one smoothly to the next. Play evenly, smoothly, and naturally — without thinking about what you are doing. Eventually you will no longer need to think about it — your hands will know what to do.
The goal of practice is to make the difficult automatic. When something is automatic, you no longer need to think about it — and that frees your attention for the music itself, for expression, for listening, and for responding to the people you are playing with.
Read Music as Often as Possible
The more you read music, the easier it becomes. Look for books of music at your local library — anything with simple arrangements of songs you like. Sight-reading even for five minutes a day produces rapid improvement over months.
Look for sheet music albums of folk songs, pop songs, or guitar solos. Choose ones you are not too long, begin with tunes which are easy to read, and gradually progress to tunes which are harder. Every new piece teaches you something. Every guitarist who reads music is glad they learned — and every guitarist who did not reads wishes they had.
Learn From Other Guitarists
Listen to guitar music on recordings, radio, online videos, and live performances. Watch carefully when experienced guitarists play — their right-hand technique, their left-hand position, how they hold the pick or move their fingers. You can learn enormous amounts just from careful observation.
When you hear something you love in a recording, try to work it out on your guitar. Try to imagine how the guitarist is producing that sound. Playing along with recordings trains your ear, your rhythm, and your ability to fit into a musical context in ways that solo practice cannot replicate.
Play to an Audience
Sooner or later someone will ask you to play. Playing for other people — even just one friend — transforms your relationship with the guitar. It develops confidence, performance awareness, and the ability to keep playing through mistakes.
Play music you are confident with — not the most difficult thing you know. Choose pieces you can play smoothly even when nervous. Save the challenging material for when you are alone.
Work out exactly how each piece starts and how it finishes. A clear beginning sets confidence. A clean ending is what the audience remembers. Never trail off uncertainly.
Do not say 'I cannot play very well' before you start. The audience wants you to succeed. Give them the chance — begin confidently and play your best.
Local folk clubs, guitar societies, open mic nights, informal gatherings — seek out friendly audiences. Playing regularly in front of people is irreplaceable experience.
Should You Take Lessons?
If you have reached a plateau, want to develop a specific style, or simply want to progress faster — lessons with a good teacher are worthwhile. A teacher can spot problems you cannot see yourself, give you a structured path forward, and provide feedback that is impossible to get from a book.
Choose a teacher who plays the style you want to develop. A classical technique teacher and a blues/rock teacher are very different people. Ask to hear them play before committing to lessons. A teacher who is expert in their style and communicates well is worth their fee many times over.
Keep the Guitar Close
The single most effective thing you can do for your playing: keep your guitar where you can see it and pick it up easily. A guitar in its case in the wardrobe gets played far less than a guitar on a stand in the living room. Even 10 minutes of spontaneous playing — a tune you just remembered, a chord sequence you want to try — adds up to hundreds of hours over a year.
There is no point at which you 'know the guitar'. Every professional guitarist continues learning throughout their career. New styles, new techniques, new songs — the instrument is deep enough for a lifetime of exploration. That is what makes it one of the most rewarding instruments in the world. Keep playing. Keep listening. Keep enjoying it.
This completes the Open Fretboard course — 38 lessons from absolute beginner to advanced guitarist. We hope it has given you a strong foundation and a genuine love of the instrument. Happy playing. 🎸