Your strumming will get SO much more manageable.

A difference between a beginner and an advanced musician is that players who have mastered their instrument have learned to cover up or play through mistakes. In this way, the audience hears what the maestro wants them to, hiding imperfections. Guitar strumming provides a perfect example. My left-hand student struggles to strum a first-position chord with an easy down-up pattern. The only thing I can hear in addition to a complete lack of rhythm is the clumsy and coarse up-stroke because I am using my elbow instead of my wrist, the ‘dink’ of the poorly fretted second finger because of weakness, a ‘phuph’ because my first finger is too tight and is accidentally muting a string, and the dissonance of a screaming low E-string that I accidentally snagged. Dogged by this cacophony, practice after practice, I would soon quit. 

With the guidance of my right-hand teacher, I know that with persistent practice, I will master the art of strumming. The essential notes of the chord will ring out, while the ‘dinks’ and ‘phuphs’ will be concealed. I will learn to dazzle as I play through mistakes with controlled rhythmic flurries, creating the illusion of perfect timing. Strumming will become much more manageable. Thanks to my right-hand teacher, I will continue to use the methods and tools in my book, Rehearsals and Exercises: A Method for Playing Speed Guitar, to master my musical instrument. My right-hand teacher encourages you to do the same and practice using my specific plan. Remember, you can play guitar, too!

Your fretting hand will get SO much more dextrous.

The musical cacophony that beginning guitar players must work through is the result of three simple realities related to dexterity. My right-hand teacher knows that my left-hand student’s fretting hand does not yet have the strength, finger independence, and flexibility to play the guitar how I want: 1) Strength to push the string into the fretboard to sound a note, 2) finger independence to coordinate complicated movements in the x- and y-axis of the fretboard, and 3) flexibility to stretch my fingers across the neck to form chord shapes. As a beginner, playing the most straightforward chord shapes hurts! My forearm, wrist, and fingers just do not move and bend that way. On multiple occasions, I have almost burned my lefthanded guitar in a dumpster fire.

However, my right-hand teacher encourages me. I will keep practicing to develop the strength, finger independence, and flexibility to play even the most complex chord shapes, advanced solos, and licks. I will use the practice plan I explained in my book to master my musical instrument. My right-hand teacher encourages you to do the same using my practice plan. YOU CAN PLAY GUITAR, TOO! 

Your picking hand will get SO much faster.

Do you know how many times I bonked my noggin on my lefthanded guitar, just trying to sling the strap over my head? A lot! Alternate picking for the first time with my left hand was no different. Maybe I could tremolo pick entirely out of control at around 140 bpm (that’s not music. It’s noise)? But, attempting controlled alternate picking on a single string, I quickly learned that my left hand could not perform SIXTEENTH notes at 60 bpm. I had to start with EIGHTH notes and slow the metronome down to 60 bpm to play comfortably, relaxed, fluid, and even (With a few of my Basic Sequential Exercises, especially those involving the pinky, I had to start with QUARTER notes to play comfortably). Without the encouragement of my right-hand teacher, this blow to my ego would have sent my lefthanded Jackson DNKY guitar through a plate glass window out onto the front lawn. 

After years of practice, I can comfortably reach speeds of SIXTEENTH notes at 180 bpm with single-string alternate picking while playing righthanded. Encouraged by my right-hand teacher, I trusted that my left hand would improve if I kept practicing. After completing my 31-week Beginners Challenge, practicing lefthanded for about twenty minutes a day using ONLY my methods and tools, my Optimal Playing Speed for most of my Basic Sequential Exercises (even the ‘pinky’ ones) is over 60 bpm playing SIXTEENTH notes. With my simple practice plan, you can keep progressing and playing comfortably at faster speeds. YOU CAN PLAY GUITAR, TOO!

Your licks will get SO much more impressive.

I was eleven years old when I took my first electric guitar lesson. My teenage teacher would spend our sessions ripping blues licks as I looked on wide-eyed. My right-hand teacher now knows he played simple bends, hammer-ons, and pull-offs over the first-position pentatonic blues scale. These licks were attainable, even for beginners, as long as they were willing to practice; however, when I asked, “How do you do that?” he responded, “You just play it.” I quit after about three, maybe four lessons. One thing my right-hand teacher knows that my left-hand student does not is that if you keep practicing, you will NOT be a beginning guitar player forever. You will play songs and licks that impress. YOU CAN PLAY GUITAR, TOO!

My goal for my 31-week Beginners Challenge was to play easy licks and parts of simple songs after practicing ONLY my Basic Sequential Exercises, a set of foundational guitar exercises I’ve developed, using a specific practice structure, for six months. After completing my challenge, even though beginning blues licks remain just out of reach for my left-hand student, my right-hand teacher will not let me give up. I’m not discouraged. My practice plan is so simple! I want to keep learning to play guitar lefthanded. My left-handed Jackson DNKY is not on the front lawn or burned in a dumpster but is safe in its wall hanger, ready for my next practice session.

I am excited to work through my Basic Sequential Exercises again. Then, after a year of practicing most days of the week using the methods and tools from my book and website, I will be ready to start learning impressive licks and songs with my lefthanded guitar. My right-hand teacher encourages you to do the same and keep practicing using my revolutionary practice plan (If you are just starting, read PART 1 and PART 2 of my Tips For Absolute Beginners articles).