How to impress your friends and family with your guitar playing skills

We are going to see what things you can do to impress your friends and family with your guitar playing skills. Whether you have been playing for a long time and you have only recently started. There are a few simple things to keep in mind to help you. Making sure every time someone asks you to pick up the guitar and play them something. You can be sure you can impress them.

1. Know who your audience is

So when someone asks you to pick up your guitar, and asks your to play them something. The first thing you need to start thinking is who is this person. Who is my audience. A common thing I see from guitarists is that they try to play the most impressive thing they are working on. Now what seems impressive to you, isn’t always what’s impressive to them. If you love playing some fast guitar shredding, but it’s your grandma whose asked you to play for her. And you know she likes country folk music. Play her some country music.

You want to target your playing to them and what they would enjoy. If that’s playing simple open chords. And with some pretty strumming and fingerpicking. Then play that.

Now if your audience is more advance, or they are metal guitarists. Then some fast scales and arpeggios might be right up their street. Even advance guitarist can be into different music too. Try to understand what they would appreciate when you play to them.

2. Keep Whatever You Are Playing Simple

Adding to the first point, when you play something impressive that is on the edge of your ability. The likelihood of you making a mistake increases. As a result, you might look less confident, less effortless, more stressed.

If you played something simple for you, the more confident you will feel about it. And you will appear a lot more effortless to your audience as well. That’s when your guitar playing will look more impressive to your friends and family.

3. Practise Your Strumming On The Guitar

One thing that makes a big difference between sounding like an amateur guitar player vs a pro. Is the sound of your strumming. Whether it’s the quality of the strumming or the pattern you use to strum the chords. Practise getting the best sound of your chord playing so you can create an emotional response in your audience. Even playing open chords, they can sound cool if you can melodically strum over them.

4. When you make a mistake, don’t pull a face!

What I mean by this is that when a lot of guitarists make mistakes when they play, they make a face! Then everyone knows that you’ve made a mistake.

Often I see bands playing and they make mistakes all the time, but the audience doesn’t know. So unless you actually pull a face, or say sorry, or do something similar. Most people will never know, especially those who know very little about the guitar.

5. When you make a mistake, don’t restart!

Again, same as puling a face, don’t restart! Or pause. Or do anything with your guitar playing to show that you have made a mistake. Always carry on if you make a mistake and pretend nothing as happened and forgot anything did happen. Keep calm, and carry on.

6. Just Do It!

Just like the Nike slogan. The more practise you get playing in front of other people, they more confident you will be. Whether that’s putting yourself out there more by getting out the guitar and playing in front of others. Or getting together with friends to play.

If you are wanting to actively improve your guitar playing and struggling to know how. Then having a great guitar teacher who has performance experience can also help you.