Every Pro Guitar Player Has These 5 Qualities

It goes without saying that carrying an ego doesn’t do you any favours and the same rule applies in the music industry. It’s always important to remember that despite how much you think you may be the best, I guarantee you that no one wants you to express it verbally; or display a “holier than thou’ attitude and demeanour. The best players have always remained humble: it’s an honesty that comes across in your playing. For instance, playing from a point of ego may result in overplaying or even worse, over confidence. Whereas playing with humble confidence often results in a more natural translation to both band mates and audience members, wielding a more musical performance as part of the learning process.

However, most importantly, it is all a matter of attitude and if people find you hard to work with because of an ego, you’re simply not going to make it professionally. It’s a cold matter of fact, though an important reminder that humility is a guitar skill that should always be worked upon to be up kept.

It’s safe to say that being a professional guitar player doesn’t come without hard work. Whilst it can be easy to think that putting all that hard work towards being the best at one particular style might sound like the most sensible option, it’s 100% more beneficial to be an all round, versatile professional. Versatility is everything in the world of music and being solid at everything you can be, is going to make you a more employable musician than holding the crown at a guitar playing niche.

Sure, it’s always good to know your strengths and to be able to really lay them on the table when you need to but being ever reliable in any musical situation? Priceless. It’s an indispensable skill and something every guitar player should constantly work to maintain.

Knowing your weaknesses and forcing yourself to work on them takes far more determination and dedication than relentlessly working on perfecting one area of your guitar playing, so with that said; don’t be afraid to take a hard look in the mirror and see what areas of your playing you can improve!

Managing your time efficiently is important for so many reasons in the professional world of music and is a necessity for any professional musician. Obviously, making sure than you are well prepared for and arrive punctually for rehearsals and performances is an absolute must. However, depending on your work load, this might becoming a daunting prospect if you are juggling multiple musical projects at once. The key is to manage what time you have evenly and proportionately.

Case in point, learning a set of popular covers for a 4-piece band is probably not going to be as taxing as a gig in theatre pit in a large ensemble. “Time-blocking” is something that will come in very handy when looking to managing your time effectively and realistically. It’s also an easily moveable system, allowing you to move things around in a way that makes best sense for your schedule.

It’s an old cliche that the guitarist is the member of the band who knows the least amount of music theory. It’s a stigma that comes from generation after generation of guitar players who rely heavily on basic chords and noodling in their favourite and ever familiar patterns and box shapes beginning with the letter P. However, I assure you, any good professional guitar player will have worked hard to remove this particular stigma from their name’s reputation. If you’re looking to become a pro and make it in the industry, you should too.

Now, this also comes with the responsibility of rationality. For example, I’m not suggesting that to be a professional you must know every Avenue of music theory inside and out like the back of your hand. Nevertheless, you should work to have a solid understanding of theory that makes sense to you as an individual instrumentalist and will streamline your understanding of the musical requirements asked of you at any given situation. Of course, this will be genre specific to a point, wherein; the theoretical requirements of a professional pop musician are probably going to be more fundamental than that of a profession Jazz player. Though, whatever genre corner you decide to specialise in, it’s important to put in the time on those theory chops!

For me, this is arguable the most important quality to have and is one that needs some regular maintenance. Stamina and dedication are so important in the world of a professional musician for many reasons but there are two very important reasons to remember. The first: practice. Keeping on top of a busy schedule, working with different people and various musical projects can be both physically and mentally draining and this can have a detrimental impact upon your practice regime. It’s important to not lose track of your ability to simply let loose and practice the guitar freely and enjoyably. Though, at the same time, it’s equally important to practice the things you need to be able to perform for whatever projects you’re involved in. Obviously this comes back to time management and is a quality that you will most likely continue to develop as time goes by, despite your level of experience.

The second: perseverance. Jumping into the the professional world of the music industry can be a taxing conquest, with a lot of serious competition. Sometimes, despite our best practices and hard work, it can be a very humbling experience; taking a long time to feel like it’s working. Trusting the process and being dedicated to yourself, your abilities and your goals is as equally an important quality as anything else and something you should never take for granted on your journey to becoming the kind of professional you want to be. There is no model for this and it works differently for everyone but dedication and pacing yourselves are the catalysts to prolonged success as a professional guitar player.