This month Guitar Player (p. 78) includes a list with the Top 40 common newbie guitarist mistakes. They make reference to the Harmony Central Forum as the authors. I was searching if it was available online but I didn't found it in the magazine website. There are really good sentences. Here it is the list:
Investing in distortion boxes instead of a good amp.
Learning 100 intros and no songs.
Limiting yourself to one style of music – usually metal.
Not taking the time to learn music theory.
Playing "Smoke on the Water" on the high-E string.
Playing too loud, and with too much distortion.
Setting your amp's Gain on 10, and Mids on 0.
Relying on picks.
Not learning how to perform a basic setup.
Not maintaining your gear.
Not jamming with other players.
Over use of legato with a complete disregard for tempo.
Poor Phrasing.
Weak vibrato.
Buying too many effects.
Listening to tone snobs.
Immediately launching into thirty-second-notes during a blues solo.
Thinking that playing the local bar circuit constitutes a "tour".
Believing that opening for a national act means you're on your way.
Not knowing the difference between tube watts and solid-state watts.
Relying too much on printed music and tabs.
Thinking a year of lessons and $5,000 worth of gear makes you ready to play in a band.
Wearing the guitar way too low.
Using too much hand pressure when fretting.
Taking guitar lessons from a friend.
Giving up immediately because you sound like dog doo.
Not learning how all your gear works.
Tuning every guitar at Guitar Center to dropped D and then not retuning them to standard pitch.
Bringing full stacks to tiny bar gigs.
Saying "All [insert hated style of music] sucks, dude!"
Learning with your eyes, instead of your ears.
Not learning to play in time with good groove and feel.
Not investing in good earplugs for playing loud gigs.
Obsessing about playing burning solos, and not caring about rhythm guitar.
Thinking that playing fast pentatonic-box patterns makes you a hot guitarist.
Not putting casters on viciously heavy amps.
Wearing bowling shirts emblazoned with flames and dragons.
Realizing guitar is too difficult and taking up bass instead.
Spending more time on Harmony Central than actually practicing.
Forgetting that playing music is meant to be fun.
