There are many ideas for both the left and right hands of a guitar player. As you learn new techniques you will expand your repertoire and flexibility.These are the terms and skills you should know and work on right away.
Skills for the Right Hand
Flat picking is the name of strumming the guitar with a plectrum or pick instead of your fingers to play. Flat picking is a skill all guitar players need to know.
Finger picking is usually described as playing the guitar with only your fingers, not with a pick. Fingerpicking allows the guitarist to play technically challengingparts by using many fingers at once to play.
Playing with a constant, alternating bass is another style or pattern of fingerpicking. Playing the alternating bass with your thumb, you play the melody with your index, ring and middle finger.
Classical guitar playing is the pinnacle of guitar playing achievement and requires control over all of your fingers. Study some classical techniques so you can learn the techniques used and benefit from them, even if you never play classical.
Dampening is the technique that uses the heel of the right hand to muffle or mute the sound of the guitar.
Left Hand Guitar Playing Techniques
The barre chord is formed by using the index finger of your left hand to hold down all of the strings at once. Only after mastering the barre chord can you advance as a guitar player.
The arpeggio is a useful tool to help to build a improvisation as well as understand the theory of music. The arpeggio is probably the most basic of music theory skills and a great way to build your
solos.
Dampening is a technique that can be used by either hand and involves muting the strings just slightly to produce a muffled, percussive sound.
A hammer-on is a left hand technique that refers to using only your left hand fingers to press down in a forceful method to sound the string.
A pull-off is when you take your finger off the string and causing it to sound the note. The combination of hammer-ons and pull-offs is a great way to build a lead solo as well.
Tags: guitar techniques, left hand guitar techniques, right hand guitar technique, solos