10 Things All Guitarists Should Be Able to Do Steve Ouimette 10 things that amateur guitarists can do to play more like a pro.

For some reason, I’ve been getting out more often lately and experiencing live music. It’s been a mixed bag. Some have been national acts in large venues, while some have been at the local bar and club level. Most recently, I was a judge in a local guitar competition. After seeing the more polished national acts, I got a little spoiled hearing well put together sets that paced themselves and built up to a peak in the evening. All the musicians’ playing was spot on, and they were great experiences. Coming down to the local level, I witnessed a lot of similarities in players that were quite different from the national level acts. Of course this is to be expected to some degree, but it was overwhelming how many fundamental aspects of playing seemed to be overlooked. Here’s what I witnessed on the local level. It’s not a representation of everything that’s out there, but it hasn’t been pretty. Therefore I’m compelled to present my list of 10 things every guitarist should be able to do. It’s not too tall of an order, but it is an important list.