The skill I will be talking about here is the art of playing the guitar. It does involve using the hands. Both hands and your body. One hand is used to finger the chords as the other plucks or strums the guitar strings.
Creating good habits in hand placement and fingering will go a long way. It will pay off in the end. Pay attention to detail. The hand playing the chords should not grip the guitar neck too tightly. This is where the body part comes in. Utilize strength from your arm more than pressing hard with your fingers. Keep your arm close to your body. No flapping here. Whether you play an acoustic or electric guitar the hand placement I encourage here, is the same.
Now, if the guitar neck action seems too tight on the strings or hard to press them down. Changing the guitar strings to a lighter gauge would help remedy that while making it easier on the fingertips. Which leads me to the next point.
An important part of playing the guitar, acoustic or electric, is developing a set of nice calluses on your fingertips of the hand playing the chords. The definition of callus is hardened, thickened place on the skin. The goal for your fingertips is to get them exactly that way. Hardened and thickened, so as to withstand pressing the guitar strings for long periods of time. In the beginning it is not uncommon to experience some pain with this. You will need to be patient and enduring of the small amount of pain it takes. This pain is normal as the fingertips are soft. Be encouraged as this only lasts approximately a week. Although you will need to practice daily to get the calluses. A nice set of calluses are something to be proud of. They represent a lot of hard work and commitment to your skillful guitar playing.
After getting through that stage of skill development, you can begin to concentrate better on what and how you are practicing. Listen as you practice. Is the sound you are producing something you would like others to hear? Better yet, is that the sound you would like to hear someone else play? Be your own critic. Be fair. You are just starting out. Give yourself a break!
Be patient. Start slow with repetition. Then advance with more confidence in increasing speed. Be satisfied with the little steps. Conquer part of a song first. Then master the rest. Let time work with you. This attitude will help you enjoy what you are learning. If you enjoy what you learn, you will do it more. This gives you a sense of accomplishment.
