Playing guitar without looking feels better, looks better, and promotes complete mastery of the instrument. If you can play the guitar without looking at the chords or strums, you know you’re on your way to being a better guitarist. However, it’s not always as easy as looking away and hoping for the best.
To play guitar without looking, it’s important to master muscle memory with your favorite chords. Learn two or three chords, then strum while switching back and forth. Once you have these chords down, only look at the strumming hand. When you’re comfortable, look away from the guitar completely.
Knowing the guitar intervals by feel is one of the best ways to play without looking.
Related: how to tune an acoustic guitar without a tuner, how to play a guitar without strumming, and how to tune your electric guitar without an amp. For the full overview, see our self-taught guitar roadmap.
Throughout this post, we’ll talk about the nine quickest and most effective ways to learn how to play guitar without looking. We’ll also provide a few beginner tips to make it easier for you to master your favorite chords along the way.
Practice Strumming Without Chords
Chord practice is an irreplaceable part of learning the guitar, but focusing too hard on it can hinder your ability to play without looking. Since most people have an easier time strumming or fingerpicking than switching between various chords, it’s better to start your no-look journey with your strumming hand.
Here are a few tips to get started:
- Mute the strings with your left hand, so you don’t get distracted. Hearing the noises coming from the open guitar will undoubtedly make it harder to pay attention to the strumming hand. Close your eyes, mute the strings by putting your hand over them without pressing down, then strum to your heart’s desire.
- Don’t worry too much about making a perfect strumming pattern at first. You might not be able to make the same up-down pattern that you’re used to. However, you’ll eventually progress to the point where you can constantly improve your strumming and finger picking without ever looking at the guitar. Just focus on making consistent sounds.
- Once you’re ready to learn a no-look strumming pattern, try down-down-up, down-down-up. This pattern tends to be the easiest setup for people after the basic down-up method. Go slow and steady, then progressively strum faster without looking. You’ll be surprised by how quickly you get the hang of it.
Quick Note: It’s much easier to learn how to strum without looking compared to fingerpicking without looking. Strumming patterns tend to be more forgiving, so people typically won’t notice minor mistakes. There’s also less memorization for your brain when you’re strumming. Once you master strumming without looking, try a few two or three-finger picking patterns.
The most important thing about playing the guitar without looking is to make it a second-hand hobby. Repetition and constant practice are crucial. Let’s dive more into these topics in the following section.
Focus on Muscle Memory
Sound Fly explains that muscle memory is likely the most important part of playing your guitar without looking. Practice makes perfect in every area of playing the guitar. While you might want to jump right into playing the guitar without looking the second you pick it up, it’s best to practice for several hours before considering it.
However, there are plenty of ways to improve your muscle memory with your instrument. Once you get it down, you can switch to one of the numerous techniques found throughout this article.
So, how can you increase your guitar-playing muscle memory?
- Create a chord progression that you perform daily. Simple, reliable chord progressions can become automatic once you get them down. Doing these progressions daily before or after your primary practice session is an excellent way to develop muscle memory. Try C-D-G for an easy, effective progression.
- Play at least 30 minutes each day. If you don’t practice enough, you won’t get much better. Playing the guitar without looking requires constant progress and practice. You don’t need to play the guitar all day, but at least 30 to 60 minutes will help you learn the chords and strumming patterns you want to play without looking.
- Don’t worry about special playstyles any time soon. Stick to the top of the neck if possible. There’s no need to learn impressive solos and finger-picking patterns when you’re developing muscle memory. It’s better to focus on mastering the chords rather than worrying about sounding like a professional guitarist.
- Consider sticking to a schedule. Play the guitar every night or every morning. Many people believe it’s best to play instruments right before going to bed because it sticks in your memory. However, playing the guitar in the morning can be a reliable way to never miss a practice session.
After mastering muscle memory, every area of playing the guitar will be infinitely easier. You can learn new chord progressions, play with a capo, not look at the instrument, and more. If you don’t want to wait until you’re completely comfortable not looking, try the suggestion below.
Consider the Quick Look Technique
The quick look technique is a timeless practice method. Whether you’re a complete beginner or someone who’s learning new chords and tricks, it can be quite effective. You don’t need picks, capos, or anything else (unless you prefer playing with a pick).
Follow this four-step process:
- Look at your chord hand and make the easiest chord shape you can think of. As mentioned above, C, D, and G are some of the easiest chords to play with this technique. You only need to focus on two or three chords while doing the quick look technique, but you can add more complex chords down the road.
- Look away, then strum a simple down-down-up pattern. You can also strum down or up once if you’re having trouble with this method. The goal is to look at the chord for as little time as possible. Once you have the desired chord shape, look away and strum, then move to the next step.
- Switch to a new chord, look away, and repeat the steps. You can mix this step with the following subheading’s suggestion of using the frets as guidelines. Again, once you have the chord pressed, look away immediately and strum whichever pattern you think is best for the process. Feel free to intensify the pattern if necessary.
- Slowly increase the speed that you switch the chords, quickly looking at your chord hand each time. Look, chord, strum, repeat. This process might seem tedious, but it’s one of the best methods for getting your brain used to the way each chord feels. It also helps you switch between chords much quicker.
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