Yes, you read that right.

But okay, I don't mean you should practice actually breaking your guitar strings. That's silly and a little dangerous! I mean that you should practice playing your guitar with a string missing.

Why Play With A String Missing?

There are good reasons for this. In your guitar journey, you're likely to break a string when you least want it. You're on the stage or playing at a party, and POP, a string breaks. It's more common than we'd like it to be. I broke a string on stage… after just re-stringing my guitar! It happens to the best of us.

So being prepared is super important. Can you improvise a Blues without the 2nd string or the thinnest string? How do you play your chords without the thicker strings?

We guitarists are creatures of habit. This exercise forces you to think differently! You can create new licks and find new sounds by avoiding a string.

How To Practice Playing With A String Missing

The first option is to remove a string from the guitar, or you can avoid certain strings while playing. Either way is fine! You'll have to make changes to prepare for the real thing. That might mean using another string more, or jumping strings, or a combination.

💙 Check out my Blues Guitar Courses and learn more about Rhythm and Blues Guitar.