Generally the cowboy position with the guitar (righty) on the right thigh, the head would be out almost over the left knee and perhaps angled up a bit, to taste.
I didn’t do well with that and ended up like a classical position with a lift on the left knee and the headstock up and about 8” or 10” from my left ear. No back, shoulder or wrist strain there.
I use this position with classical, steel string acoustic and electric.
There must be as many ways to hold a guitar as there are people who play. Most important is what is comfortable for you. My main driver is bad shoulder/neck especially the left, so the classical head next to my head position takes all the strain away from there.
The down side is that I need to be a bit particular about where and how I sit and have my accoutrement available.
This discussion has been very helpful as I have been having a devil of a time keeping my guitar, a Squier Bullet, from moving all over the place. My main problem, I think, is I am tall, and my height is in my torso so when I try to sit it on my thigh the bottom just slides forward, giving it much too much tilt. I’m going to try lifting my foot up or maybe some sort of cushion on my thigh and see what happens. I also need a better strap, the cheap one I have loosens up too easily.
Rebecca,
Try placing a stack of books under your right foot. Add and remove books until you have the height that works for you. Then you can buy/make something more permanent with the correct thickness.
With a good strap, you shouldn’t need any other aids.
Get one that is fairly wide, made of a non-slippery material. And of course the buckle should not slip.
I find the strap is usually easier to adjust if the buckle is closer to the neck of the guitar.
Adjust the length so you can sit upright with both hands in a comfortable position. Based on your height, the body of the guitar will probably be above your thighs.
Finding a good position while standing, and then sitting down, usually works well too.
Hi! I was experimenting with different positions and ways to hold the guitar, and I know that each one of us will have a different way we find the most comfortable and that’s okay but there’s still some general guidelines we should follow. So, considering that, I was a little worried about the hold I found to be the most comfortable for me because it’s quite different and I wanted to know what some of you more experienced guitar players think
I found that the guitar is a lot more stable on my lap if I cross my right leg over my left one. Since that way it’s sitting a few inches higher it means I can get more of the guitar under my arm, making it more stable and relieving stress off my right shoulder. Also, that way the guitar head points a little more upwards than if I’m not doing it and that helps my fretting hand with feeling more relaxed around the wrist
Welcome to the forum Agustin. This is not good for your back and hips. If you need the guitar higher and on more of an angle you’re better off using a strap even when seated. This way you can adjust the guitar aswell as find a comfortable sitting position.
This is a tough one. I couldn’t play for very long with my legs crossed. Stiff ol’ joints and my legs would go numb.
What you are doing is raising the guitar and shifting it to the left while tilting the neck/head up .
You are starting to approach the standard classical position (even classical position is highly individual). This is what I found works best for me and my old, abused shoulders.
Since you are sitting, you may want to research good posture and the classical position. I eventually bought a lift (sageworks) and won’t go back.
I tried using the strap and it did help a little by tilting the guitar upwards a bit, but the belt doesn’t go short enough to actually lift the guitar up, I might need to buy a different one
I’m a bit skeptical about the classical approach, it seems too much hassle with the lift for your foot/guitar and I don’t know how well it translates to standing since I want to play standing up every now and then. I also thought the classical approach wasn’t really meant for electric guitars but I might be wrong
The most difficult part about this is deciding whether I’m uncomfortable because I’m a beginner or because my posture is bad hahaha
I guess I’ll keep trying different positions for a while and stick with the one that makes my back/shoulder/wrist hurt the least (ideally no hurt at all of course)
Okay I think I got it , no strap and no crossed leg, just like Justin holds it during his lessons, but now I’m angling the neck of the guitar forward about 45º. I was keeping it almost parallel to my body before and that made it so my wrist had to bend a lot and it was hard to fully rest my right arm on the guitar without destabilizing it
Thought I’d throw out there, I started doing this and I finally found a comfortable position for my guitar! It’s no longer slip sliding away and is much easier to play now. I was definitely holding it too close for to body!
, no strap and no crossed leg, just like Justin holds it during his lessons, but now I’m angling the neck of the guitar forward about 45º. I was keeping it almost parallel to my body before and that made it so my wrist had to bend a lot and it was hard to fully rest my right arm on the guitar without destabilizing it
