How To Hold Your Guitar

Beginner Grade 1 Module 0: Before You Begin: Guitar Basics
102

But there are incorrect ones :upside_down_face:

If you can show us how you hold your guitar - we might be able to spot something

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103

Hi Gene. Did you watch this?

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104

I used to ask myself this question: I think the answer is for most people the guitar angles away from the body. In my case, it’s probably at least 30 degrees, maybe more.

Check out this previous post: Sitting position, slight difference that makes a difference? - #28 by Tbushell

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105

It’s funny, earlier today I realized I the wrist pain/carpal tunnel like symptoms I was starting to get was because I was leaning the guitar up so I could so where my fingers were

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Hi Matt @stevesie, welcome to the community! We’d love to know how you came here - if you have a minute, consider dropping an introduction over here. :smiling_face:

Wow, that’s a great discovery for you, especially as you begin a new course of learning. It’ll probably serve you well, in that you’ll be very aware should you start experiencing discomfort that it’s time to figure out the cause before it becomes a problem (or a bad habit!). I’ve been at this a bit more than two years now, thinking I was doing everything correctly, and recently had to do a review of both how I was holding my guitar (I’d slipped into some bad-for-me habits!) and how I was using my strumming/picking hand.

Hope to see you around the community! It’s a great place to share learnings as you did here, and to ask questions. We have lots of eager helpers!

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107

Good afternoon. If I put the guitar on my right leg, do I have to use a foot tool to help me put the guitar in the right position? Thanks.

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Hi and welcome to the community!

A lift of some kind can help. It depends on a few things:

  • Is your leg supporting the guitar keeping it from sliding down? This is generally knee height compared to seat height.
  • are you using a strap even when seated?
  • Can you sit comfortably with a leg lifted (back/hip discomfort)?

You need to position your chair to be a comfortable height with your feet on the floor or footrest as you choose. Your knee of the supporting leg will need to be high enough to keep the guitar from sliding unless you have a strap.

Some folks have trouble with their hip being out of symmetry with a single-foot rest and that can cause back or hip trouble, so be aware of that, and correct it if you notice it.

Using a strap is often a reasonable approach to keep the guitar in place. It can be similar to the position you’d have if standing, which is useful for familiarity. I find I don’t like a strap as it needs to be a little different for sitting than standing, and I often want to have the guitar in my lap quickly after sitting down without working the strap. I grab and play for many short durations daily and the strap will be a hassle in my case.

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109

Hi. I think this is my question too - it’s about the angle the guitar makes with the vertical plane of your chest i.e WHEN VIEWED FROM ABOVE. I read your reply, but can you give an indication of what range of angles is accepatable / good practice. I find mine is about 45 degrees, which i feel may be too much. Thanks, (another) Richard

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110

45 degrees does seem a little too far.
Giving an angle isn’t so easy because it may not be static but move a little as you play … perhaps between 10 - 30 degrees.

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Thanks, i’ll try to keep that in mind