Having some real issues transferring from sitting down to standing up.
Info from me.
Just started mod 2 and standing up.
I have an accoustic guitar right now.
I have tried to mo e my strap to be a number of lengths, as well as moving the strap location from the top of the neck to the bottom of the neck where the strap peg is.
What I have found is that while sitting, I was not at the same kind of placement the guitar would be if standing, my strumming arm ārestedā on the guitar around the bicep area and my elbow strummed away nicely. But when I stand, that same position isnāt there.
I notice that I need the strap attached to the neck to pull the guitar neck back towards me, because as I rest my strumming hand on the top of the guitar, it actually is resting on the edge and kind of pushing the neck away, so if the strap is connected to the button on the bottom of the neck, I feel like my fretting hand is really pulling to reign in the guitar.
Also, it does feel like my wrist is a lot more rotated, I am at a place where I guess I feel it is the āleastā amount.
Iāll ask this in another post in a more appropriate section, but I also feel while standing, my ring finger really just doesnāt stretch, or it kind of curls the wrong way, I have added in a few vids to hopefully help you see what I am talking about.
In all of this, any recommendations?
At the end of the last video where I was doing the stretching standing up, that is where I see/feel the most of the ring finger, is it just a matter of continued repetition of that exercise to increase the strength and stretch?
It looks like off as it bends totally the wrong way.
I see youāve moved you post from the lesson itselfā¦I saw it earlier but havenāt had time to respond.
First the disclaimer: Iām a fellow beginner, consolidating Grade 2 and beginning to explore Grade 3. I also reached out for some personal lessons from one of Justinās fine teachers because Iāve been stuck on a few things. So my comments come from that place, and include the guidance my teacher provided. I donāt believe one size fits all, but I do feel that we beginners should try to start from ānormsā and adjust as we advance.
With that, my observations: both sitting and standing, your guitar is pulled too far to your right side. I was doing that as well, and was guided to place the guitar across the front of my body. It will feel weird. Youāll think you canāt play that way. But I notice both your fretting wrist and your picking/strumming wrist are quite bent. Of course, we need to bend our wrists when we play, but strive to keep them as neutral as possible. Youāll want to reach your right arm over the guitar, this will make both strumming and picking easier (I promise - I had begun to develop tendonitis in my picking wrist from the poor ergonomics; itās much better now).
This adjustment will also bring your fretting hand closer to your body, allowing you not to bend your wrist so acutely.
Regarding standing: the above applies. It also appears you may be holding your guitar a bit low. Try shortening your strap. I think that will help the wrist bend on your fretting hand as well.
Of course, weāre all a bit different. So please take this for what it is - guidance from a fellow beginner, albeit guided by a professional. Iām sure others will provide additional viewpoints!
Do you have a picture of what you mean by move your guitar over? it is too far to the right?
When sitting, it could be that I am sitting awkward on the couch, but when I sit on my seat which is my piano seat, raise up higher, the curve of the bottom of the guitar sits right on my thigh, I thought it was similar to how JS has his, I had to search for an accoustic shot,
After looking at this, the guitar is away from his body, and the neck not really on a straight line.
Would love some pics/videos of what you are talking about to visualize moreā¦
Funny, youāre on the exact path I was. I do notice that many more advance players hold it a bit to the rightā¦and I wonder if thatās something one grows into. Iāll take some photos or videos of how Iāve adjusted holding my guitar, but probably wonāt be able to post them until some time tomorrow.
Your guitar has one of those headstock straps - ugh, I hate those things. It might make it harder to get into the right place. My acoustic has strap pins on either side of the body, more similar to an electric. Much more comfortable. Did I read right in your post that yours also has a strap pin on the body behind the neck? Use that one.
I reckon your guitar needs to be a little higher. And the neck tilted up slightly more.
When standing the top part of your forearm should (lightly) pin the guitar body to your body to stop it moving around even without touching it with the fretting hand. That also stops headstock dive.
Iād also suggest sticking with open & power chords when standing until youāre comfortable there and then move onto picking/lead stuff. Thatās a bit harder as the guitar moves around a lot more standing, and youāll need to make sure youāre properly pinning it and floating your picking hand to be accurate.
OK, hereās a photo (pardon my dirty whiteboard!). I donāt put this out as an perfect example, but I hope it helps a bit. As JK @jkahn says below, the right forearm pins the guitar against your body (Iām pretty small, so I really have to reach over the guitar!). And I second his advice to stick with simpler stuff! I donāt know if you can see it well, but my left wrist is pretty darned straight. FWIW, this is also the angle that I was told to hold the neck at; Iād been holding it higher. I am aware that there are differences of opinion here.
(edited to add - oops! I see I have a flying pinky. Iāve just begun working on that, thereās clearly much work to do!)
So I just spent half an hour playing with the above ideas, nothing felt comfortable.
Moving the guitar to the left further, feels like I straining my neck.
Putting the strap on the button on the guitar, pushes the neck out so far away from my body that I feel like I am fighting against the guitar all the time.
I raised the guitar up higher, but every time I put my strumming arm on the guitar, it pushes the guitar neck out away from my body and I have to bring it back in with my fretting hand. ( the third video I think shows that)
Thatās the main reason I put the string on the neck because it stopped that from happening as much as it does with the strap on the nut.
I also have the nut right at the back of the guitar, which I think is a terrible place, because it doesnāt hold the guitar in place, even having it on the side just behind the neck I thought we be better.
I also sat back down again, and I noticed that the angle that the guitar makes against me body is quite large, like it isnāt super close to my body when I sit.
I have no idea how to get this to feel comfortable.
I play almost exclusively standing up, have done for a long time. Two things Iād mention - firstly the transition will take time, itās not going feel comfortable and easy initially.
Secondly, the strap button location on your guitar seems to be on the back of the heel. Personally I find this more difficult as it doesnāt pull the guitar into the body the way the a traditional āTaylorā placement does. Do you have other guitars you can try or borrow an acoustic with the ātaylorā placement? Iāve installed many strap buttons there and itās always worked for me - if the neck is bolt-on you need to be a little careful as there might be some hardware going through the heel.
EDIT: having re-read your post you note the non-ideal placement of the button yourself too. I think itās worth giving this a shot, although you might not want to drill another hole in your guitar of course.
Yeah I think that this is a big deal. I think I trust myself enough to drill the hole, I would probably just need to get some info on my specific guitar and find the best placement.
I like yours, I think it acts like the neck strap at the top of the neck, where it does actually pull the guitar a little closer to you.
To be clear thatās not my actual guitar ā¦ pink isnāt my first choice of nail polish
It is however where I put all my strap buttons. Installing is easy enough, obviously make sure you drill a pilot hole. Iāve done it to some very expensive guitars in my time.
Donāt be afraid to hang the guitar somwhat high to start with
donāt be afraid to tilt the neck a bit upwards, it can make the transition a bit easier. always mind your arm, wrist and hand though. In my experience, titling a bit upwards can help as I seem to do it automatically it harder sections of live songs with the band. (+ overdoing that adds to the show :p)
If you canāt play your open chords blindly, now is a good time to strat practicing that as well. Being able to play them blind gives your body more to draw from
Just as an aside, it was pointed out to me some time ago that even guitar legends like Bonamassa and Clapton sit down when the acoustic guitar comes out.
Hi all. So this is still bothering me. I have purchased a new guitar, which is a smaller guitar, but I am just not able to find something that is comfortable constantly.
I have noticed in the last few times that I stand up, I have been playing with my posture. As I mentioned earlier, the strumming hand now kind of rests on the front of the guitar, or seems to have a little more pressure there when I stand, which forces the neck out and I feel like I am pulling the neck back with my fretting hand.
I also noticed I kind of leaned back a little more standing, which exacerbated the pressure from my strumming hand, pushing the neck out, I tried to work on kind of standing with less of a lean back, but for the life of my I canāt get it.
Iām sure others will provide additional viewpoints!
