If you plan to play in both positions, you should also practice in both positions. After I reached the lesson that Justin has about practicing while standing, I just started switching between standing and sitting during my practice sessions. 1st practice item while standing, 2nd item sitting, etc. then swap them the next time.
The benefit is, my feet get equally as tired as my butt that way LOL!
For no apparent reason, when I first started, I did lessons and drills sitting, played songs standing (electric guitar.) When I added an acoustic, I found playing standing to be difficult, so I played it sitting. Thatās still my practice: lessons, drills, and acoustic sitting, songs on electric standing.
I was bothered by not playing acoustic standing until it was pointed out that some very good guitarists, like Clapton and Bonamassa, sit down when the acoustic comes out.
Since I never āperform,ā I just did whatās comfortable and works best for me.
Hey Tony,
Like most (I should edit this to read āmanyā) of us, I started playing sitting down. I came to Justinās lesson on playing standing (Grade 2, Module 14) and gave it a try. I definitely noticed the challenges posed to both left and right hands from the different position, so practicing in both positions made sense: I figured Iād gain more flexibility and control in forming chords playing both ways. Still I found myself mostly sitting.
I became irritated that the guitar strap flopped around when I was sitting. Iām 5ā3", and the guidance about adjusting your strap so there are 1-2 inches between the bottom of the guitar and your lap just doesnāt work for me. Additionally, I find electric guitars are more difficult to hold without a strap, while sitting, than acoustics (they are heavy, and the body geometry is just all different). All to say: I play mostly standing up now, but do practice sitting probably 20% of the time because, well, Iāll need to do that some times! Iāve been doing this for only about 2 months now.
Interesting, your question about whether there are benefitsā¦I suppose like so many things on this journey, much depends on the individual!
I always do the lessons while sitting, but I just started to practice playing songs while standing. Itās challenging after sitting while playing for so long, but Iām starting to enjoy it! After adjusting the strap a few times, I found a comfortable playing position. I find have better playing posture while standing. Plus, I canāt see my fretting hand as easily and Iām forced to change chords without looking. I also like to roam around the room a bit while playing. I thought it would help if I looked at my fretting hand in the mirror, but itās more confusing! Interesting to see my hand from a different angle though. Somehow standing while playing makes me feel like a ārealā performer 
Its good to practice standing up also , but not vital if you never really plan on performing.
I have a goal to perform live at least one song at some point in my life, not sure how thatāll happen butā¦. Haha itāll be fun achieving that
Nice! It takes a bit to learn to play standing up, dont try with the guitar too low and make sure its at an angle not flat.
Same as many others, began sitting, decided I should learn playing standing, found it challenging for a bit till I got to use to it, but now comfortable with both. In general though I still practice sitting much more than standing as I interact with my computer a lot, so that is typically much easier when seated 
But in agreement with others, I think itās important to learn both, as even if you donāt intend to perform, you never know if you could find yourself in a position to play with others or perhaps do an impromptu performance for family/friends so having standing as an option would surely be useful 
Sitting, standing, lying down, slouching whatever it all helps your connection to the guitar
I always practice sitting down 
, but I know standing is much better for your health
Greetings
I always practice standing up, but for a different reason to the others I do it for health reasons. I found that I sit for a lot of the day and standing up to play the guitar is good for posture, and it burns more calories, which is always good for an old overweight person like me. I also find that is now more comfortable than trying to play sitting down. I play Electric not acoustic.
that a good point, I also spend a lot of my time sitting (work from home IT guy) so I suppose there could be a health benefit as well
Like many others, I initially started sitting down. Once I got to the lesson in the beginners course on standing, I started trying to stand from time to time. Now I almost always play standing. I do have times where I will sit- like when I am in the initial phase of learning a new song or technique. But once I have a song down enough to be comfortable playing it most of the way through, I much prefer standing.
My ultimate goal is to be able to play live as part of a band, so learning to play while standing was important to me. If someone does not want to play live, playing while standing may not be as important to them. Overall, I think the choice to stand or sit just depends on what your goal is with the guitar and what is comfortable for you, while taking into consideration any physical limitations you may have.
I normally play only sitting. But when I practiced for a big live event (it was actually an attempt for a world record by building the largest rock band in the world), I didnāt want to be the only person with an electric guitar sitting on a stool. So I learnt to play standing within 3 days 
.
The most important thing was to raise up the neck of my guitar a fair bit (I hope this explanation makes sense 
), and to have the strap tightened. This worked surprisingly well.
The next step will be to try it as well when playing on my acoustic 
.
I started playing sitting down holding my guitar in a classical position. This proved problematic when I wanted to play standing up so I changed my sitting down position to similar to what Justin does in his lessons.
This made standing up when I wanted to a lot easier but still not exactly the same. I like to play standing up when doing open mics and such and in prep for those I do plenty of rehearsing standing up.
Mostly I prefer to play sitting down on my sofa and thatās the majority of how I play. Lately Iāve been doing my open mics and other public performances sitting down so will be sticking with that for the foreseeable future.
Standing up while playing is great (and doing in front of a mirror also helps you see what others see when you are playing).
So as you can see Iāve done both. 
Your demonstrations of high versus low guitar position really cracked me up. I thought that was very funny. The guitar held high does look very weird. I think your impression of the Beatles look was a bit exaggerated though. I googled them and I guess George Harrison tends to hold his guitar quite high. I always thought Tom Morrelo (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave) looked a bit strange with his guitar held quite high. The Jimmy Page, Slash, and James Hetfield low hanging guitar look is way cooler in my opinion.
I was 16 when I was invited by a friend to play in a band. They had no bass player. I got a bass from an other friend and we started playing gigs. Just imagine. 16. No experience at all. But we had a good drummer and a friend who played the guitar (fender) since he was a little kid. He could do the soloāsā¦ The first gigs only family and friends came to see us.
Now I am 59 and decided to follow Justinās lessons. Bought myself a Fender but I still find practicing standing up al lot easier than sitting down. Maybe not for finger picking when you need a stable base. But otherwise? When you play barr chords. Lift the neck a little. When you play high up the neck? Move the guitar a little forward. AND automatically learn to play without looking at your fretting hand all the time.
FWIW I play at least 5 times a week, sometimes for 30 minutes, sometimes for more than 2 hours. 98% of the time I play standing up. Just feels more natural to me. Allows a more consistent up angle on the neck which in turn helps me do my best fretting with very small hands. Has been so helpful now that I occasionally play a 3 hour solo gig. Playing is so absorbing and enjoyable, I donāt notice how tired my old legs get until I put the guitar away. You might say (pun alert) Iām a stand up guy. (Even Iām groaning ā¦.)
For strap-locks on a budget.
Iāve cut two 30mm circles from a scrap piece of 3mm thick rubber, stiff like a tyre. Cut out 8mm holes in them.
Guitar + strap feels like ONE PIECE now.
A bit fiddly to put on and off though
Hi Ihor,
Seems like a nice solution if you have that lying around 
I would had never thought about itā¦I really have no idea what something like that costs here at a hardware store?
If you are as weak as I am, you should also look at what kind of rubber ā¦ if you donāt look at it for years (like me) does it dry out and break/crack? I think I think about it a little too muchā¦ Although some people still have nightmares about falling guitarsā¦
one of the few good things to come from my country? 
I used this one ā¦those orange rubber rings around the capā¦and many with me (was a tip from Justin and another well-known online teacher)
Sorry for the long story. 
ā¦ good tip
Iāll post this link below, quite useful in this topic, some easy safety tips 
, but I donāt believe your tip is already there ( I know dubble posting is not the way it normaly So as far as Iām concerned itās fine only here , I wonāt burn my fingers on that to say more ) today ),useful for people who donāt like buying beerā¦ oh, thatās why I never thought of your idea.
Greetings
