Went to Youtube to get a plan to build a folding footstool. . . . . . . . and found instead this 8 part series on “Guitar Posture” Now I’m wondering, “ehh, maybe find a way w/out a footstool???”
Have you two bits you’d throw on the table?
He’s a bit goofy—but I think that choice is an attempt to get people to watch what is a pretty dry subject (unless, of course, it’s not dry when you’re suffering/recovering from back pain, then it’s intensely riveting — hint for those w/out back pain: it is easier to prevent than to recover…)
This guy, Michael , says he’s working on a PhD posture related studies, is a classical guitarist (among other instruments), and seems to know his stuff—it sounds “truthy” to me (to use a Steven Colbert term). He lists sources for his statements. Episode #1 starts with a lot of definitions, and he builds ideas from episode to next episode.
The points he keeps driving home are
good posture/balance (all parts of the body are balanced, neck, shoulders, hips, feet flat on the floor).
What he is saying is that raising one foot up on a stool throws your hips out, which your body must compensate for. With the take-away being Don’t use a footstool, it puts you out of balance.
mobility/fluidity is good. It’s how our body evolved, keep doing it
out of balance/bad posture is bad, do not do it for long periods of time It causes the body to compensate for unequal forces resulting in muscle/nerve/tendon adaptations can lead to severe pain (sometimes suddenly, after compensating “successfully” for years).
A later video talks about the proper height and placement of the music stand who knew you could even make a video about the location/height of a music stand ???
Here’s an image all the videos in his posture series:
A couple of things–Been practicing for 6months with a foot stool at home, and am venturing to play with friends so thought I’d make a portable one.
I’m experimenting with guitar position, posture, strap length, paying attention to what my body is telling me through tension/fatigue. Looking at videos of myself playing and noticed I’m all catawompus.
Recovering from lower back shenanigans and the physical therapist frequently mentions balance, tension, posture, muscle memory, etc, etc)
My wrist tends to a bad position (per other threads, JG videos), wondering if how I’ve positioned the guitar is contributing
In short, trying to get good postural habits established before the more deleterious ones set up residence.
Hey BC, I’ll spare you another essay…you might search the forum using the keyword “posture”. Another good search is “chair”. You’ll find robust conversations about body position.
I have a “lift” that I often (but not always) use. It’s something like this. I like it because it’s adjustable. I also have a fixed-height wooden footrest about 3-4 inches high. Finally, I tend to move around a lot when I practice - get up and walk every 20 minutes or so if I’m sitting, practice standing up, or alternate. I find there are different comfortable positions for different guitars.
I poked around at the video…I think the info is fine (I’m a runner, so I’ve thought about stuff like this a lot), but largely unnecessary. Just focus on good posture. And listen to your PT. Regarding pain: yes, most of us experience pain at some point. It’s our cue to identify and address what’s causing the pain before it becomes a repetitive use injury.
If posture is a concern there is a great argument to be made for playing a headless guitar that allows a seated posture similar to that of a classical guitarist.
Musicologist Andre Fludd can explain far better than I can.
There is far, far more on his channel on this topic, he is well worth a follow.
If you are not amenable to headless guitars there is also this. It will also allow you to have a classical posture while using a conventional electric guitar.
That performaxe thing looks interesting. I don’t have any difficulty achieving a comfortable playing posture with my Taylor GS Mini, but with my Les Paul it’s harder.
I do tend to use a footrest, but it feels really comfortable to do so. My body feels easy and relaxed. In the other physical activities I do where posture and body movements are important, this is heavily emphasized as an indicator that you’re not stressing your body beyond how you should.
I’m more likely to start feeling sore if I fall into a slouchy posture from leaning over the guitar, and that’s something I have to pay attention to.
It’s worth mentioning that this applies to headless guitars that share a similar shape to Strandberg, so HILS and some upcoming Sire headless guitars. For any manufacturer who have done like Ibanez, chopped off the head and kept the body shape then it doesn’t really apply. You don’t want the jack plug socket sticking in your leg! Even if you use a 90 degree cable you’re not getting the full benefit
I actually have one of these. I hate straps and do best holding in a classical position.
I got the Performax when they were pretty new and it was stupid expensive for what it is (and for a guy who never picks up his electric). It works well, though and is very well made.
There are now inexpensive knockoffs for far less on Amazon and AE. I got a big one made for classical guitars to try. I sent it back. Reasonably made and fit the guitar but did not allow any reasonable position really. The electric one is great though!
Hi BC wow that was lengthy and very dry apart from the rabbit destroying the box haha
I felt it was probably too deep unless you’re having real issues at the moment. Better to go to a physio in that case.
He’s absolutely right that we need to consider our posture in everything we do, stay relaxed, stretch it out regularly and I would add - don’t play for hours in the same position. Stand up/sit down, walk around - thank goodness we’re not playing double bass or harp haha
I have degenerative scoliosis and have a lot of pain but I’m still playing, for now!
Be sensible!
Good luck all
I’ve completely given up sitting to play/practice and work.
After a lot of lower back problems and shoulder problems, I started standing at work a couple of years ago even though the doctor said it wouldn’t help. That coupled with doing weights every morning got rid of my back and shoulder problems - or at least helps to keep them away. However if I have a break from weights for a week or sit in meetings too much the problems come back. So when I started the guitar after a while my practices got longer and longer and I found I was sitting from 1-2 hours each evening with the guitar.
I decided to stand when @LievenDV mentioned in a post how it helps for singing to stand up. That did it for me as I’m trying to sing and play . Then when standing I found that moving around to the rhythm (instead of foot tapping which I can’t do) made my timing better. However posture is still important standing.
Using a strap, even while sitting, also is very useful to keep the guitar in a good position so that you can also keep your back straight. When sitting I still use a guitar strap.
As soon as you want to sing, you probably benefit most from having both feet on the ground and standing upright.
When sitting down; I would think a simple 3 legged stool without any attachments is probably the best tool, given that you maintain some of the basic principles like how to hold your head, singing or not.
I do find it a lot easier to maintain proper posture standing up
