damn

Puck78

...so, I've made the mistake to learn to play the guitar from a sitting position... and no that i'm trying to play while standing I'm suffering like a calf before the sacrifice...
...can anybody hear me, out there?

scot88

Have you tried raising the strap of your guitar so that the guitar is about the same height as when you are sitting? Other than that, practice is really the only thing you can do.

ianvomsaal

Your guitar should be in the same place when sitting or standing. Wearing it low while standing is a really bad idea because it completely diminishes your technique. Look at a player like Slash who wears his guitar down near his knees (it might look cool, but man is it uncomfortable). And yet when he solos look what he does (he turns the guitar up almost vertical so he can actually reach the notes). Most really good players wear their guitar much higher (because as I said, your technique suffers if you don't) - It’s just a "COOL factor" that most people need to get over. Anyhow, I always give a few pages to all my students the 1st time they walk through my door - this is an excerpt from on of those pages on POSTURE:

* In spite of what most of us have seen in concert & on television, good posture/form while playing the guitar is important. Slouching, reclining, or wearing the instrument around your knees greatly diminishes your ability to play quickly & accurately. True, there are many players with less than perfect posture and/or form, but some of these players are good in spite of it . . . not because of it. Maybe they would improve dramatically if they changed the way they stood, sat, or held the guitar.

* When playing an electric guitar, “always” where a strap. If you are using your hands to hold on to the instrument, you will lose some playing ability. Let the strap do the holding. Adjust your strap so the guitar is positioned at the same level whether you are sitting or standing. This way, your technique will be consistent. This advice also applies for acoustic players.

* Try to practice in the same chair every day. Sitting on the bed one day, on the floor the next day, & on a stool yet another will lead to inconsistent progress.

* Sit up straight & hold the body of the guitar against your body. Relax both arms from your shoulder all the way down to your fingertips. Pull the neck in so that when you look down slightly to your left, the fingerboard is right under your nose. If your guitar sits on top of your right thigh, learn to tap your left foot for keeping time, vice versa if you are left-handed.

* All these things really make a difference in letting you play to your fullest potential.

Cheers . . .

- Ian C.T. vom Saal

Anon

Sling it low like billie joe?

I play with my strap adjusted so my guitar is at a level where my strumming arm can grip the guitar body near my elbow if i want to, and my fretboard hand can move easily between chords with my wrist mostly straight. Works for me. At the end of the day though it all gets back to what you are most comfortable with.

99% of the time when i'm playing my acoustic i'm sitting, laying, leaning. My posture can get pretty average then. When it gets uncomfortable and i start to get sore, i know it's time to do something about it.

All Those Yesterdays

I had the same problem when I started, one day it just works.

Drew263

Puck78 wrote:

...so, I've made the mistake to learn to play the guitar from a sitting position... and no that i'm trying to play while standing I'm suffering like a calf before the sacrifice...
...can anybody hear me, out there?

Start with it higher than you'd want while standing..then practice and every few days lower it. But don't lower it too much.

Look at Stone, especially when he's playing a Les Paul. He's got it higher than what is "cool". The '96 Letterman/Hail Hail video on youtube is a good example.(I think)

Jam10

I agree with Ian. My instructor told me to keep the guitar at the same height whether I'm sitting or standing. When I'm practicing I actually place the guitar on my left thigh like a classical player (I'm right handed). I know most people who are right handed place the guitar on their right thigh but I find I get even better posture and I improve my technique when I place the guitar on my left thigh. Think of how technical a classical player is, so they obviously play like this for a reason. It might not look cool, but to me playing really well greatly out weighs looking "cool".

moster78

Jam10 wrote:

I agree with Ian. My instructor told me to keep the guitar at the same height whether I'm sitting or standing. When I'm practicing I actually place the guitar on my left thigh like a classical player (I'm right handed). I know most people who are right handed place the guitar on their right thigh but I find I get even better posture and I improve my technique when I place the guitar on my left thigh. Think of how technical a classical player is, so they obviously play like this for a reason. It might not look cool, but to me playing really well greatly out weighs looking "cool".

Same here, and I use a strap while sitting or standing so thats its always in the same place. That way playing while standing is basically the same as while sitting. Yeah, it looks silly, but I'd rather look stupid and sound good, then look cool and sound horrible.

keeponrockin

moster78 wrote:

Same here, and I use a strap while sitting or standing so thats its always in the same place. That way playing while standing is basically the same as while sitting. Yeah, it looks silly, but I'd rather look stupid and sound good, then look cool and sound horrible.

I think there IS a happy medium though.

SBC03

As fr as I remember steve clark was one of the first to play with the gtr low