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Correct position while playing


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Hello!  I have been playing a short time and want to be sure I learn to position myself correctly to avoid injury.  Today I noticed (while working on open chords) that my left forearm started to bother me.  I don't have arthritis or other issues, but I am an older beginner. I'm still at the stage where I probably press with more force on the strings than might be necessary. Is some discomfort normal at first until the muscles in the hand and arm develop? My practice sessions can be anywhere from a half hour to an hour, but I am not being "intense" the entire time. I'm still trying different chairs, etc. to see what is going to work best.  Thank you in advance for any advice.

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I usually play standing up. In my experience it's a lot easier to get a good posture as well as neck angle (~45deg.) that way.

We don't need more reasons to sit down anyways, it's bad for your health. :)

You'll need a strap though.

Edited by Magnit
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I play standing. I use a strap standing or seated.

Yes, you are probably pressing too hard. Raise the neck position. Play with a relaxed motion. As you become more advanced you will see how easy some of the transitions between chords. 

You will always feel some minor discomfort. If it hurts then stop for a while. 

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Thank you both for taking the time to respond. It does seem that part of the problem stems from keeping the guitar in place, so I will try using a strap to tame the beast and remove that issue from the equation. I wish I could stand for longer periods, but unfortunately cannot.

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It is worth checking that your wrist is always straight.

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@Linders I play with a strap standing or sitting.. if I'm sitting and want to stand it can without stopping playing and same if I'm standing I can sit. but my guitar is "on tight" as they say which is mid chest level.. my arms are not long enough to have a long strap and play with the guitar at my knees like Slash does.

(and we know who is more cooler,, me or Slash)

second.. do not use a chair with arms, like an office chair.. some circumstances the arms of the chair will get in your way.

if you do have an office chair you might want to remove it's arms, if you're on a couch, you'll need to move to the edge and might need a slight twist sideways to get the guitar to drop to a good playing position. if you're reclining back on the couch.. it might be a bit tough in such a position if you're not used to it.

another problem that beginners have is trying to hold the guitar steady by the neck; and since the fretting hand is constantly moving so will feel the guitar.

what you might find is the forearm of the strumming/picking hand holds the body of the guitar to your chest/stomach and only the picking hand needs to move  

next strap location , I find if I have to tie the guitar strap off at the top of the neck (and the other is on the strap button at the end) even I fight the guitar from sliding around back . I found the best position for strap buttons is either at the top of the horn (aka Strat or Les Paul location) or at the front of the neck joint..

ES style guitars like Gibson's ES335 or my Epiphone Sheraton and Gibson SG has the strap button at the base of the neck pointing backwards.. this just makes the guitar want to flop forwards. so that's a different factor 

so to is a Ovation style guitar with those fiberglass bowled backs slide all over the place

we guitarists are resourceful though, if we want something badly enough we learn to play around with positioning and such to make it work

look at classical players , hardly ever play with a strap. guitar neck pointed to the sky at all times

remember there is no right or wrong. your body make up is different than ours to a certain extent and we had to find what's comfortable for us.

some use straps all the time like me, some hardly every use a strap like NeilES335,

Slash has his guitar at his knees, Liona Boyd has her guitar pointing to the ceiling. Roy Clark had his guitar high up his chest.. we make it work. 

Edited by Eracer_Team-DougH
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@Eracer_Team-DougH I play acoustic guitar;  I will try the strap I bought earlier and hope that relieves my slippin' and slidin' guitar while watching instructional DVDs. 

Another thing contributing to the struggle is not having found the right chair to practice in yet. My other half recently bought a Taylor GS Mini (which I suspect will be played more by me than him...so far, that is the case) and I am comfortable with the Mini while sitting on the sofa. It's smaller than my OM or GA -and lighter.  But - I think the sofa location is helpful as well.   Until I figure it out (or get a special chair,) it sounds like the strap is a solution.  I'm doing well with my Learn & Master Course and would like to play a little longer occasionally. 

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences and suggestions.  P.S.  I only recognize Roy Clark, so I guess that dates me considerably. :)

Edited by Linders
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3 hours ago, Eracer_Team-DougH said:

@Linders I play with a strap standing or sitting.. if I'm sitting and want to stand it can without stopping playing and same if I'm standing I can sit. but my guitar is "on tight" as they say which is mid chest level.. my arms are not long enough to have a long strap and play with the guitar at my knees like Slash does.

(and we know who is more cooler,, me or Slash)

second.. do not use a chair with arms, like an office chair.. some circumstances the arms of the chair will get in your way.

if you do have an office chair you might want to remove it's arms, if you're on a couch, you'll need to move to the edge and might need a slight twist sideways to get the guitar to drop to a good playing position. if you're reclining back on the couch.. it might be a bit tough in such a position if you're not used to it.

another problem that beginners have is trying to hold the guitar steady by the neck; and since the fretting hand is constantly moving so will feel the guitar.

what you might find is the forearm of the strumming/picking hand holds the body of the guitar to your chest/stomach and only the picking hand needs to move  

next strap location , I find if I have to tie the guitar strap off at the top of the neck (and the other is on the strap button at the end) even I fight the guitar from sliding around back . I found the best position for strap buttons is either at the top of the horn (aka Strat or Les Paul location) or at the front of the neck joint..

ES style guitars like Gibson's ES335 or my Epiphone Sheraton and Gibson SG has the strap button at the base of the neck pointing backwards.. this just makes the guitar want to flop forwards. so that's a different factor 

so to is a Ovation style guitar with those fiberglass bowled backs slide all over the place

we guitarists are resourceful though, if we want something badly enough we learn to play around with positioning and such to make it work

look at classical players , hardly ever play with a strap. guitar neck pointed to the sky at all times

remember there is no right or wrong. your body make up is different than ours to a certain extent and we had to find what's comfortable for us.

some use straps all the time like me, some hardly every use a strap like NeilES335,

Slash has his guitar at his knees, Liona Boyd has her guitar pointing to the ceiling. Roy Clark had his guitar high up his chest.. we make it work. 

Actually ,  I am a strap convert. I use a strap with all my guitars now, seated (mostly)and standing.  I found it provides more stability and allows memore freedom of movement. I dont have to worry about holding the guitar in place.

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Just now, NeilES335 said:

Actually ,  I am a strap convert. I use a strap with all my guitars now, seated (mostly)and standing.  I found it provides more stability and allows memore freedom of movement. I dont have to worry about holding the guitar in place.

@NeilS335 - I have been playing piano for 12 years (I started quite late in Life, there, as well).  It goes without saying that  despite other challenges the piano presents, I haven't had to worry about the instrument moving on me!

 

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I started using a strap last week. It makes a big difference!

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A good chair makes a difference. I looked at the expensive guitar seats, but I wound up buying an inexpensive office chair from Staples which has arms that go up. It works pretty well. 

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This is the chair I use. It’s actually my home office chair, but with the foot ring it makes a great guitar chair as well.

https://www.dpj.se/ergonomiska-kontorsstolar/2746-100479-kontorsstol-hag-capisco-8106.html#/34-hag_liftomat-150_mm/38-hag_fotring-ja/44-xtreme_tyg-svart_exr009/45-hag_underrede-silver

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@Magnit- That is an interesting design.  (Is it comfortable?) Unfortunately, I am in the United States.

@Randy120 I hope to be able to find something suitable at a yard sale...or Facebook Marketplace. I tried an adjustable stool that we have in the house, but because it's on wheels, it was too squirrely for me. 

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On 6/10/2020 at 1:02 AM, Linders said:

@Magnit- That is an interesting design.  (Is it comfortable?) Unfortunately, I am in the United States.

The design encourages a healthier more varied seated position. I wouldn't say it's "comfortable" in the way a leather couch can be. It's to avoid injuries associated with working sitting down year after year. I'm sure there are alternatives in the states as well. My point was that you'll probably want a chair with a "foot rest" if you're going to play guitar sitting down. Either as a part of the chair or just buy a foot rest and put it in on the floor. Or sit down on the floor like Justin Sandercoe does. That works as well as long as your body allows it.

Edited by Magnit
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I practice 99.9% of the time sitting in a 100 year old oak chair, 45 to 60 minutes a day. I take frequent breaks and have no issues with the hard old chair. Used to think about buying a nice soft  chair, but never did. In the evenings, sometimes I lay in a reclining lawn chair out side and  In about 15 minutes that gets pretty painful. Very annoying to the birds. The Curved Billed Thrashers give me the evil eye. Those bright orange eyes, no doubt in my mind  that his grandfather was T Rex.
 

The best think I did was switch to the classical guitar position with the use a foot stool, but the same old chair. Years ago I tried using a strap and I thought I was holding it like Buddy Holly fairly high, “guitar elbow”  soon came knocking on my door. I put the guitar back down on my leg, removed the strap. I am not 100% sure if holdIng the guitar higher was the cause.but  I had been playing 3 or 4 years without a problem I just made the connection and changed.Using hot and cold packs the elbows recovered.When I do stand with a strap the guitars feel the same as sitting in a classical position. Pretty much sold on that position.

Some guy on the internet named Tom Hess stated holding the fretting arm and elbow high or horizontal could cause forearm pain. In golf I think they would call it a “flying elbow”. The classical position moves my elbow out further than the leg position, but hasn’t caused a problem using my steel string guitar. I play a steel string acoustic 14 frets to the body, hybrid classical 12 frets to the body and a Strat and Tele all in the classical position.

Years ago I took some lessons from a guy that played in the classical position and at the time I thought  it very odd to hold a strat that way, I asked him why and he said after years of playing his right shoulder started hurting,  so he switched positions so he could continue to practice and play without the pain.He may have been the reason I took the time to change positions, since he demonstrated that he could play as good as any professional in that position, well then again he was a professional. Changing by the way was real easy, I mistakenly thought it was going to take some time.

Well, this has been a long break, back to the Eb minor scale.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Triple-o
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