(Playing Guitar For Beginners)
Here we are going to talk about how to sit to play guitar for beginners.
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| Playing Guitar For Beginners - Sitting Position |
Let's start with the chair. Use a chair with a firm base that has no elbow rests as these will get in the way of your guitar. While slouching on the couch is great for watch TV, hanging out and tinkering on your guitar, these're not sustainable classical guitar sitting positions as they will definitely lead to bad posture and backache after time. A firm based chair ensures that you won't sink into the middle of an overly soft chair and put pressure on your lower back is excellent for achieving the best classical guitar sitting position. The chair should be high enough so that the shape between your thigh and lower legs forms approximately a 90 degree angle.
While many classical guitar teachers will focus on a set of RULES that prescribe the BEST classical guitar sitting positions, the truth is that there's no such thing. If you watch different performers you will see that sitting positions differ in quite marked ways. There is, however, a set of general principles that apply and best practice as to how best to implement and achieve the aims of these principles. This's where I share these.
Principles for the correct classical guitar sitting position
1. Most important is that the guitarist feels comfortable. Note though that comfort is a relative concept as anybody who has developed a bad habit that they're trying to change will tell you. A good example is smoking or bad posture. While smoking or bad posture might feel comfortable in the short run in the long run there're many negative side effects for the body. When we talk about comfort in the context of classical guitar playing we're talking about a relaxed and straight back, an open chest that allows the musician to breathe freely and deeply and a sitting position that allows for free and easy arm movements.
2.The guitarist's back should be as comfortable as possible with the minimum amount of stress and curvature on it.
3. The guitarist's leg position should be such that it removes any stress from the lower back. The recommended distance is about shoulder width although some guitarists prefer a wider stance. Different guitar traditions have different traditions with respect to the position of the legs. Many Spanish guitarists, for example, sit with their legs together rather than apart as classical guitarists do. Ultimately, and at this stage, the important thing is to be very comfortable.
4. The guitarist's left hand should be able to reach the fretboard and get into the correct playing position without having to drop the left shoulder. In classical guitar playing, there're two ways of doing this.
One way is to raise the left leg by using a footstool under your left foot which raises the leg and therefore the guitar resting on it. Raise the footstool to a position that's comfortable for you. People of average height generally find the footstool most comfortable when it's about 6 inches high. This will differ depending on your height and the height of your chair.
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| Playing Guitar For Beginners - Sitting Position with a footstool |
Another way to raise the guitar is to use a guitar support which rests on the left leg which raises the guitar itself, rather than the leg on which the guitar rests as the footstool does. While the stronger tradition, particularly amongst musicians such as Tarrega and more recently Segovia and Pujol argues for using a footstool, many modern guitarists and teachers argue that the footstool brings with it its own tensions. Most prominent is the argument that raising the left leg results in a twist in the lower spine which results in fatigue for the player and causes stress on the players spine.
Below is a video which say about sitting positions. It will help you know more about sitting position
Playing Guitar For Beginners - Sitting Position
These guitarists argue that using a leg support for the guitar releases the tension in the back caused by using a footstool and is a more natural classical guitar sitting position, although Katrin uses her footstool when performing as she feels it gives her more control and better contact with the guitar.
