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Better Posture for Easier Guitar Playing!

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It’s easy to play guitar, but bad posture can make it a lot harder!

Most of the problems actually result from the focus we put into learning how to play guitar. We lose track of our body! We concentrate on getting our fingers on the right strings in the sweet spot with enough pressure and the rest of our body is forgotten! This can result in some odd positions. Once during a home recording project (another overly encompassing hobby!) long hours of attention focused on my work resulted in bad posture that did damage to my right shoulder that took months of physical therapy to put right!

Looking at the guitar is a common cause too. To see the strings we tilt the bottom out away from our body and lean over to look down on it. Now your left wrist is twisted and straining and your body is wrapped around the guitar without even noticing! In this picture you can see a very dedicated guitar student contorting her body around the guitar.
Good posture easy guitar

 

 

 

 

 

One solution is simply to check your position every now and then. Set an alarm on your phone if you tend to get particularly focused. I personally find pain in my back, neck or wrist to be a good cue! When practicing becomes uncomfortable, I adjust my posture. Also, if I repeatedly have trouble playing a difficult bit, that’s when I know  need to sit up and reposition my guitar.

Here’s another student sitting up and ready to shred!!!

IMG_3259Back straight, feet firmly on the ground, both arms relaxed and in position, steely gaze focused on his musical goals! He can play anything he tries most comfortably.

 

 

 

 

Good posture makes playing guitar easier!

If you have other questions, check out How To Play Guitar: The Ultimate Beginners Guide!

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Want to play faster? Move Less!

Corpus Christi Bay by Robert Earl Keene, How To Play

How To Not Watch Your Right Hand While You Play; Finger Tip Anchor Points.

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So you want to play guitar but you have a tough time watching your left hand, right hand, and the tab all at the same time. “It’s too hard to keep track of everything”, you scream to the heavens in frustration. You might think that if you practice enough and endure the frustration that you’ll eventually be able to play without looking at your hands, and you might, but there’s a trick.

Most guitar players touch the guitar with the pinky of their right hand. Maybe both pinky and ring finger, but the important thing is the touch, or anchor. It might move; lord knows all of us get wrapped up in a song and strum from our shoulder down to our knees from time to time, but we always come back to the anchor.

Your fingers were made to measure things. Every moment you are touch typing, finding keys in your pocket, picking up your drink without looking, and a hundred other little actions that you do by feel without looking at your hand.

For example, if you’re reading this on your computer, where is your mouse? You never look at it because once your hand is on it your fingers can measure the buttons and the subtle distances required to work the computer. Likewise, you don’t have to look to unlock your cell phone. Once it’s in it’s usual place in your hand, your fingers can find everything else. (This is no reason to text while you drive, that kills people. We’re talking about guitar!)

So back to The Anchor. On acoustic I alternate between the high E string and the edge of my pick guard, depending on whether I need the High E string to ring. I didn’t plan this, btw, I sat down in the middle of writing this blog and watched right hand while I played to see what it did because I hadn’t done that in years. On electric guitar, I use the edge of one of the pick ups. On my Strat, my pinky usually rest on the screw of the middle pick up.

It doesn’t matter exactly where your anchor point is as long as it feels comfortable to you. Let go of it when you need to and go back when you need to strum and go back to it when you need more accuracy. Find your anchor point and stop staring at your right hand!