How To Hold Acoustic Guitar Correctly

Learning how to hold an acoustic guitar properly will be one of the most important things for ensuring that you learn with good technique.

Unfortunately, and I am one of them, a lot of guitarists start out learning the instrument without learning some crucial techniques – like holding the guitar and left and right hand positioning.

This is the folly of being ?self-taught? – and it’s understandable – I mean who would even think about the finer points of holding a guitar – surely I can just hold it any which way? it’s my fingers that are the only important thing right?

How To Hold A Guitar Pick

To hold your guitar properly you need to set your body in the right position and have the guitar in the right position. There are a few different things to keep in mind and I?ll outline them below.

This post will only look at holding the guitar sitting down. This is because you should be sitting when you are first learning the guitar, it makes it easier to learn. If you start playing on stage or in a group you might want to learn to play standing up – but this comes later.

Firstly you need to get a seat or stool with no arm rests on it. They will get in the way of the guitar.

How To Hold A Guitar: 12 Steps (with Pictures)

Playing on a couch was another bad habit that I got into – trust me it’s not good for your technique so find yourself a comfortable but not too soft seat.

You can get guitar stools from a music store and they are probably ideal. They?ll be at the ideal height and don?t have arms and aren’t too slouchy. But they can also be pricey for what they are. So if you?ve got the cash to spend then you could go this way – or you could find something else suitable that you already have or for cheaper.

I know what you?re thinking – ?Hang on – you haven’t even mentioned a guitar yet! How is sitting going to help me??

How To Hold A Guitar Correctly (2019)

Whilst it may seem like a small thing, the chair you sit in and how you sit in it, is an important foundation for how you hold the guitar.

If you are sitting on a chair with a back on it don?t use the back to lean on. I know I know – no couches, no backs! But trust me here. And you’ll get used to it and it will help your technique down the road and it’s a great habit to form now.

This can be difficult to keep up for too long for a lot of people who, like me, may not be used to sitting like this. But, like I?ve said in several other posts – it is much better to practice properly for 10 minutes than it is to practice poorly for an hour.

How To Play The Classical Guitar：the Basic Position

So build up your time slowly and you’ll get used to it. You want to build up your time slowly for many other reasons too. I always recommend that beginners, and guitarists just getting back into guitar, don?t spend more than 15 minutes per day to begin with. If you want to be spending longer than that then build up the time slowly – learn more about practicing techniques like this here.

O.k. so now that you’re sitting, with your back straight on an appropriate seat which leg do I place the guitar on (there is a guitar involved in this!)

The easiest way to learn guitar is with your guitar on your left leg (if you are right handed or right leg if you are left handed). The reason for this is that it’s just easier to do it this way.

How To Play Guitar Standing Up With An Acoustic Guitar

One of the big advantages is that the lower bout of the guitar can rest on your right leg which helps to keep it stable.

Whether you are playing on your right or left leg, your guitar should be tight into your body. it’s harder to play if you are playing away from your body.

What I mean by this is, that if you angle the guitar so that the headstock is higher up than the body of the guitar, then you it will be easier to play with good technique. This is opposed to being parallel to the floor.

How To Hold A Guitar The Right Way

One important reason for holding the guitar correctly is that you shouldn’t have to do much holding with your fretting hand (left hand for right-handers and right hand for left-handers).

If you have to hold the neck in position with your fretting hand, then you aren’t going to have your fretting hand in the best position.

So holding the guitar and sitting as described in the first few steps, ?will ensure that you aren’t having to hold the guitar in position with your fretting hand.

Differences Between A Left And Right Handed Guitar

But you still need to do some holding – even though your body position and guitar position now should be pretty stable.

To hold the guitar simply tuck it under your elbow. If you are set up properly otherwise, this should be all you need to keep the guitar stable and in position.

This will be crucial for the proper fretting technique with your fretting hand. Learn more about the proper fretting technique at the link below.

Ways To Use Good Guitar Posture

Thanks for reading and I hope this post has helped you to learn the proper way to hold an acoustic guitar to ensure the best technique.

If you disagree with any of the tips here or have anything that I?ve missed please join in the conversation by leaving a comment in the comments section below. ?Any other comments or questions also very welcome, as always.

Notes On Guitar Diagram – Learn The Fretboard Techniques Left Hand Position on Guitar: How to Use Your Fretting Hand The Best Way to Learn Guitar for Aspiring Guitarist Learning Reggae Made Easy How to Play G7 Guitar Chord?

How To Properly Hold A Classical Guitar

Nate is just your average (above average) guitar player. He's no Joe Satriani, Jimi Hendrix or Jimmy Page - wait this site is about acoustic guitars (sorry) He's no Django Reinhardt, Chet Atkins, or Michael Hedges, wait? who!? He's no Robert Johnson, Eric Clapton or Ben Harper - more familiar? Anyway you get the point :-)

Is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc or its affiliates.How to Hold a Guitar It sounds bloody obvious, but knowing how to hold a guitar properly is the most important beginner step before you even think about working on your chords and picking/strumming.

This lesson is for both electric and acoustic guitars - the main difference is the size of the body (acoustic guitars tend to be bulkier), but the holding position remains the same for both types.

Tips For Playing Acoustic Guitar Standing Up

If there's one piece of advice I could give you, to remember every single time you pick up the guitar... don't hunch!

So many guitarists get into the habit of hunching over their guitar. Annoys the hell out of me. Hunching will inevitably affect your posture and can lead to back problems later in life.

The guitar is resting on his right leg because he strums with his right hand (he is right handed, in other words!)

How To Hold The Guitar

The guy's back is straight and his left arm (the fret hand arm) is at a right angle meaning minimal strain on the wrist when reaching around to press the strings.

Her left arm is at a more acute angle, but this is fine as she can reach around the fretboard comfortably and touch all the strings. The important thing is that your fret hand arm isn't at more than a 90 degree right angle as this will cause unnecessary strain on your wrist.

The elbow of her strumming (right) arm is positioned at the top corner of the guitar, providing a smooth pivot point across the sound hole (or first pickup).

Classical Guitar Technique

Eventually, you won't need to look at the fretboard very often, but it's fine to tilt your guitar in this way if you need to.

Again, the legs are positioned in such a way that the guitar body sits at chest height (or just below), with minimal hunching.

If you have a strap for your guitar you should practice playing standing up regularly, because you'll find it a completely different playing experience. If you plan on playing shows/gigs, you'll most likely want to be able to stand up and move around a bit.

Lesson: Sitting And Guitar Position For Classical Guitar

This cool dude has tilted the neck up for easier access to the fretboard, which is fine, because it doesn't affect anything else, such as the elbow position.

It's subtle, but you'll also noticed his left leg is slightly bent for support. If he wants to lean over and get a better view of the fretboard, a lot of the weight will go into his partially lunged leg, rather than having to hunch over.

Secondly, her fret hand arm is at an obtuse angle (more than a 90 degree right angle) meaning she may cause strain on her wrist trying to reach around to press the strings.

How To Hold A Guitar Correctly?

Her strumming/picking arm is

Posted by zodaries14

Tweet