The first lesson for a beginner is how to hold an acoustic guitar with the proper posture. This is one of the most overlooked aspects of learning guitar. This is what determines how well and effectively you can practice and progress on an acoustic guitar.
In this article, I will take you through a few necessary salient points that would help you achieve a perfect posture for playing your instrument.
But, let me clear up something first.
Sitting vs Standing while playing
You can play in both sitting or standing position while playing an acoustic guitar. Although an acoustic guitar is typically played in seated position, if the situation, such as playing on a stage in front of an audience, demands for it you might need to play in a standing position,
In this article I will explain the sitting position, as that is the most common way of playing an acoustic guitar.
Sitting position and Posture
Sitting Position
A proper sitting position will allow you to sit comfortably and move your hands in a natural way. To achieve this, the first thing you should check is the height of your chair, or whatever you are sitting on.
You need to adjust the height of the chair in accordance with your height. With a proper chair height, when you rest your feet on the floor or ground, your knees should bend at a right angle, so that your thighs are parallel to the ground.
Any higher chair position will make the guitar slip on your leg and any lower chair position will allow you to have the appropriate angle between your body and the guitar.
Body Posture
After securing a stable and comfortable sitting position, now you should proceed to fix your posture. Comfort and natural playability are the goals here.
You should sit with a straight back or the neutral pelvic position. As many of us are used to sitting in front of a computer or on a chair for an extended period of time, we accumulate bad sitting habits without even knowing.
Your back should not be rounded forward, as it often is the case for someone who has to sit for longer periods on a chair. Excessive lower back arch should also be avoided.
If you have fixed your back position, let’s move on to the shoulders. When playing or practicing something that your body is not familiar with, your body inadvertently tries to compensate for the lack of control and stability. As a result, many muscle groups get tensed and this restricts your mobility. Your shoulders are prone to this the most.
So, you should focus on your shoulders from time to time during playing and make sure they are not tense. If you notice your shoulders are tensing up, take a deep breath and lower your shoulders down.
Guitar Position
On Right Leg
This is the most common acoustic guitar position. To achieve stability in this position, make sure your guitar has three points of contact with your body.
The first point of contact is between the waist of the guitar and your right leg. Waist is the narrow part of the body of the guitar.
The second point of contact is between your body and the back of the guitar (which is the widest part of the guitar body).
And the third one is between your elbow and the side of the guitar that is nearest to you. Essentially, this is the point where your strumming hand rests on the guitar.
I should clarify that the body of the guitar will not be parallel to your body, as in this position you will not have a clear view of all the strings. The guitar should lean a bit towards your body so that you can see all the strings. So, in short the first contact point should be a bit, not too much, further from your body than the second point is and when viewed from the side, your body, right leg and back of the guitar will form a triangle.
On Left Leg
This is the proper position for classical guitar, but you can use it for any type of guitar as it does have some benefits to it.
Again, there are three points of contact, they are the same as the right-leg version except for one. This time the waist of the guitar will rest on your left leg. And the triangle that we talked about earlier will be formed by your body, “left leg” and the back of the guitar.
In addition to these three points you can also support the guitar with your right leg by resting the end of the body of the guitar on the inner thigh of your right leg.
Hand Position
A relaxed hand is the key here. This should be your priority from the get-go, along with, of course, a relaxed overall posture.
Right Hand
If you are a right-handed player, this is the hand that plucks or strums the strings. To have a proper right hand position, your elbow should rest on the guitar and your right hand palm should be right on the strings. This posture will not be possible if the guitar size is disproportionate to your hand size. So, if possible, try to acquire a guitar that is suitable for your hand and body size.
You can have a slight bend at your wrist, although the amount of bend will, in general, depend on how to hold a pick or which picking style you utilize.
Take a note that your wrist is the main player here. So, your wrist should be as relaxed as possible regardless of what you are playing. And your arm will help out with moving the wrist up or down, if needed, and that’s all.
Left Hand
For right-handed guitarists, the left hand is the fretting hand. As I mentioned before, a relaxed hand is the key.
Don’t grab the neck of the guitar. Your thumb should just be placed on the back of the neck, not over the neck. This thumb placement allows the other fingers to remain perpendicular to the fretboard. You can keep the thumb right behind your second left hand finger if possible, as this would help your left hand movements.
You need to keep an eye on your left elbow as well. As you proceed to play on the lower frets, you can move your elbow away from your body and to play on the higher frets, you can move your elbow closer to your body. This will make sure that your whole left hand works as one unit.
Final Words
I hope you get the idea on how to hold an acoustic guitar. Every time you sit for your practice sessions, the first thing you should check is your body and guitar positions. I would advise you to be mindful of your posture during playing as well. And over time your body will get used to it and maintaining a proper posture will be automated. Until that happens, stay diligent and focused on fixing your posture.
