# Posture when playing classical guitar?



## breadtruck (Jan 10, 2015)

Hey all. So I've been playing guitar for over 5 years now and have always played electric until a few weeks ago, when I bought a classical guitar after being interested in the instrument for some time (and I am in love with it ). The only problem I have is that I get slightly uncomfortable when playing.

When practicing with the elec guitars, when I'm sat down I've always been on my computer chair, with the guitar over my right leg and using a small footstool. Now using the classical, I tried doing the same but my right arm gets quite uncomfy and digs into the guitar body, so generally I find it easier to play in the classical position (makes sense...) switching the footstool over to the left foot. However, I seem to get backache when playing like this for a few minutes. I feel like I'm sitting up straight but I can't tell if it's me or the computer chair causing the uncomfort.

Has anyone else here bought a stool or seat specifically for guitar practice? I have an old Kinsman one but it's far too high up and I can't rest the guitar on my leg. Did you notice a clear difference from sitting on your normal furniture?

Also, has anyone else experienced backache when playing sat down? I feel like it might be because I've always had the back of the chair to lean against when playing, but when I sit in the classical position I can't use the back because I'm sat on the edge so my legs aren't in the way. Is this just something I will adjust to or do you think I need a better seating arrangement? 

Thanks.


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## Zhysick (Jan 10, 2015)

I have always found that the footstool is never high enough... try it higher. The guitar body must be in your chest so you can't not bow your torso over the guitar.

Also, I found much more comfortable when playing with the neck at 45º or maybe a little bit more. Never as "parallel to the floor" as I usually do with my electric guitar.

Maybe this is not for everyone, but it works for me so I think it worths a try.


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## Given To Fly (Jan 10, 2015)

It will take some adjustment and I recommend using the lowest chair you have/can find. The lower the chair, the higher the guitar will be in this sitting position.


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## RevChristoph (Jan 11, 2015)

I learned classical with the whole foot stool and everything. I have a bad back now so I can't really use it, so I found something similar to this (different brand A frame) and it works for me.

Miscellaneous - De Oro "Classica" Guitar Support - Guitar Salon International


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## chopeth (Jan 11, 2015)

Interesting support, I'm also interested in something similar for my electric guitars, I have severe back pain problems.


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## breadtruck (Jan 11, 2015)

Big thanks for the help guys. It felt a bit silly asking people "how do I sit" but I was going a bit crazy wondering why I suddenly lost the ability to be comfortable when sat still.

After looking at my setup and reading the advice here, I think I need to experiment with lowering the chair and hightening the footstool. My computer chair is fairly high and I guess it makes more sense to adjust that first rather than adjusting other things around it.

Failing all that then I'll definitely give that guitar support a try. I've never seen that before but it looks like it could help me out.


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## Zhysick (Jan 11, 2015)

RevChristoph said:


> I learned classical with the whole foot stool and everything. I have a bad back now so I can't really use it, so I found something similar to this (different brand A frame) and it works for me.
> 
> Miscellaneous - De Oro "Classica" Guitar Support - Guitar Salon International



That kind of support would be probably a lot better for the back, for sure... I just forgot that exists (maybe because I don't have back problems and never thought of changing my footstool. Well, normally I don't use the footstool, just lower my "computer chair" as it is height adjustable).

Chopeth. Look for the Steinberger one. The "square block" style steinberger headless guitars used to have something similar. I have seen some adaptations to other electric guitars. That one is not "as high" as the ones for classical guitar, but maybe is good enough or looking for it you will find something better. There are different Steinberger "leg rest" models. The latest could fit any superstrat guitar probably as it is for the ZT3?


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## Solodini (Jan 15, 2015)

Also, make sure you're not leaning to the side. I advise my students to sit with the guitar on their left leg. They often start doing so but with the neck pretty much parallel to the floor and struggle to reach the low frets and see what they should be doing. I advise them to point the neck up more. They do so, but lean themselves toward their picking side, maintaining the same problem of reaching and seeing, until I point out, right away, that they're leaning and to sit straight up, with the guitar angled up. 

So maybe you're leaning toward the neck or leaning the other way while pulling the neck up.


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## breadtruck (Jan 15, 2015)

Solodini said:


> Also, make sure you're not leaning to the side. I advise my students to sit with the guitar on their left leg. They often start doing so but with the neck pretty much parallel to the floor and struggle to reach the low frets and see what they should be doing. I advise them to point the neck up more. They do so, but lean themselves toward their picking side, maintaining the same problem of reaching and seeing, until I point out, right away, that they're leaning and to sit straight up, with the guitar angled up.
> 
> So maybe you're leaning toward the neck or leaning the other way while pulling the neck up.



Thanks, that is definitely something I'm going to be looking at the next time I play. My comp chair is at it's lowest setting at the moment and the footstool at the highest and it seems to be a step in the right direction. I've read that the 'ideal' angle is for the headstock to be at your eye level, which it almost is for me (headstock slightly lower). Maybe I'm guilty of leaning forward / sideways a bit to get a better look at the fretboard, and I just need to sit up straight.


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## Solodini (Jan 16, 2015)

Bear in mind that you could have the headstock at eye level but the rest of the guitar there, too. I find a 45 degree angle for the neck, as mentioned earlier in the thread is around the ideal angle.


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## breadtruck (Jan 16, 2015)

Thanks man  ... looking at your signature I remembered that I actually got an electronic copy of your book a long while ago and it helped me with some theory basics back when I knew nothing. So thanks for that too!


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## ElRay (Jan 16, 2015)

I have a Drum Throne that I use for playing. 

On my Steel-string Acoustic (or any guitar that has a jack/endpin in a suitable location), I use a Neck-Up guitar support. I've gotten to the point where I play everything in Classical position and I use a high-friction strap with any electric that's too narrow for the Neck-Up.

On a Classical/Acoustic without an endpin, I've been pretty happy with the Gitano Support. That's what my daughter uses, with a child-sized drum throne.

Ray


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## breadtruck (Jan 16, 2015)

ElRay said:


> I have a Drum Throne that I use for playing.
> 
> On my Steel-string Acoustic (or any guitar that has a jack/endpin in a suitable location), I use a Neck-Up guitar support. I've gotten to the point where I play everything in Classical position and I use a high-friction strap with any electric that's too narrow for the Neck-Up.
> 
> ...



Great suggestions! I'll look back at these if my sitting position is still uncomfortable after a few weeks.


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## RevChristoph (Jan 17, 2015)

ElRay said:


> I have a Drum Throne that I use for playing.
> 
> On a Classical/Acoustic without an endpin, I've been pretty happy with the Gitano Support. That's what my daughter uses, with a child-sized drum throne.
> 
> Ray



That's the one I use, and I highly recommend it.


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## Solodini (Jan 19, 2015)

breadtruck said:


> Thanks man  ... looking at your signature I remembered that I actually got an electronic copy of your book a long while ago and it helped me with some theory basics back when I knew nothing. So thanks for that too!


 
You're more than welcome. Good luck.


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## ElRay (Jan 19, 2015)

Zhysick said:


> I have always found that the footstool is never high enough... try it higher.



+1  This past week, we had to move my daughter's foot stool up a notch.



Given To Fly said:


> It will take some adjustment and I recommend using the lowest chair you have/can find. The lower the chair, the higher the guitar will be in this sitting position.



She's also between settings on the drum throne too. She wants to go one higher, but that makes the top of her leg slant away from her body, when causes the guitar to slide a bit. The next position down is a bit lower than she'd like, but th top of her legs slant slightly towards her body, which is a better position.

Ray


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## breadtruck (Jan 24, 2015)

Hey - just giving a quick update for anyone in the future that finds this thread. So after a lot of squirming around and adjusting my chair and footstool I got to a point where the guitar sat comfortably, but I was still quite uncomfortable (mostly getting backache). After looking online I saw that using a footstool doesn't do you any favours when you have lower back issues, so I found a UK seller of the Gitano guitar support that a few people recommended here and it arrived today. My first impression is a good one  - I just plonked it onto the guitar and already playing feels a lot comfier for my lower back; I haven't even had to adjust the position of it yet. The guitar feels quite secure and it looks as though this was the best option for me, so if like me, you felt uncomfortable no matter how you were sat, try a guitar support.


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## Given To Fly (Jan 28, 2015)

breadtruck said:


> Hey - just giving a quick update for anyone in the future that finds this thread. So after a lot of squirming around and adjusting my chair and footstool I got to a point where the guitar sat comfortably, but I was still quite uncomfortable (mostly getting backache). After looking online I saw that using a footstool doesn't do you any favours when you have lower back issues, so I found a UK seller of the Gitano guitar support that a few people recommended here and it arrived today. My first impression is a good one  - I just plonked it onto the guitar and already playing feels a lot comfier for my lower back; I haven't even had to adjust the position of it yet. The guitar feels quite secure and it looks as though this was the best option for me, so if like me, you felt uncomfortable no matter how you were sat, try a guitar support.



Congrats on the Gitano! Guitar supports are wonderful! With that said, they come with a price. Suction cups and many classical guitar finishes do not work well together. The finish will gradually soften, turn white-ish, and become "gummy." The only solution is to have a luthier permanently apply a Cling-On or similar type of clear plastic where you normally place the Gitano. I use an Ergoplay Troster which has 4 suction cups, 2 for the lower bout and 2 for the smaller lower bout, so both of my classical guitars have 2 pieces of clear plastic permanently applied to the side. I realize "gluing" things onto your guitar does not have a nice ring to it but its really not a big deal compared to what you gain from using a comfortable guitar support. This might be a non-issue for you but, in case the Gitano starts to wear the finish away, this is what works. The reason I felt the need to bring it up is simply because 4 out of 5 fellow classical guitarists using suction cup guitar supports had this problem. I feel its better to be prepared for a potential problem and know how to deal with it rather than suddenly realized the finish on your guitar has "gummified" and have no clue why because people failed to inform you of the possibility. It was also a nice break from talking about metal.  

Enjoy being comfortable!


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## breadtruck (Jan 28, 2015)

Given To Fly said:


> Congrats on the Gitano! Guitar supports are wonderful! With that said, they come with a price. Suction cups and many classical guitar finishes do not work well together. The finish will gradually soften, turn white-ish, and become "gummy." The only solution is to have a luthier permanently apply a Cling-On or similar type of clear plastic where you normally place the Gitano. I use an Ergoplay Troster which has 4 suction cups, 2 for the lower bout and 2 for the smaller lower bout, so both of my classical guitars have 2 pieces of clear plastic permanently applied to the side. I realize "gluing" things onto your guitar does not have a nice ring to it but its really not a big deal compared to what you gain from using a comfortable guitar support. This might be a non-issue for you but, in case the Gitano starts to wear the finish away, this is what works. The reason I felt the need to bring it up is simply because 4 out of 5 fellow classical guitarists using suction cup guitar supports had this problem. I feel its better to be prepared for a potential problem and know how to deal with it rather than suddenly realized the finish on your guitar has "gummified" and have no clue why because people failed to inform you of the possibility. It was also a nice break from talking about metal.
> 
> Enjoy being comfortable!




Well...thanks for telling me anyway. I can't say I'm surprised that the company don't mention it seeing as it would only deter people from buying. I suppose i'll have to cross that bridge when I get to it, but for now at least it's fine. When buying music gear it's very frustrating to me that it seems VERY RARE that the thing I buy just *works* for years to come.

Some real experiences:

*"Great new shiny amp!"* - a few months later there's some completely random issue that causes the volume to drop and crackle; the people who made the amp could not diagnose the issue and wanted me to pay a fortune to ship it to them for repair.

*"Great new interface so I can record guitar!"* - aside from getting great reviews on most websites, there was an unfixable problem in that model and most guitars will clip the input on the lowest setting.

*"Great new reverb pedal!"* - would not be detected my computer (to change presets) after trying everything and months of back and forth with useless tech support

Needless to say I don't have those products any more, just the regret of spending the money. I could go on....but hey a few years down the line I can add this to the list:

*"Great new Gitano support!"* - slowly removed the finish and eventually stopped sticking to the guitar; also house burned down lost my job and wife left me for a man named Gitano


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## Given To Fly (Jan 28, 2015)

Well, another reason I brought it up is due to the fact it is kind of a weird thing to happen to a guitar finish. The fact you found a comfortable playing position is about a million times more important than what could potentially happen to your guitars finish. Also, no women would leave their husband for a man named Gitano.


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## Sumsar (Jan 28, 2015)

Regardless if you use a stoll or an other support device there is somethings that you should keep in mind and play with to avoid problems:

1. The angle at your knees should be about 90 degrees - play with the height of the chair till this is right for your right leg (assuming right handed player).

2. Even tough you guitar is only resting on one leg, both your legs should support your body weight. Many players tend to kind of put their right leg down under the chair, not using it for support at all. (This can somehow be a big cause of back pains)

3. How do you position your left arm when playing? Is the elbow almost touching your body or is the arm at a 90 degree angle to the body? The first of those two are correct, i.e. your arm should be close to your body and as relaxed as it can be.

4. What is your head / neck doing? A big point in the "classical position" is that you should NOT! look at the fretboard, but rather be reading some music score positioned straight ahead of you. If you have to look at the fretboard do so by turning your head sideways and look down using your eyes instead of bending your head forward to see what is going on.

Hope that helps someone  Anyway is it what I remember from 6 years of classical guitar classes


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## breadtruck (Jan 29, 2015)

Sumsar said:


> Regardless if you use a stoll or an other support device there is somethings that you should keep in mind and play with to avoid problems:
> 
> 1. The angle at your knees should be about 90 degrees - play with the height of the chair till this is right for your right leg (assuming right handed player).
> 
> ...



Yeah, after various Googling and studying the positions of some classical players I have heard a few of these pointers before and have been adjusting my playing and making sure I stick to them.  I must admit I am guilty of sometimes slacking my right leg and not placing the foot firmly on the ground for support but now I tend to notice and correct myself.


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## Brodessa (Jan 29, 2015)

Solodini said:


> Also, make sure you're not leaning to the side. I advise my students to sit with the guitar on their left leg.
> .



Randomly reading through this thread.. Read this.
Eyes opened wide. O.O
Why did this never occur to me?
Immediately starts playing guitar with it sitting on left leg.
Huge improvement with picking, posture, and control.

Because I haven't been playing long at all, and I am self-taught (if you'd even say that) a lot of simple things totally blow past my head. 
Posture being one of them. I've always told myself, "Sit up straight." but hardly listen. Playing with the guitar on my left leg has helped with that greatly. THANKS.


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## Solodini (Jan 30, 2015)

Glad it helped.


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