Hi All,
I read somewhere that if you learn guitar with it sitting on your left knee instead of right,it makes the transition to playing standing up easier as guitar is in roughly same position.Has anyone tried this or heard of it?I notice in some guitar forums I lurk in that people have had problems playing standing up after learning sitting down.Thanks for any help.Cheers Bruce
Putting the guitar on the left knee is done to raise the peghead closer to the shoulder - that puts your fretting fingers parallel to the frets, giving you maximum reach. It doesn't really smooth the transition to playing in standing position by itself, but in general it puts the guitar in a better technical position. Many beginners playing in 'casual' position (guitar on the same knee as the strumming hand) tend to have the neck parallel to the floor, or worse, angling down - and that limits the reach of your fingers.
But there's nothing magical about which knee you use. If you put the guitar's waist on your left knee without adjusting the neck angle relative to your body, you might end up extending the fretting arm, making it more difficult to play.
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I'll just add that if your guitar is in Noteboat's 'casual' position then you're putting a lot of strain on the tendons at the wrist as it's constantly bent a long way round the neck to reach the strings; and the end result of that is going to be RSI, carpal tunnel problems, tendonitis and several other constantly painful conditions that you don't want to find out about.
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true words. neck angle (tilt) is very important.
I have been standing and playing almost exclusively for the last five months (band rehearsal). after years and years of sitting it feels good to stand and play. there were adjustments from sitting to standing. mainly being able to see the fret board from above. sitting I would crouch over the top of the guitar; unconsciously. makes sense, as I was learning licks and craned my neck to keep an eye on finger placements. once I stood up all the neck craning learning was lost.
standing, I have the peg head is angling up. my left hand has no problem hitting the frets. the bottom end of the guitar sometimes is jammed into my right leg thigh when I am really into a solo. the tuners are practically in my ear.
it is odd, when I play rhythm, especially reggae, my guitar is off to the side of my right leg.
come to think of it, my guitar moves around a bit depending on what I am playing and my mood (read rock star moves :roll: )
Jimmy Page looked awesome playing his Les Paul down around his knees. never could understand how he could manage so awesomely well.
Hi All,
Thanks for your comments.That makes it clearer.Cheers Bruce
