How to Hold Your Guitar
Holding the guitar properly is the first step in forming nice clean chords and making beautiful music. This article explains how to do it.
The first step in holding the guitar properly is to make sure you're sitting correctly. Make sure you are sitting in a comfortable chair that has no arms rests. (Otherwise, how will you hold the guitar?) And make sure you are sitting with good posture. (Think of being suspended from a string on the ceiling through the center of your head.) Make sure every part of your body is very much relaxed. This is particularly important if you plan on singing as well as playing guitar.
Once you are sitting properly (as discussed above) the next step is to place the guitar on your lap. While there isn't too much of a science to this, there are some things to avoid. First you must avoid having the guitar too far in front on your lap. This is important because if the guitar is too far toward the front of your lap, your arm will not be able to get proper strumming technique. It is also important because it will force you to lean over too far to see what you are playing, causing you to have improper posture and improper breathing technique. Secondly, avoid having the guitar too close to you. Don't force the guitar against your stomach. Ideally, the base of the guitar should be placed about an inch or two in front of your stomach.
Once you have placed the guitar in the proper position on your lap, allow the top of the guitar to rest back gently so that you can have a better view of what you are playing.
The next step is to make sure your that strumming arm is in the correct position. Place the guitar so that it rests in the hinge of your right elbow. This will allow your strumming to hinge properly and originate from the elbow instead of the wrist.
The final step regarding how to properly hold your guitar is to ensure that your gripping hand or articulating hand is properly placed on the neck of the guitar. Importantly, you do not want your thumb to rest on the top of the guitar neck. Instead, ensure that the thumb of your gripping hand is on the back of the guitar neck. This will allow you to form the proper power needed to create crisp, clean bar chords, once you get to that stage. This will also allow you to get the ideal amount of curvature with the fingers that form chords and articulate notes.
Once you have done all the above steps, you are read to start playing guitar. Make sure your guitar is in tune (if you're not sure use the free tuner on this page), and move on to the next lesson when you're ready.
For the first month or so of practicing, you should go through all of the steps slowly and methodically listed above, in order to form the proper habits.
And you've done it! Congratulations, you've taken the first step in making beautiful music. To learn more about how to learn guitar, be sure to visit Fret Daddy's official website or Tab Chords Dot Net.
The first step in holding the guitar properly is to make sure you're sitting correctly. Make sure you are sitting in a comfortable chair that has no arms rests. (Otherwise, how will you hold the guitar?) And make sure you are sitting with good posture. (Think of being suspended from a string on the ceiling through the center of your head.) Make sure every part of your body is very much relaxed. This is particularly important if you plan on singing as well as playing guitar.
Once you are sitting properly (as discussed above) the next step is to place the guitar on your lap. While there isn't too much of a science to this, there are some things to avoid. First you must avoid having the guitar too far in front on your lap. This is important because if the guitar is too far toward the front of your lap, your arm will not be able to get proper strumming technique. It is also important because it will force you to lean over too far to see what you are playing, causing you to have improper posture and improper breathing technique. Secondly, avoid having the guitar too close to you. Don't force the guitar against your stomach. Ideally, the base of the guitar should be placed about an inch or two in front of your stomach.
Once you have placed the guitar in the proper position on your lap, allow the top of the guitar to rest back gently so that you can have a better view of what you are playing.
The next step is to make sure your that strumming arm is in the correct position. Place the guitar so that it rests in the hinge of your right elbow. This will allow your strumming to hinge properly and originate from the elbow instead of the wrist.
The final step regarding how to properly hold your guitar is to ensure that your gripping hand or articulating hand is properly placed on the neck of the guitar. Importantly, you do not want your thumb to rest on the top of the guitar neck. Instead, ensure that the thumb of your gripping hand is on the back of the guitar neck. This will allow you to form the proper power needed to create crisp, clean bar chords, once you get to that stage. This will also allow you to get the ideal amount of curvature with the fingers that form chords and articulate notes.
Once you have done all the above steps, you are read to start playing guitar. Make sure your guitar is in tune (if you're not sure use the free tuner on this page), and move on to the next lesson when you're ready.
For the first month or so of practicing, you should go through all of the steps slowly and methodically listed above, in order to form the proper habits.
And you've done it! Congratulations, you've taken the first step in making beautiful music. To learn more about how to learn guitar, be sure to visit Fret Daddy's official website or Tab Chords Dot Net.