by JayTyler

Playing guitar for extended periods of time is really stressful for your back if you don’t have good posture. Keeping the following key points in mind should help you maintain a good posture and hold your guitar correctly. When you hold your guitar, the back of the instrument should rest against your stomach. For people who use the right hand for playing guitar, the neck of the guitar will point to their left. The guitar body should rest on your right thigh. Your left hand should go around the guitar’s neck while your right arm goes around the body so your hand is near the strings. If it doesn’t feel right, try to shift your body around until you feel comfortable and relaxed.

If you are right handed, you use your left hand to press the strings and construct chords while playing guitar. Your left hand fingers are bent and pressed down on the strings and fret board.

The guitar neck’s back is curved, so that your hand will naturally conform with the shape of its neck. Your thumb should arch over the top of the neck when you hold it properly. From there, your thumb is in position for constructing chords.When you are constructing chords it is ok to press your thumb into the back of the guitar neck, albeit this is more in common with playing guitar scales. You should try both thumb positions and then you will be able to use the one that is most comfortable for you.

Strum the strings with your right hand to make sounds. Position your right arm over the body of the guitar. Your right bicep should rest on the top of the guitar. Position your right hand in front of the guitar’s sound hole. When playing guitar, the sound comes out of the sound hole.

Many people chose to play guitar with a pick. In order to use a pick it should be held between the forefinger and thumb of your dominant hand. Then the pick is pulled across the strings in order to “strum”. It is similar to plucking, but more pressure is necessary then you would use with just your fingers.

If you are left handed that’s not a problem. You have two ways for playing guitar. The first way is to get a right-handed guitar restrung so that the strings are in reverse order. You other option is purchasing a left-handed guitar.

When playing guitar, holding the instrument properly as well as maintaining a good posture permits you to play longer, which will be crucial to achieving the correct tone. Get into the habit of starting properly and it will serve you well.

About the Author:
Playing the Guitar incorrectly can not only do damage to the instrument, but can cause you pain in the neck, shoulder and arms just to name a few places. Click Here to find out how to avoid damaging your acoustic guitar as well as yourself with improper posture.

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Filed under: Acoustic Guitar

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