missclarktree
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Post by missclarktree on Aug 12, 2014 19:38:52 GMT
I keep having a go at it from time to time, but can't get the hang of it at all.
Why doesn't the guitar fall off? Not everyone's arms are long enough to trap the lower bout inside their elbows, but I've seen plenty of short-armed people whose guitars mysteriously remain on their leg, defying gravity.
Some people seem to tuck it under their arm somehow, but this causes the neck to swing forwards away from the body. And yet some players manage to keep the neck quite close. Is it held in place by invisible straps?
A lot of players let the neck point downwards, which wouldn't do for me at all.
Does anyone remember struggling with playing position when they first started?
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Post by vikingblues on Aug 13, 2014 7:14:28 GMT
I use the guitar strap to keep the guitar balanced when I'm playing sitting down. I feel that my fingers / hands / arms have enough to do in playing the damn thing without them having to fight to keep it in the right place as well! That neck pointing downwards style doesn't half make things too tricky for me. Having said that I think I play while standing more than I do when seated, unless I'm doing an on-line lesson. Or unless I'm feeling particularly low on energy. Sorry - that doesn't really answer your question. Mark
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brianr2
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Post by brianr2 on Aug 13, 2014 7:58:42 GMT
I have given up on right leg. With stubby fingers and weak hands, trial and error (I have no background in classical guitar) has shown that left leg works much the best for me.
Brian
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Post by fatfingerjohn on Aug 13, 2014 8:43:34 GMT
Hi,
I started with guitar on left leg, simply because that seemed OK to me and I'd seen classical guitarist using left; not that I played any classical. Stayed that way for 30 years. Was finding that I was turning my head a bit much when I couldn't remember words and had to have them in front of me and still need to look at finger position occasionally. Tried right leg and after a bit of perseverance I now do right leg 95% of time. I like the fact that my left hand is more in front of me.
I've never had a problem with balancing the guitar on either leg; it rests in the crook of my right elbow and I put a tiny bit of backward pull on it with my right forearm which actually helps the fretting as you are fractionally pulling the guitar neck towards your fingers. If playing for a while I use a footstool under right leg which helps my back! Only time I go back to left leg is if I'm playing capo'd up the neck (rare these days)and then I find myself too tucked up with it on right leg. I can imagine if you do a lot of work up the neck (which I don't) then left leg may be much more comfortable; and also if you do a lot of barre chords (again, not me) then having the neck raised in the classical position makes the angle much easier for me.
I think everyone will be different and its just a case of what's right for you.
John
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missclarktree
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Post by missclarktree on Aug 13, 2014 17:58:43 GMT
Perhaps it's just hard to change when you've been used to one position. I've always used the classical position but it might be better to use the right leg for flamenco, where the right hand has to be able to move between about three positions. Last night I tried using a very low chair with my right leg high up, which seemed to work a bit better, but the guitar was still moving about a bit. Even my classical position is not ideal. When I had lessons in about 1986-7 I was taught to bend my wrist a lot more than is advised today, and I'm trying to get it straighter to prevent carpel tunnel problems.
On the right leg, my arms aren't long enough to let it rest in the crook of my elbow. It pushes the whole thing too far to the left. The traditional high-up flamenco position with the lower bout on the right leg is also difficult, as the guitar is so high that I can hardly see over the top.
Not to worry, I'll just add 5 minutes of position experimentation to the growing list of daily technical exercises and see if something falls into place.
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walkingdecay
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Post by walkingdecay on Aug 13, 2014 20:46:09 GMT
Right leg and horizontal is just more comfortable for me. Put the guitar on the left leg and it just feels unbalanced and as if it's trying to run away from me.
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Post by creamburmese on Aug 14, 2014 2:40:49 GMT
I wondered about his because I play in classical position. At guitar camp I noticed Muriel Anderson was playing a classical on her right leg with the neck still up. She achieved this using a guitar support - a " neck up" I think she used.
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Post by vikingblues on Aug 14, 2014 6:24:29 GMT
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missclarktree
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Post by missclarktree on Aug 14, 2014 17:42:43 GMT
I've got one of those, thanks to the amazing Friday forum giveaway. When used with a chair with shortened legs to achieve a horizontal leg, it works very well. I like being able to have both feet on the ground, but have only used it on the left knee.
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missclarktree
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Post by missclarktree on Aug 14, 2014 17:45:32 GMT
I wondered about his because I play in classical position. At guitar camp I noticed Muriel Anderson was playing a classical on her right leg with the neck still up. She achieved this using a guitar support - a " neck up" I think she used. I wonder if this is the same type of support as mentioned above? I'll see if I can find any videos of her using it. I've seen her on one of the guitar tuition sites, the name of which is just on the verge of returning to my memory. Will have a look on youtube as well - thanks.
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missclarktree
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Post by missclarktree on Aug 14, 2014 18:36:48 GMT
Most of her videos don't show the support, but you can tell the guitar is in the position I'd like to achieve.
On this one it is visible, and it does look like the A-frame type. I never thought of trying it on the right leg! Thanks vikingblues and creamburmese.
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Post by creamburmese on Aug 18, 2014 17:20:29 GMT
I'm actually wondering about getting a different version of this support - I have the A-frame right now, but as I tilt the guitar to see where I"m putting my fingers (I know, BAD - but my guitar teacher hasn't seen fit to correct that, though he isn't shy about correcting all sorts of other stuff ) , the A-frame kind of gradually slides off my knee or the suction cups gradually peel off the guitar, with predictable results. And I like to be able to see what my hands are doing. Hence I use the footstool. However if I could find one that you could rotate the guitar a bit while it stayed flat on my knee I might use it.... anyone got any ideas?
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