July 11, 2009

Playing Guitar – Tips To Avoid Newbie Burnout


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.

For right handed players, you will use your left hand to form the notes and chords. Bend the fingers on your left hand so they are pressing the strings down on the fret board.

The back of the neck of the guitar is curved in order for your hands to fit the around it comfortably. Your thumb bends over the top of the neck and this is a universal thumb position used when constructing chords.Even though the technique is used more often when playing guitar scales, many find it useful to press their thumb into the back of the guitar neck. The most important thing is to find out which position is easier and more comfortable for you.

When you are first playing guitar watch your positioning while playing. Your right bicep should be resting on the top part of the guitar body. Getting into bad guitar playing habits now may afflict your playing for years to come so try to get it right now. With your right arm resting on top of the guitar and your hand positioned over the sound hole use your right hand to “strum” the strings. The sound hole is where the sound of the guitar comes from.

Many people make use of a pick when playing guitar. Simply hold the pick between the thumb and forefinger of your right hand. Draw the pick across the strings you want to play. Its similar to plucking the string but you use a little bit more pressure than you normally would when strumming with your fingers.

Left-handed musicians do not need to worry. There are two options for playing guitar left handed. First, you can re-string a right-handed guitar to reverse the order of the strings. Second, you can buy a specially made left-handed guitar.

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

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Filed under Music by Adrian Fletcher

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