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  #16  
Old 12-28-2017, 02:02 PM
troggg troggg is offline
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The case for sitting in a chair is that then your feet are solidly on the ground which has its advantages -- or at least my vocal coach always stressed feeling a solid connection with the ground. Doesn't look quite as good as sitting on a stool, though.

The same vocal coach also had me hanging the guitar a bit to the side, so as not to interfere with my diaphragm when I'm breathing. I guess I should have mentioned I care about the vocals as much as the playing.

The other reason I've hesitated to strap the guitar up higher is that at least in my mind that sort of cuts off the blood flow to your strumming hand/arm.

That said, I'm about to experiment with hanging the guitar higher. I guess the all-time most popular strummer, young Bob Dylan, certainly had his about as high as you can have it.
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  #17  
Old 12-28-2017, 02:55 PM
troggg troggg is offline
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All right -- 3 inches higher does feel a lot more accurate! For fingerpicking, too, which for some reason I didn't mention last post. I still have to rely on dots as opposed to frets and inlays from time to time when I peek ... but this is easier 3 inches higher (yep; I struggle to read fine print; 3 inches closer definitely helps).

I can still hang the guitar a bit to the side as per my vocal's coach's recommendation.

So far I'd say that what I may have lost in the looks department (debatable as to how many people today care if I look like Jimmy Page or not) is more than made up for by a feeling of greater accuracy.

Thanks to everyone who busted me correctly!
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  #18  
Old 12-28-2017, 08:06 PM
tonyo tonyo is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by troggg View Post
Hi, when performing, I've cycled through standing, sitting on a chair, and sitting on a stool higher than a chair.

While I've made substantial progress as far as not looking at my hands too much while I'm playing, it seems a lot easier taking the occasional peek at my hands while I'm sitting. In other words, when I'm sitting, I can see a lot of the fretboard, but when I'm standing, I have to mostly rely on the dots on the side of the guitar and I feel less accurate.

Would anyone have any advice how to maintain accuracy when moving from sitting to standing position? Or if anyone else switches back and forth, what do you do differently or think about differently to accommodate both positions?

Thanks!
I've adjusted how I hold the guitar so that it's as close as possible to the same position whether I'm sitting, on a stool or standing. Yet they are still slightly different. Loosing a few pounds around the middle would help with the standing guitar position. And practicing standing up a lot more makes a big difference for me.

I get what you say about seeing the fretboard easier when sitting, the more I play the less I need to look at the fretboard. Again practice will standing helps me the most.
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  #19  
Old 01-18-2018, 02:28 AM
emannguild emannguild is offline
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Going through this myself at the moment...transitioning to more standing rather than sitting.

So do you use the strap while sitting as well...in the sense that your guitar is hanging from your neck rather then supported on your legs. Or do you strap the guitar while standing at the height of your position when supported on your legs.

I am asking because as a beginner learning from the internet I am still not sure I have nailed either position correctly for ergonomics and pain free playing.

Tks.
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  #20  
Old 01-19-2018, 09:54 AM
beninma beninma is offline
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My thing with the chair vs stool has to do with my height + length of arms and legs.

Most standard chairs (even adjustable office chairs at their highest height) my knees are higher than the base of the chair when I sit down. This makes it way harder to sit up nice and straight. Read any ergonomic guide and they'll tell you the chair needs to be high enough to keep your thighs parallel to the ground. I actually have a taller than normal chair at work now which is hugely helpful to have good posture working.

Having my thighs slope the wrong way raises the guitar higher than normal. Then my arms are long, so I have to hike my shoulder up artificially to keep my right hand in position near the strings. It pretty much totally doesn't work. Either you get a cramp in your shoulder or you relax your shoulder and it throws your playing way off as your elbow angle needs to constantly adjust to keep your picking hand in the same orientation.

With the 30" stool I can still put my feet on the ground if I want, but regardless my legs slope down out of the way, as long as I wear the strap now the guitar is in a comfortable position just like standing.

I've posted quite a few times that I thought something about my shoulder made it really hard to play large acoustic guitars. It turns out that is almost 100% from sitting in chairs too low for my height.

The annoying thing about understanding this is there's nothing I can really do when I go to lessons. I'm kind of stuck sitting in a chair that is not high enough for me there.

All this helps with avoiding GAS too. Most stores I've gone in don't want you putting a strap on the guitars and the chairs/stools are too low for me. Guitar center seems to have 24" stools, but the stool/standing thing only works if I have the strap.
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