Quote:
Originally Posted by rstaight
On a guitar this pushes the neck forward rotating the bout back. The exact position described in the video.
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Just to point out there is a danger there in straightening the elbow.
I.e. the rotation is fine if the hand positions are maintained. If the shoulders don't also rotate, then the left arm moves forward with the neck. This can feel very comfortable to begin with, as the neck falls into the palm of the hand easily, thumb coming over the top.
But that's bad for any left-hand position outside of a few basic cowboy chords. It can also strain the left arm unnecessarily as the shoulder has more weight to support (because the elbow moves forward).
I.e., an ideal left arm position is for the upper arm to hang vertically. The muscles then only have to hold up the forearm. The elbow shouldn't be tight against the body, it can be a little out to the side, but the upper arm and shoulder should feel fully relaxed.
Having said all that, with guitar on the right thigh (legs uncrossed) access to the upper frets naturally requires the neck to move forward a little anyway. The best guide is still to have the left arm feeling relaxed when it's at right angles to the neck when barring around fret 5.
I totally agree with Silly Moustache about the chair and the horizontal thigh - at least for a dreadnought (like the OP's). I have a narrow-wasted guitar (Guild F30), and need to either cross my legs (my preference) or raise the right leg on a footstool - or just use a lower chair! - to get my guitar at a good height. A strap is a good alternative - and I do have one on the guitar for playing standing, but I can't get used to it when playing seated: the guitar doesn't feel firmly situated enough unless I have it on my leg.