Which knee (right handed players)

[lightmage81]

left knee for calssical
right knee otherwise

[TimB]

Tried right knee no footrest this am, doesn't work for me anymore.

-=Tim=-

[cotten]

Left knee for me, even when standing. No, I don't bend over, but I do adjust my strap so that I still have the guitar in that Left Knee position.

I've taught lots of guitar beginners, and have found that the right knee position usually puts the wrist behind the guitar's neck, making it difficult for the fingers to come in perpendicular to the strings. Thus, all they get is "thuds" when they are trying for clear, ringing tones.

Putting the guitar on the left knee and elevating its neck a bit brings the wrist under the neck, which gives a much more "natural" hand position.

This works wonders for beginners, and I think its actually better for more advanced guitarists, since it allows for maximum speed and flexibility. The only draw back I've noticed is that it makes fretting with the thumb more difficult, especially for those with shorter fingers.

cotten

[Guitar Dad]

Left knee, with left leg elevated one notch on foot stool. I have the guitar angled upward so that the button for the low E string is ~eye level

The key benefit is that you barely need to hold onto the guitar in this position. Thus, your fingers, hands, wrists, arms, shoulders, etc. are all free from this potential source of tension, and are free to move about with greater ease, especially the left hand. Plus, you don't need to reach as far away from your body to reach the first few frets.

I assume this position when I want to practice, or when I'm subjecting myself to my own playing via recording. If I just pick up a guitar to mess around with a few licks, I'll rest it on my right knee, but I'll make a lot of mistakes.

[rhinollc]

I'm left-handed.
Play guitar right-handed.
Rest it on my right knee.
Perhaps this is why I can't play worth a spit.

[solarbean]

As Dad said...

Originally posted by Guitar Dad
The key benefit is that you barely need to hold onto the guitar in this position.

I usually pick and play sitting. I like the left knee because it is easy to cradle the guitar with my body, chest, and upper arms and gives my hands more freedom.

[Fred Church]

With the guitar on my right knee I've always had a problem of stabilizing the guitar. It seems the guitar would move sideways on me when I change barre chords, causing me to miss the strings. I've watched Tommy Emmanuel closely to see how he makes that guitar seem glued in place on his right leg. He doesn't seem to be doing anything unusual. If you ever get the chance to watch him play, pay attention to how stock still he keeps the neck even as his fingers are flying all over it.

[815C]

I use both. If I'm going to practicing for an hour or more, I'll use the left knee with my foot on a classical guitar foot rest. I had some trouble with my neck (the thing between my head and shoulders - not the guitar neck) a couple years ago and I've found that having good posture while playing the guitar will prevent it from flaring up again.

[TXblues]

Right handed, right leg. I also use my thumb to fret the 6th string.... this really drives classical players nuts!

[Guitar Dad]

Originally posted by Fred Church
With the guitar on my right knee I've always had a problem of stabilizing the guitar. It seems the guitar would move sideways on me when I change barre chords, causing me to miss the strings. I've watched Tommy Emmanuel closely to see how he makes that guitar seem glued in place on his right leg. He doesn't seem to be doing anything unusual. If you ever get the chance to watch him play, pay attention to how stock still he keeps the neck even as his fingers are flying all over it.

Great points. Yet if you watch Eric Clapton, his guitar pivots on his right leg, while his left is hand is, well, Clapton's left hand. I guess if you can play as well as he, you could be dangling upside down and still play the solo to Layla at 120 bpm. For the rest of us, a quiet guitar, IMHO, works best.

I also fret with my left thumb. That's the only way I can quickly grab an F chord, for example.

[Alex 314CELTD]

I play right handed on my right knee...I'll have to try that next time I need to fingerpick, though...