Proper Guitar-Holding Technique

In this post, we’ll be looking at the proper way to hold the guitar. This is something that a fair amount of musicians struggle with. It also remains an area many musicians and guitarists rarely pay any consideration to. Ultimately, the end up doing it incorrectly and it becomes a part of their guitar-play, and a bad habit.

Holding the guitar in an improper manner has several disadvantages. An improper technique will most certainly hamper your progress, and will almost always prevent you from becoming a good guitar player. In addition, it will also cause problems as far as hitting particular chords and notes are concerned, as it causes problems with speed and dexterity.

It will also prevent you from being relaxed and comfortable during jamming, gigs or performances. This is essential, as being relaxed during playing allows you to continue playing for hours on end without getting tired or overly-fatigued.

But perhaps most importantly, an improper guitar-holding technique will tire you quickly, and cause stress-related injuries (such as Repetitive Strain Injury, or RSI) in the long run as well. This has happened to a lot of people that I personally know; they’re unaware that they’re holding the guitar incorrectly, and end up developing injuries like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. These injuries are extremely painful, and can only be fixed by surgery. For instance here is a post on ErgonomicGuitar about a guitarist's battle with RSI.

Prevention, as they say, is always better than cure!

For starters, check the way that you’re holding the guitar. It would be a good idea to sit down on a flat chair, with your legs in a comfortable 90-degree position, and place your guitar in your lap with the strings facing away from you. The chair (or your seating area for that matter) is essential as an improper seating position, or one in which you have to slump over the guitar will cause back problems, apart from making it a harder task to be able to play the guitar. I personally recommend hitting your local guitar shop and investing in a chair, as it is something that will determine whether you’re able to practice the guitar in a comfortable position or not.

Use the grooves in the lower-side of the guitar body in order to comfortable place it on your lap; the curve should comfortable fit on the leg. Right-handed guitarists would want to place the guitar on their right leg.

You might also want to tilt the guitar back a bit in order to be able to see your hand on the fretboard. Some guitarists tilt it too much, which is inadvisable. Anywhere between 10-30 degrees would be fine. In addition, the head of the guitar should always be higher than the body. Having the head below the body is another mistake that many beginner and seasoned guitarists seem to make. It only makes the guitar harder to play, and forces you to unnaturally bend your wrists in order to access the frets with your finger. Remember to keep your wrists as straight as possible, otherwise you’re at risk of strain-related injuries.

The way you hold a pick also has a significant impact on how well you play. Most guitarists hold the pick between their thumb and first finger, while others might use two fingers and the thumb, or the thumb with the second finger. Some people anchor the palm of their hands on the bridge, others use their little finger for the same purpose. While none of these are incorrect, it is important to choose a pick-holding technique in which you feel the most relaxed and comfortable. I personally discourage guitarists from anchoring their picking hand in one place, it is better to let it move about freely over the strings. Avoid any picking position which might cause excessive tension in any single part of your body.

As far as your fretting hand is concerned, the same applies: avoid playing in a way which causes unnecessary tension. Avoid gripping the neck very tightly, as it will make it much easier to move your fretting hand over the neck, with the use of any unnecessary muscular tension. As with you picking hand, avoid bending your wrists too much when it comes to your fretting hand; in fact, keep your wrists as straight as possible. Ideally, you would want to fret using the least amount of force, and have as les of the hand come into contact with the neck as possible. Doing so would reduce the amount of friction, hence reducing strain and giving you a lot of freedom and ease to move your hand quickly from one fret to the other.  

Using your guitar while standing up requires you to do pretty much the same. One different is that you’ll be required to use it with a strap, which means that guitar will be straight against your body and you won’t be able to lean it. It is still important to keep the guitar head above the body, and to adjust the strap so that the guitar remains in a comfortable playing position – it shouldn’t be too high or too low.

Start changing the way you play the guitar now by adopting some of these best practices, all of which will allow you to become a better guitar player. Use a mirror or record yourself playing in order to see how you play and determine if you’re doing something incorrectly as far as your guitar-playing technique is concerned. Make sure you’re not tensed up when playing and try to relax your muscles and your body instead. Healthy guitar-playing will not only allow you to become a better guitar player, it will also ensure that your body remains healthy and in top shape, and that you are able to play the guitar for many years to come!