How does everyone position themselves to practice? Unfortunately, I have scoliosis and usually when I practice my back is hunched over and it's not good for my back! Sometimes I'll stand and play which helps but sometimes it hurts and most of the time I like to relax and lay down and practice, but that's hard to do on my bed and using a stool is bad for my back. Does anyone have any recommendations for special chairs or anything of the like? I would like to position myself to lean back and play comfortably but also be able to view my laptop or a screen of some sort.

Great question. I sit in "Classical Position" and I suggest for students as well. Put the guitar in between your legs while sitting and prop your left foot up on something. This is a very natural position for the hand/wrist and provides a great platform for playing. Many players get used to playing "Side Saddle" which can limit the range of your hand. Joint me in the Video Chat Session this SATURDAY 10PM GMT and we will go through this stuff.


Todd

Yes, Todd said it nicely, the classical position can prove to be good for you. You should try it. At first it will be a bit strange, but in time you will see that this position is most natural when sitting. Next to that, you need to have proper back support. If you have health problems regarding that (no matter how small they are), it may be good idea to invest in a good ergonomic back support. It will find it's use no matter where you sit in your home.

Here's a picture of a classical position:

The classical position is worth checking out as many people find it very comfortable. I don't use it however.. I play 'side saddle' as Todd calls it when I sit.. but I rarely do that unless recording ideas for something in a hurry.

I always stand up for practice to minimise tension in shoulders, arms, neck etc. I used to get really bad back problems with being stood up.. and if I'm not active for a few days then they would come back and my back would be stiff again. I stretch my back a lot (touching toes etc) but the important thing that a lot of people don't do is stretch your back the other way too... as if you arched your head back and thrust your stomach out. There are several ways of stretching that way, it's worth looking up.

I don't know if anyone else notices this but after a day where you've overdone it and have a bad back.. you can stretch forwards no probs (like touching toes) but if you tried to bend the other way it hurts like hell. This suggests that we need to avoid an imbalance in stretching. It's no good having flexibility in one direction but stiffness in the other. This imbalance can cause problems in itself if one side is stronger than the other.

Ironically, the more active I've been and since I stretch my back different ways I've had minimal back stress. Keeping the range of motions varied means that not just one area is getting overworked and stressed. The other areas are getting strengthened too.

those are some cool tips ben, i never ever stretch my back, maybe i should do it, i'm feeling stiff lately.

I advise my students to practice in standing position as often as possible! If you practice sitting in the chair, the position of the left wrist is less stressed than in standing position.Make a quick test - Catch a bare chord while sitting, then stand up without letting the chord, and you'll know what I am talking about. Only if you want to sit on the stage, which really isn't very rockiness and cool !
When you stand, pay attention to the spine, always in a flat position !

Very true Sinisa! I always found it frustrating along the years, when I could play something sitting down, and as soon as the angles changed when I got up, I couldn't play the damn thing so, what I'm actually trying to say is that, I advise them once they nail something sitting down, (if the guitar position when standing up, is not close to the one they have when sitting) they should try and study stuff standing up as well.

This is a GREAT point and something I try to stress over and over. Your sitting and standing positions should (IDEALLY) be as close as possible. This isn't always possible, and sometimes, folks just want to play with their guitar around their ankles because, let's face it, it looks cool!

But try this just like Sinisa says. Your hand position should be the same sitting and standing, if it isn't you probably need to adjust your strap. Don't make it a necklace, but try to keep it close as possible to sitting. Otherwise, you will not be able to play as well standing as you can sitting.





I actually started playing "Side Saddle" and only changed when I finally took some Classical Guitar Lessons and went to play in front of my instructor and he chastised me pretty harshly about about poor posture/position/parentage/etc. I was having trouble playing a piece and when he saw my sitting position he was like "AHA!" once I changed it, I could play the piece just fine. Still, different strokes for different folks and some folks just prefer playing side saddle.

Playing standing up is a GREAT idea. It's what you are really heading towards anyway as the reason we learn all this stuff in many cases is to be able to play it live! That means standing up, (pretty much). So as is mentioned further down in the thread, try to find a stand up/ sit down middle path to where the guitar is as close to the same position as possible, sitting or standing.

Great posts. As for the scoliosis, I had that years ago and I went to a chiropractor for a little while and he cured me of it.

Thanks for the posts guys. Fortunately, my standing playing is very good, if not better than sitting Just need to work on flattening my spine =X i'll try out that classical position but it seems like it will be awkward for a while.



I use a natural painkiller for it. Too bad it's not legal in every state physical therapy has helped a lot too!

I think classical position is very good, as it feels very natural, but you don't necessarily have to stick to it after you experiment with it.