Playing standing up

Hey. Recently I've been practicing guitar playing standing up more often now. It was quite difficult at first but I got the hang of it. I noticed I am considerable slower at playing standing up, especially when I'm trying to alternate pick very fast with Metallica songs like Battery. I just can't do it. I notice though when I turn my pick alittle diagnolly to the strings I can alternate pick much faster. But websites I have read show that you wan't to hold it parallel to the strings or something like that (so its thin edge is straight to the strings). So I am trying not to make it a habit just incase. Does holding your pick like that only pertain to sitting down? Dunno if you guys even understood what I just said heh.

One more thing, when I'm playing lots of strings indivually with the pick, I anchor my pinkey down on the pickguard. I'm wondering if this is a bad habit. It for one keeps my hands off the strings so when I need to go up and down playing notes, and it doesn't muffle the string cause my hand is not laying on the strings. Should I just try to practice keeping my whole palm floating in the air above the strings? Also when I do anchor my pinkey down, I am able to find the strings I need to pick faster.

If any of this was hard to read, I had to type it up fast so I can get to school on time. If anyone responds, thanks I appreciate it. Also sorry for the length of the post.

I find that "floatin" is good for when your playin a chord riff, but if you play lead or soloin quickly its best to rest your hand against the the bridge, or you can do the pinky thing, I used to do til I started restin my hand on the bridge, but I cant see any problems with it

Yes playing standing up is definately tougher then sitting down. When I started really practicing, I decided that I didn't want "two playing personalities", that is, a good player who sits and a not so good one who stands, so I always practiced standing. Now, standing is actually easier just because I'm used to it.

You'll get used to it too, it's not too hard. You just have to get used to the new hand position.

As for floating or anchored pinky; well this is a question that many debate. Guitar masters have used both techniques, so the best advice is to do whatever feels right- neither is more correct then the other. Personally, I've never anchored my pinky.

Dimebag Darrel once said 'you don't go to war sitting down' and he said he never played sitting (if you know the guy's guitar shape, it's no wonder!)

You can see the guys that have practiced a lot sitting down, their guitar is right below their chin whan they stand up!!
I had a hard time at first, but since I work with kids, I can now slong the guitar around my arm so that it's in my back, clap my hands so that the kids get the tempo, make it come back and hit the chord that's supposed to be played... And it just came by getting used to play standing up...

I hated standing up. I just couldn´t get my alternate techique right.

Before I used to have my guitar below the waste (like Slash). It was really cool (especially when playng whitout shirt and haveing a cig in my mouth). I used to preform in that punk rock way before when I was like 15-17 yrs old. And it was easy to play ´cause we played songs od Metallica (Battery of course) Maiden, Kiss, Guns... But now when our band changed style and now when we are really into progressive music I had this huge problem. So being this cool player I´m now a kinda old blues man having my guitar very high.

But I really feel comfortable whit it and now at last I can excute those fast solos whitout problem. Some stuff that´s REALLY HARD, while playng live i lift my leg on a amp and set my guitar on it so the feeling is like sitting down but still standing up.

It maby is ugly but look at player like Petrucci. He does it to somtimes and yet his guitar i very high up. I don´t think it suits an amazing guitar player to have guitar below waste our so.

However do what feels best to you. Don´t care about others and what do you prefer: to look uncool but sound cool our opposite?

Yeah.. I remember when I changed my acoustic guitar to an electric.. It was damn hard to play standing. I kept my guitar also below my waste and just like umm.. 6 months ago I lifted it much higher. I thought it looked ugly adn I even asked my friends if it was not goodlooking but they said it was Ok so I continued playing like that and it is much easier now.

One thing you might want to try is that when you play sitting the best place for the guitar is on your left leg (or right if you are left handed) like you played classical guitar, you get the best touch to your fretboard in that kind of position. Now, when you stand up try to keep that same position with your guitar, if it hangs lower than when you played sitting you might want to lift the guitar up a bit. When it is exactly in the same position as it was when you were sitting you have achieved your goal. I think that's the best way to learn how to play standing.

Hopefully you got what I was trying to say there.. :)