A bit of a problem

I've gotten myself into a bit of a pickle. All of my practicing has been electric and acoustic guitar while sitting down without a guitar strap. It's been fairly comfortable practicing this way especially for me to be able to lean over and see what my fingers are doing. In a couple weeks I'm supposed to jam along with some friends where I assume I'll be standing. Problem is now when I use a guitar strap I can't lean or see my fingers that well anymore. It feels like my fretting hand is so far away from my body now and makes it difficult to place my fingers and see what they're doing. I surely can't play as clean standing up than sitting down. Maybe it's just a matter of re-learning, but standing feels so different from sitting. Almost like two different playing styles. Anyone have some tips to get over this problem?
Thanks,
Aaron

I'm far from a good player so I too have problems playing in positions I don't practice much. playing while standing is a bit different and you need to get used to it, so the best way to do it, is actually playing while you're standing.

a few month ago I watched a blues guitarist at his performance and he held his guitar almost flat on his lap in a position that would make my classical guitar teacher cry like a baby. That position would be impossible to achive with a strap on while standing. Still the guy gave an excellent concert.

I think its always good to learn to play in different styles and positions but until you there play the way you're confortable. So you can also try the other solution to the problem and bring a chair ;)

I know how you feel. A month ago, I had the pleasure of jamming with a band for the first time in my life, and until I got the offer, I had never practiced standing up. What I did though, was to slowly convert myself from sitting down to standing up while practicing. Eventually it started to feel just as normal as playing while sitting down, but it took some time. Just start easily. The iconic main-riff in Smoke On The Water is a great riff to practice playing when you're not used to playing while standing up, because it's easy to play. When you can play that, try challenging yourself a bit. But to begin with, it's more important to be able to play something easy while standing up.

Yeah if you start practicing standing up it will help you. Another option is to shorten the strap so you have a better playing position while standing, a lot of people don't like the look, but Guthrie has his guitar quite high!

All great suggestions, including "bring a chair if you need to". Some of the greats play sitting down (BB King and Robert Fripp come to mind).

Sam makes a good point about finding a good position by adjusting the strap. Everybody wants to look cool like Jimmy Page and have the guitar slung down low, but it's really not practical, especially for a beginner.

Many great players have their guitar higher. Look at John Petrucci from Dream theater - he's a virtuoso player and has his guitar strapped pretty high up on his body. He is far from dorky looking when he plays :-). Early pictures of John Lennon show his guitar (both electric and acoustic) positioned practically to his chin.

When I started with guitar tricks, I experimented with adjustring my guitars to be higher up and it made a big difference. In the core lessons, Chris Schlegel has a good tutorial on adjusting your guitar strap and fine tuning your playing position. You might want to check it out.

The routine I've fallen into is I will sit on a stool when going through lessons. When I'm practicing what I've learned or jamming to a background track, I'll stand. It's worked for me.

Good luck!

Hey guys, thanks for the helpful responses. I figured it was a simple enough solution. Just play while standing up. ;) I am making good enough progress and wearing the guitar high enough like Chris S. describes in the fundamentals. It is still hard to see the fretting fingers, and I guess the hand/finger movements will become easier as repetition and practice continues. I'm guessing that guitarists that play standing up must develop a "feel" for where the fingers are to be placed. Kinda like playing with your eyes closed. Anyways, I think I am at a point where I will do fine enough for the jam with my friends. Regards,
Aaron

I play standing up most of the time for several reasons:

1. It's more comfortable, the guitar stays put and doesn't slip away

2. It`s easier to to play chords, and to solo

3. You can shake your butt to the beat (helps with your rhythm)

4. It looks damn cool, how can you shred sittin down?


Izzy

Aaron - yes! As you practice, you will find that your fingers figure out where they have to go. Once you get your reference point, off you go!

Does your guitar have dots on the side of the neck that you can see above? These would be the same as the dots on the fretboard. If they are there, use them as your guide when standing.

Sitting down you may be turning the guitar a bit so you can see easier. Standing up you can't do this at all - so it's good practice to help with proper form.

I find I have to look down more for my strumming hand rather than my fretting hand. Just by playing I've found that my strumming hand has gotten much more accurate and that I can hit any string I want when I need to.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by: IzzyPhoreal... how can you shred sittin down?

Like this? :D http://g4guitarstudentupdates.blogspot.com/2010/06/classical-sitting-position-for-optimal.html

I had my jam session this past weekend and I did fine with the standing up. I may have had my guitar higher up on my body than the others did, but it made it so much easier for playing.
John of MT, I guess you can shred while sitting down. :eek: And Maggior, I do have the dots on the top side of the neck. I will use those for reference. I guess I'll continue to practice standing up more often than sitting. This was a good topic to discuss for me, and I just realized all the GT instructors are sitting in their lessons too so that's probably what led me to sitting also.

Originally Posted by: john of MTLike this? :D http://g4guitarstudentupdates.blogspot.com/2010/06/classical-sitting-position-for-optimal.html

Can't deny its damn good shreddin'

But as you surely know, my last point was said with tongue-in-cheek. That being said, you look much cooler standing than sitting (whether you play or sound better, is a totally different discussion).

Izzy

Originally Posted by: IzzyPhorealCan't deny its damn good shreddin'

But as you surely know, my last point was said with tongue-in-cheek. That being said, you look much cooler standing than sitting (whether you play or sound better, is a totally different discussion).

Izzy

It's a valid rule of thumb: Practice as you play. In other words, practice with the guitar held in the same position as when performing.

As for looking cool...I'll defer to you, Izzy. :D