Hi all,

I am a newbie learning how to play my electric guitar. Years ago I had tennis elbow from office work in bad positions and could also feel some strain on my wrists. That is largely gone nowadays due to paying attention to the ergonomy of my workspace.

Before signing up here I checked out how was the "correct"/safe way to play with the left hand and, although there were many different opinions, it seems that mostly people agree that your left wrist should be always kept straight to avoid injury and get into good habits from the start. I have smallish hands but try my best to keep it straight. I am also using a strap. I therefore have a few questions on left hand position - I'd appreciate it a lot if anyone could advise on these.

(1) I started the beginner lessons last week and loving Lisa's lessons and clear tutorials. I also saw the "how to hold the guita tutorial" of course. But one thing I noticed is that sometimes she plays with a bent wrist (example: Changing Between Simple Am and E, @1:50 onwards). I was wondering if this is normal or if I should aim to keep my wrist straight at all times.

(2) I find that, when sitting, having the body of the guitar tilt slightly downwards, i.e. rotated ever so slightly towards the floor such that I can't see all the strings, helps get the wrist in a straighter position. The downside of that is that I can't see the strings and have to try my best to find their position intuitively. Is this a good idea or should it be always facing straight ahead of me?

(3) Is moving the guitar up more than 45 degrees (such that it is more upright) advisable? I find it also might allow for a straighter wrist, but then the right hand position might suffer a bit.

Thanks in advance!

C.M.