Foot Rest. Good or bad idea?

Hey Guitarists, [br][br]I hope everyone is well. [br][br]I just have a quick question regarding posture when playing guitar. I play with my guitar on my right leg with both feet flat on the floor. However, I always find my right leg raising itself up onto it's toes and I find this much more comfortable. I infact used to play with my right leg crossed over my left which was also comfortable but I heard this was bad posture and could cause back problems. Therefore, I am looking at getting a foot rest for guitar. Is this a good idea or is it a bad habit? If anyone could get back to me I would be very grateful.

Kind Regards

TIm

I'm a firm believer in keeping both feet firmly on the ground. But I'm not a trusted source or an expert on the subject.

I suspect that foot rests are more appropriate for some than other ways how the guitar is held/positioned and I've always believed the 'proper' way to hold a guitar is not chiseled in stone... it depends on how the guitar fits to the player and sometimes even the genre of music played. (watching old videos, I also think the way a guitar is held, sitting or standing, can be a function of 'fashion', i.e., they all did it one way then, they all do it another way now) Again, I'm offering opinion here but the way a guitar is held affects posture and even fret hand reach... a foot rest adds to the mix. YVVV.

I tried the foot rest thing for a while and found for [u]me[/u] it kind of got in the way of practicing good posture. Fortunately, I tried it out with different sized blocks of wood before I went shopping for an official guitar foot rest.

Hey, Tim.

Originally Posted by: Sleepers Hill

I just have a quick question regarding posture when playing guitar. I play with my guitar on my right leg with both feet flat on the floor.[/quote]

That's fine.

[quote=Sleepers Hill]However, I always find my right leg raising itself up onto it's toes and I find this much more comfortable.

That's not necessarily bad, but it can result in tension that can hinder your playing. I recommend avoiding that. If you cross your leg, that also leads to unnecessary tension & bad posture.

The primary fix to these issues is to use a strap. I cover that & proper posture in this tutorial.

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1141

A foot rest is also a good fix! This is primarily a classical guitar approach. But there's no reason you can't use one to play any style. The only consideration is that it doesn't help you transition to playing while standing, where a strap does. But if you don't ever want to play while standing, then it's not an issue.

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=992

There are also these nifty tools that provide a different kind of solution.

https://www.thisisclassicalguitar.com/ergonomic-guitar-rests-support-ergoplay/

Hope that helps!

Dear Christopher, [br][br]Thanks for the response and all the great tips. I found the video extremely helpful. I primarily play acoustic at the moment and unfortunately I only have a 'strap button' on the bottom of my guitar. I noticed in the video you mentioned that the straps which use string wrapped around the headstock of the acoustic guitar is not advisable. Would it be worth taking my guitar to my local guitar shop and have them install another 'strap button' for me? [br][br]If you could get back to me I would be very grateful and once again thanks for the great advice. [br][br]Kind Regards [br][br]Tim

Originally Posted by: john of MT

I'm a firm believer in keeping both feet firmly on the ground. But I'm not a trusted source or an expert on the subject.

I suspect that foot rests are more appropriate for some than other ways how the guitar is held/positioned and I've always believed the 'proper' way to hold a guitar is not chiseled in stone... it depends on how the guitar fits to the player and sometimes even the genre of music played. (watching old videos, I also think the way a guitar is held, sitting or standing, can be a function of 'fashion', i.e., they all did it one way then, they all do it another way now) Again, I'm offering opinion here but the way a guitar is held affects posture and even fret hand reach... a foot rest adds to the mix. YVVV.

I tried the foot rest thing for a while and found for [u]me[/u] it kind of got in the way of practicing good posture. Fortunately, I tried it out with different sized blocks of wood before I went shopping for an official guitar foot rest.

Hey John of MT, [br][br]Thanks for the tips it is greatly appreciated. [br][br]Kind Regards

Tim