Position of the guitar

Hi,

I'm playing my guitar sitting on a chair, so I don't have a strap.

First question, the natural way for me to hold the guitar is by having an angle between the guitar and my body, so there are not in parallel. Is this okay? Should my body and the guitar be in a perfect parralel?

Second question, when I switch between chords the neck of the guitar is moving back and forth. So to not have this movement I use my thumb to stabilize the guitar. Is this a good thing to do?

Thanks

Hey & welcome to GT!

Originally Posted by: cloutzor

I'm playing my guitar sitting on a chair, so I don't have a strap.[/quote][p]While now absolutely necessary, a strap is helpful to keep the guitar in place so your arms and hands can focus on playing the notes & not have the additional job of holding up the guitar.

Originally Posted by: cloutzorFirst question, the natural way for me to hold the guitar is by having an angle between the guitar and my body, so there are not in parallel. Is this okay? Should my body and the guitar be in a perfect parralel?

Sure, that's fine. It is often preferable to tilt the guitar away from your body a little bit in order to find a natural, relaxed position for your fretting arm.

[quote=cloutzor]Second question, when I switch between chords the neck of the guitar is moving back and forth. So to not have this movement I use my thumb to stabilize the guitar. Is this a good thing to do?

Yes, the primary job of your thumb is to provide opposing pressure to your fretting fingers. But make sure your thumb or fretting hand is not holding up the guitar. It has enough to do fretting notes!

A lot of these basic posture & mechanics questions are covered in Lisa's Fundamentals course.

https://www.guitartricks.com/course.php?input=fundamentals1

Hope this helps!