HELP! I can't stand and play the guitar!!

[yingski]

I'm not sure if I'm the only one with this problem but I'm not able to stand and play. Mostly it has to do with barre chords. It's really awful because when I look at other people doing it they look perfectly comfy. If I do it I feel like my wrists are breaking and they are at a 90 degree angle which is not good. I have very small hands so I can't do the wrap around grip and still do barre chords. I need to do them with a classical grip which doesn't work standing up.

Is there a cure to this or some kind of trick or am I destined to look totally uncool when I play because I'm sitting down??

[Oceano]

How low do you have your guitar?

It might get easier if you adjust your strap, so that it doesn't hanf to low.

[Wyll_Watts]

I solved this problem for electric guitar by adjusting the strap so the guitar is at the same height whether I'm sitting or standing. While sitting the guitar doesn't make any contact with my legs or knees. Of course, I wear the guitar really high, so I'm destined to look uncool both standing and sitting. For acoustic, the sitting/standing issue has never been a problem, due to the way a drednaught style guitar fits my body I guess..

Wyll

[Rock_Rocket]

Hi there,

While sitting the guitar doesn't make any contact with my legs or knees.

Maybe I should try that, too. Since I'm quite tall (6.43 ft.) playing the guitar is quite hard for me while sitting. It just feels uncomfortable. For a long time I couldn't play standing, too, but somehow I got used to it. Now it's the other way round, can't play while sitting :D. I wear my guitar quite high, too. Feels a lot more comfortable. Just give it a try, Yingski.
BTW: I've read somewhere that when Miles Davis looked for a new guitarist, he always payed much attention to the way the "candidate" wore his guitar. If Davis didn't like it, the guitarist was "game-over" before he could play a single note (he doesn't wear his guitar right - so he can't play!). Weird, huh? Don't know if this is true, just read it somewhere...
Perhaps you should have a closer look at Mike Stern, Robben Ford..., Yingski. Miles Davis obviously like their way of wearing the guitar. :D

Regards and good luck!

Rock_Rocket

[CaptainCarma]

oh man, sounds cool.
I heard the same story told about ozzy...

[yingski]

I'm really rather short (1 meter 60, that translates into 5 foot 3 ) so in order to get the guitar up high enough to play it standing I would have to have the point of the guitar (where the strap connects) up under my arm pit......super uncool. As it is I've got the adjustible part of the strap doubled over but it's still too long. I suppose there aren't such things as mini electric guitars? I might just have to customize my strap....boy am I gonna look weird.....

[Oceano]

Tom Morello (RATM), wears his guitar very high, and he looks pretty cool when playing it.

[Danster]

It struck me as kinda funny the first time I realized that apparently the lowness of your guitar was directly proportional to your level of coolness. As a matter of fact, still does strike me as funny. I s'pose I'm too old to know what is and what is not cool anymore.:(

[Oceano]

As long as it's confortable to play, one shouldn't care how low or how high the guitar is.

[hol0point]

I have a similar problem. I learn a new song and think I have it down pretty good until I try to stand and play it then its almost like I am learning it all over.. I asked a friend of mine who had been playing many years and has been in several bands what my problem is? He said to help me I should learn a song sitting down but once I have the notes memorized stand and play it that way I can get used to playing standing up. So once you have all the notes of the song memorized, play it standing up. Should help you get more used to it. Worked for me :).

[EricV]

I always tried to make sure that my guitar is pretty much in the same position whether I am sitting or standing. I don´t wear it as high as Morello or Petrucci, it´s kind of in the middle between those guys and the ones who wear it low.
When I sit and play, I usually have my back straight, I am not "hunching" over the guitar, so when I stand up and use a strap, there isn´t much difference in positioning.

I heard about the "wear your guitar low" thingy... well, most of the times, that comes from players who have a different style. Sure, it might look cool to where the guitar as low as Slash or the guy from the Ramones, but you gotta remember that those guys played a bit differently... if you play fast stuff with lots of very wide stretches, or a lot of chords requiring stretches etc., or if you use a lot of fast picking ( which can be hard on the r.h. wrist ), you will most likely have trouble doing that stuff with the guitar hanging low.
YOu gotta find a compromise, I guess
Eric

[Bizarro]

You might want to try several different guitars and see if any work better than others. Different neck thicknesses, widths, and so on can dramatically change the playability while standing.

I have a strat with a thin neck that is really hard to play bar chords while standing. My hands are too big for it and they'll cramp up after an hour or two.

I experimented quite a bit with the height of my guitar/strap. I broke my left wrist when I was a kid and certain angles seem to cut off the blood flow and my hand gets really cold! That's not good for shredding! I have to wear my guitar fairly low for it to be comfortable, but everyone is different. I get the fringe benefit of looking a bit "cooler":cool:

I don't play guitar sitting down anymore (slouching, bad habits, picking differences, etc). I even built a desk that is really high so I can read Guitar One or ibreathe while playing!:D

[yingski]

Ok I don't care if I look cool or not. As matter a fact the only reason why my guitar isn't sky high is because they don't make straps that short. Being tiny is a problem though, if I sit and play it kills my back too. I got up this morning and I thought I was gonna die I had soooo much pain in my right side of my back and I only played a couple of hours yesterday......geez.

[Rock_Rocket]

Ok I don't care if I look cool or not.

Yeah, correct attitude. Let your playing show "them" how cool you are. I've got the impression that players who wear their guitar really low don't care too much about good technique - and bad technique is what I'd call uncool :D.

Good luck!

Rock_Rocket

[Danster]

Originally posted by yingski
Ok I don't care if I look cool or not. I'm not sure if this is the right attitude or not. I think if you're out playing for people, then your appearance and behavior are part of the package your are presenting them in addition to your music. I'm saying this from the perspective of an audience member, as I'm yet to do my first gig. In some circumstances and/or styles of music, coolness is more important than in others. However, you could wear your guitar high, and just wear shades for the coolness effect. :D

[Leviathon]

I have been playing for only a few weeks and have noticed a big difference when I play my guitar a little higher. My hands aren't the biggest around and I found that bringing the guitar up helps to reach around the neck. Alot less stress on the wrist and hands. This has helped with producing barre chords.

[Bongo Boy]

This was my experience too. Initially I had that thing jacked up "to my chin" as Eric would say. Then, over the months, I found I could lower it down a wee bit at a time. I still have it fairly high--BB King height might be the most familiar image--over the abs.

It might be another 10 years before I can do the over-the-thighs thing :)

[yingski]

Ok i've now pulled off the adjustable strap completely and have the guitar connected thru the slots where the adjustable part of the strap used to go thru. This shortens the strap really alot but since those notches are a little big and not meant for those little buttons, I have to be careful not to lose the guitar! I'll have to find a way to make the hole smaller. Meanwhile I will have to work on the playing part of it, shades might be an idea:cool:

[icecakes]

I got up this morning and I thought I was gonna die I had soooo much pain in my right side of my back and I only played a couple of hours yesterday......geez.

You should try to do some shoulder rolls before you start and when ur done do some more at least 20 forward and 20 back.
Try interlacing your hands behind you and squeeze your blades together..oh yea remember to take long breaths :p

~me

[The Bash]

When I saw Jack Grassell (spelling ?) play at a master class he gave a good pice of advice which is quite logical: If you gig standing up, practice standing up.
I try to do this as much as possible, literally all the time when I was playing out a lot.
When I'm not standing I tend to use the Ole Standby Classical Guitar postion as Eric had suggested.
I don't have large hands and big reaches or upper fret area in general is quite diffrent from standing as compared to sitting all humped over and sliding your guitar around to assist you.
I gotta be able to do it standing if I'm gonna be standing when I do it.

As for cool, well, I try to keep my guitar at a point that's still cool yet playable :)
There's a certain attitude you get from feeling cool. You may have your guitar really high and if that works great. For me I gotta keep a touch of that Let's Rock attuitude to play well.

There's also a few little tricks that look real cool:

Remember the Eddie Van Halen Move of holding hios guitar skyward. That's a good way to squueze a little extra reach outta your hands.
That's another reason I don't like the guitar real high is I feel seatbelted in I like to move it around to help me get where I'm going sometimes.

There's also the put your foot on the monitor trick you look cool and you also take some weight of the guitar off your shoulder.

Then there's the Page/Perry lean back thing not only looks cool but sometimes helps in the higher fret areas of the higher strings.

Now the question wasn't how to be a Rock Star :)
but point is if your gonna play standing/ prac standing and use your body to assist you.
If you sit and use your body to assist you you'll most likey find everything changes when you stand (angle of the guitar etc.)
So if your gonna stand. Then Stand.

[Bizarro]

Bash, great comments!:cool:

The reach-extender tricks are a must have part of every gigging guitar player's arsenal! You are there to entertain people so you might as well put on a show!

I also like to hold my guitar up with my right hand and do a bunch of legato licks...

[MetalFlamingo]

I play it on my left leg when sitting down, like a classical guitarist, that way it is in almost the same position sitting down as standing up, and you can reach the higher frets better. If you want to play the guitar really low you can do it like Zakk Wylde, he rests one foot on his monitor then rests his guitar on that leg with the neck pointing straight up. :cool:

[Danster]

Originally posted by MetalFlamingo
I play it on my left leg when sitting down, like a classical guitarist, that way it is in almost the same position sitting down as standing up That's what I do to, and for the same reason.

[billybenbob]

I would practic all week long for my churches praise band and then on Sunday not be able to do anything right.
I too then switched to holding my guitar in the classical fashion and adjusted my strap slightly shorter. Now there is very little difference in the guitar position either standing or sitting. When I started out I was playing a strat and now mostly play my acoustic 12 string. Same theory works for me with all guitars.
When practicing sitting down, I also watch my posture and either sit on a straight backed chair or on the edge of my bed.
As far as looking cool, I'm a 47 year old insurance salesman. How much cooler could I get?
Ken