Thursday, June 26, 2008

Playing an acoustic guitar

By P R jones

Without the proper posture, playing your guitar for long periods of time can cause back pain. Here are a couple of tips about how to hold your guitar in the correct fashion. Pick up the guitar so that the back of the guitar rests against your stomach. If you play right handed the neck of the guitar should be aiming towards the left. Gently rest the body of the guitar against your upper right thigh. You should hold the guitar neck with your left hand and drape your right arm over the body of the guitar so that your hands can easily reach the strings. Your position should feel both comfortable and natural while you are playing guitar.

If you are right handed, you will use your left hand to press the strings and construct chords while playing the guitar. Your left hand fingers are bent and pressed down on the strings and fret board.

The curvature of the guitar neck allows your hand to fit comfortably into the shape of the neck. Your thumb arches easily over the top of the neck. This thumb position is best for constructing chords. Another option, which is most common when playing guitar scales, is to press your left thumb on the back of the guitar neck. Try using each thumb position, and choose the one that is most comfortable.

Strum the strings with your right hand to make sounds. Position your right arm over the body of the guitar. Your right bicep should rest on the top of the guitar. Position your right hand in front of the guitar's sound hole. When playing guitar, the sound comes out of the sound hole.

Many people make use of a pick when playing guitar. Simply hold the pick between the thumb and forefinger of your right hand. Draw the pick across the strings you want to play. It's similar to plucking the string but you use a little bit more pressure than you normally would when strumming with your fingers.

If you're left handed, you'll be happy to know that guitars are available for left-handed players. If you can't find a suitable one for playing guitar left-handed, simply buy a regular guitar and have re-stringing done to reverse the order of the strings.

Not only does proper positioning while playing guitar allow you to play for extended periods of time, but it also helps you produce the correct sounds. So take time to learn how to hold the guitar and position your body correctly.

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