Most ergonomic position for playing when sitting?

Playing Technique
#1

Hi everyone,

Something I’ve been thinking about a lot recently is what is the most ergonomic position for playing guitar when sitting.

As far as I see it there are two main positions, right knee (rock style) or left knee (classical style). I’ve been a rock style position player all my life but over the past few years I’ve developed tendonitis and problems probably due to bad posture, so I’ve switched to the classical style which I think definitely helps with posture as it’s much harder to hunch over in this position.

Something I’ve noticed in relation to picking in the classical position is that because the angle of the neck is up in the air when you are picking you are automatically naturally attacking the strings at a slight angle (edge picking) whereas with the rock style it feels you are naturally picking more perpendicular to the strings (not edge picking).

I find with the classical position it does feel more ergonomic especially for the picking hand position but the fretting hand is extended out further, the guitar keeps slipping around and you always need something to prop up your left leg. The slipping thing is really annoying, I’ve not found a way to fix this yet.

With the rock position I feel it’s easy to hunch over and the picking angle of the right arm feel too short but obviously it’s much easier to get into this position.

It seems by far most Rock players play in the rock position but there are a few guys who play in the classical position: Rick Graham, Michael Angelo, John Petrucci, Jason Richardson, Rusty Cooley (all hyper shredders, so there must be something in this?)

So, my question is does cracking the code cover this at all or is there a plan to as I feel this is a massive part of technique which would be really useful to understand better.

Cheers!

#3

I haven’t heard of CtC discussing it, but then again I don’t think much of any body positioning (other than the grip on the pick) has been mentioned.

I personally played “rock position” the most, but now I switch it up often with classical as well as standing up to prevent muscle tightness (I’ve had some issues with it for a bit).

#4

Not that I perform these days, but my attitude has always been to practice in the position you perform in, and I’ve never played a show on an electric guitar seated. I just stand.

#5

I lay back on the couch with a large cushion behind my back, the guitar is between my legs and elevated - classical style.

I can sit comfortably and play like this with a straight supported back for hours, I would also recommend a 30min walk everyday and healthy food.

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#6

The classical sitting position, as with all things, benefits hugely from the use of a BC Rick Warlock.

But really, guitar shape has a lot to do with the practicality and ergonomics of either left or right leg sitting.

1 Like
#7

I know that this isn’t answering the specific question, but worth stating in my opinion as someone who also struggles with posture related issues -
No matter how ergonomic a position is, never make it a substitute for regular breaks, walking around and stretching.

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#8

It depends.
I use left leg for heavy stuff, but right leg for blues and funky songs. No reasons actually, it’s just in different situations it feels more natural one or another way.

#9

(For a right-handed player.)

I think that “rock” position suffers from

  • the headstock too far out in front of the player, and too low, so there is an undesirable sharp left wrist bend
  • right arm placement is not natural, as the right elbow is too far away from one’s body, and this is tiring for the right shoulder

I think that the “classical” position is as good as it gets.

I’ve never had an axe slip around, if I play a V it is rock-solid with the nook of the V against one’s right leg, and if it’s a Stratocaster-style, it is at a low energy position between one’s two legs, so a lot of energy is required to actually lift it over the right leg. I think that for a V one’s knees are close, but for a Strat they are far apart, but I’ve never tried to take a practice selfie before :grinning:

#10

Cheers guys,

I was really just interested in hearing peoples opinions. I’ve now pretty much transitioned to the classical position it definitely feels more ergonomic. I’m wearing a strap all the time now with the electric to stop is slipping and this is definitely making it a lot better. I’m finding that I am sitting up a lot straighter when playing too so less back pain.

What do you all think about the pick angle when playing like this? You are pretty much forced to edge pick due to the angle. I noticed Shawn lane uses the “classical position pretty much” and he is regarded as the fastest player.

it would be really interesting to see someone from cracking the code do a proper analysis of this.

#11

You can adjust your grip, setup, mechanic, etc. slightly to modify the edge angle. Edge picking is associated with speed, but if you prefer the tone with 0 degrees of edge you should be able to achieve that with some experimentation.

#12

@Muso1981 I’ve also started to play with a strap all the time now (except for acoustic) and I think it has helped me transition between different positions with a minimal impact on technique.

#13

I’ve been trying to play the electric guitar in the classical position and I’m finding that I have to turn my body to the left and this is causing a bit of pain in my right shoulder blade. The guitar can’t sit in the middle as my right leg is in the way. Does anyone have any tips please?

1 Like
#14

Classical all the way. It’s more comfortable, easier to play and causes less health problems.

#15

I have exactly the same problem with the classical position (I’m right-handed). Best comprominse I found was to use the right leg with the help of this little thingy called “performaxe”, but it’s very expensive (sorry for the potatovision):

image
image1490×956 269 KB

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#16

Good to hear I’m not alone in this, I had a quick Google but couldn’t find that performance thing anywhere. I don’t suppose you have a link? What does it do exactly? Cheers.

#17

Yep sorry I should have said more! It’s basically a leg rest for electric guitar, it allows you to place the guitar on the right leg but angles the guitar neck a bit closer to the classical position. Here’s the link to the company that sells it - I think it’s a very small Italian company - I don’t know if there are others

#18

How exactly are you positioning that Warlock on your leg? (Wondering if you actually put your leg into that scoop-out where the end pin would be…?)

#19

Holy S**t!

I own guitars cheaper than that :wink:

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#20

This has never been an issue for me, I just use a strap and I’m not thinking about all this anymore.

Get on with your practice you sissies :joy:

#21

You’re a lucky man @twangsta, if you found a comfortable posture so quickly!

When I did that in high school and started practicing 5h/ day, after a few weeks I had a continuous back pain all day long! I ended up almost quitting guitar altogether!

I think it’s very important to find an ergonomic solution before starting the hard work.

In fact I recently developed the hypothesis that the best thing is to probably have many playing postures: sitting, standing, sitting with the other leg, [what else???], and basically never spend too long on each one.

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