Shoulder posture while sitting

Playing Technique
#1

Hello all,

I’ve always had this problem where playing while sitting annoys my right shoulder and until recently, I just ignored it. Now that I’m getting older, I’m getting more concerned (and it’s becoming more painful) so I spoke to my girlfriend’s cousin who’s a physical therapist. She basically said the problem is my posture and weak upper back muscles. So I need to work on my posture and do some rowing.

However, I know that I’ve had this pain while playing even during the years where I was in great shape so I think the biggest factor is going to be my playing posture, but of course that is much easier said than done. When I play, I rest the guitar on my right leg and that raises my right shoulder (and pushes it back). So I tried resting the guitar on my left leg which does relieve stress on the shoulder by bringing it more forward but in addition to making it awkward to play, I noticed that I have to twist my back which I’m sure will cause different problems lol.

Anyway, I’m not really seeing any great options for my posture while sitting and was wondering if I’m missing something obvious or if this is just a problem everyone deals with and I should try to avoid playing while sitting altogether.

Edit: I found another post where someone suggest resting the right knee down low while using a strap which would drop your shoulder the same way playing standing up does. This just seems awkward but if no-one else has a better idea, I’ll probably end up giving this a shot.

Josh

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#2

I feel like you’ve got your answer already unfortunately! I’ve had similar issues with my right shoulder tightening up too and yeah, it’s a right pain in the … shoulder and makes it really tough to practice.

I’ve played volleyball and baseball for 3/4s of my entire life so while it was GREAT when I was younger, my shoulder flexibility and strength has dropped off considerably now that the support muscles are probably exhausted from keeping my shoulder in the proper position.

I’d wager you’d see a significant improvement by getting some information from your physio on how to strengthen your shoulder ‘girdle’ so that it allows you to (while at rest and relaxed) maintain proper shoulder position vs having the muscles rely on tendons because they’re in a state of spasm.

Anyway, you could also try the classical position with the butt end of your guitar sitting on your right thigh still and point the neck up into the air more North/South vs what it usually would be likely East/West. I’ve seen people even put a small support cushion on their left leg so the guitar remains stationary and set where you want.

Hope that helps a bit.

#3

I’ll probably be able to make the lowered knee method work but the little I’ve experimented with it, I noticed that it forces my left wrist to bend more than I want it to so it’ll take a little work to figure out how to do it in a way that doesn’t sacrifice my wrist.

I’m hoping the exercise factor will bring it back down to a minor annoyance but I figured I should improve my playing posture anyway.

That’s what I was referring to when I said I tried resting the guitar on my left knee. Definitely better for the shoulder but forces me to rotate my shoulders to the left which twists my back and seems like it’ll cause other problems.

#4

If you’re needing to twist too far left, try raising your left leg. I can sit with my guitars (electric or acoustic) in ‘classical’ position without a strap and let go of it completely without it moving at all, provided my left leg is raised up to lock it in place. I kind of squeeze the lower bout between my thigh and my abdomen. My shoulders and hips are entirely square and I’m completely relaxed. I would imagine if you’re having to twist, your LEFT leg is probably a bit low.

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#5

That helps! It’s not perfectly straight but it’s close enough that I don’t think it’ll cause any problems. Thank you! Still gotta get used to playing that way but that shouldn’t take too long :slight_smile:

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#6

Nice! Often ACTUAL pro classical players will carry a little collapsible platform they can rest their foot on at the preferred height. While that’s not exactly practical for a lot of people, just find any ol’ crate or chair rung or something is usually enough to get your leg high enough to make it a useful wedge under your guitar.

Happy adjusting :smiley:

#7

I share a lot here:

And it was ok back then to link to a page on my website about these kinds of things www.JakeEstner.com/pain , if that’s no longer kosher let me know as I don’t want to be spammy. But on the page there’s a lot of stuff including a long ass video spiel about sitting position.

The TLDR is there really is not a perfect way, but just balancing the pros and cons of each, and I present a few options.

#8

I have a lot of the same problems. I developed a serious elbow injury when I first started doing this method. It isn’t from your playing position hopefully. It’s from tension. Obviously you should see a doctor if you’re in pain but this kind of picking shouldn’t be making you tense up every muscle in your body.

Plenty of fast guitar players play on their right leg. Some play on their left leg. Playing without tension in your shoulders is the key.
The key to not injuring yourself. I did it and guess what?..
I still suck but I don’t have elbow pain anymore.

#9

Those are good suggestions by @JakeEstner on his site; thanks for posting.

Just chiming in because though I’m not a teacher and certainly no medical expert, I did have my own issues with the shoulder. I’ve posted elsewhere here at length on this subject. Dropping my right knee was a great stress reliever. If you look in a mirror and see your shoulder jacked up vs. where it is when you play standing - and I suspect this happens to a lot of us when we play sitting down - it’s definitely something to consider.

More generally speaking, I just wouldn’t accept that I had to feel physically awkward while playing sitting. I ‘tossed and turned’ until I figured out something my body would agree to. That might be a helpful way of thinking, regardless of the ultimate, specific solution you hopefully find.

(I’ve wondered if George Benson arrived at his unique posture of the picking arm curled around the end of the body as a way of avoiding “shoulder-climb” while sitting? Wild speculation, but who knows, maybe.)

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