Holding a Guitar

by Raymund Tamayo

Guitars, like all musical instruments, are fragile and sensitive. They need to be handled carefully so that you may enjoy using them for a long time.

When picking up or moving a guitar, it is always better to hold it at the base of the neck and the bottom of the body. Always watch the neck and headstock to make sure it does not hit anything or anyone.

Sitting Position

This is the most common position of holding a guitar. There are three ways to hold a guitar in the sitting position:

1. Casual Position – This is the most relaxing way of holding a guitar and is generally recommended for beginners.

With open legs, rest the body of the guitar on your right leg. The guitar should be sitting just below your chest or in front of it, depending on its size. The right arm, or the strumming arm, is positioned at the top corner of the guitar, while the left arm, or the fretting arm, is at a right angle holding the neck. This allows minimal strain on the wrist when pressing the strings.

The guitar should be straight facing forward, but as a beginner, you can tilt it slightly towards you so you can have a better view of the fretboard. As you become better, you will find out that you don’t have to look at the fretboard anymore while playing.

Warning! Always make sure your back is straight at all times. Keep it straight, but don’t be tensed. Hunching can affect your posture and could lead to serious back problems in the long run.

Casual Position

2. Cross-legs Position – This is an alternate position while sitting down. Some guitar players find this more comfortable. In this position, you right leg is crossed over your left leg. Rest the guitar on your right leg the same way as in the Casual Position.

The strumming arm is also positioned at the top corner of the body. However, the fretting arm is at a more acute angle. This is fine as long as the angle is not more than 90 degrees, as it will cause excessive strain on the wrist.

Again, don’t hunch!

Cross-legs Position

3. Classical Position – This is quite a difficult position as instead of resting the guitar on your right leg, you rest it on the inner thigh of your left leg. The neck of the guitar is usually pointing upward in this position.

In this position, classical players are able to see the whole fretboard more clearly. Notes are also easier to reach at this position. You will need a guitar strap to hold this position for a long time so you will not strain your back.

Relax your neck and shoulders (don’t raise your shoulders). Release any tension in the arms, wrists, hands, and fingers.

Classical Position

Standing Position

You need a guitar strap to play in the standing position. Never play the guitar standing up without a strap as it not only causes undue strain on your arms, shoulders, and back, you also place your guitar in a dangerous position. You may unintentionally drop your guitar sooner or later.

As in the sitting position, keep your back straight in the standing position as well. Tilt the neck upwards slightly so you can access the fretboard more easily.

The fretting arm should be at a right angle or lower as well. Adjust the strap so that the body of the guitar is at a comfortable height for both strumming and fretting.

Standing Position

Holding a Pick

There are two ways you can strum or pluck the strings of a guitar. Those are via your fingers and via a pick. In this lesson, we will focus on how to use a pick. Why? Because it is faster to learn the guitar that way than to use the fingerstyle method.

Guitar picks come in different sizes, shapes, materials, and thickness. The sound produced is different depending on the thickness of the pick. As a beginner, it is recommended to use a small size with moderate thickness so you can better control the pick.

Beginners usually find the pick slipping off their hands when they start to strum. This is why it is important to learn how to properly hold a pick.

There are two ways:

1. Regular method – Hold the pick between your thumb and index finger, with the pointy tip in the same line as the tip of the thumb (see below picture).

Regular method

2. Inverted method – Hold the pick between your thumb and index finger, only this time the pointy tip should be in the same line as the tip of the index finger.

Inverted method

Relax your hands and fingers. Don’t grip the pick too tight. In due time, you will feel like the pick is already an extension of your fingers. Also, brace your right hand on the soundboard for more stability.

Holding the Guitar Neck

Proper grip of the guitar neck is essential because playing chords will be a lot easier if you do. Your thumb should rest easily at the top edge of the guitar neck. For smaller hands, the thumb will be placed near the center of the back of the neck.

Holding the Guitar Neck

Relax your wrist. It can be straight or slightly bent, but not overly bent. If your wrist is bent too much, it would cause unnecessary strain that could injure you.

This primary position is critical to help you avoid any injuries. Of course, as you play chords, the thumb and fingers will move in various positions. But the wrist should still be relaxed and not bent too much.

Again, if something is hurting, then you are not getting the proper position correctly.