The initial step to learn guitar is the choice of the guitar that fits properly with your musical preferences and tastes. You can find the acoustic blues guitars, jazz guitars, heavy metal guitars and more to accommodate the musical palette of an individual, no matter that how varied it may be.
If your dream is to perform on stage with your band, then you need to concentrate more on your guitar training because playing guitar while standing up is quite different than sitting position. Being proficient to play the guitar while standing up is not that much imperative until you begin to appear in the gigs or start performing on stage. When you learn the process of guitar playing in your music school or your home, usually you are in sitting position.
You need to take little more care and effort to play it properly, especially if you want to perform on stage in standing position.
Good posture is underrated
You can play the guitar in almost any position and a good position is integral surely to get most out of your guitar. Without proper posture, you can put yourself in big risk of muscle straining. The wrong posture is truly very uncomfortable and awkward for the guitarist. You could even exacerbate or acquire back pain with a wrong posture.
While you are standing, just make sure that you have good footing and your foot are spaced properly. You can use the guitar strap to avoid fatigue while playing the guitar.
Set the height for fretting hand
Don’t hang your guitar too high or too low according to your body height. When you are setting up the right height for the fretting hand, first make sure that you will be able to access each fret comfortably with complete ease. For many of the guitarist, the right height may range between waists to chest level.
Height for strumming hand
After settling up the height for fret hand, focus on your strumming hand and set a comfortable height for that too. This hand will rest on the guitar’s body and you will get good access to the guitar strings.
Guitar height
If you are the electric guitar player and follow a certain genre of metal, it is almost essential to keep the guitar at the ankles. If you are using the acoustic guitar, this is quite weird. So, keep the guitar height that you are comfortable with.
Hold your pick in right way
The proper way to hold the pick while you are playing the guitar in standing position is to grip it firmly but not very tightly. If you hold it too lose you will lose your pick during very vital strumming session. You can hold the pick somewhere in the middle to enjoy your strumming session best when you are playing it in standing position.
Use the high-quality strap
When you are playing the guitar in standing position, guitar straps play a major role. You need to select only a good quality strap. A strap will help you to hold the guitar securely and in standing position, it is almost essential to hold the guitar safely and it can give you a good amount of comfort that you need while performing on stage.
Adjust the strap properly according to your comfort level. Just pull the strap little higher. This can give you a geeky look and you may feel little awkward initially, but when you are playing the guitar in standing position, truly it works best. As you achieve more comfort and flexibility in this position, loosen up your guitar strap slightly if you wish to add the cool factors, but don’t put it down around the thigh. Have a good quality soft and comfortable strap that should be made of suede or leather as they are very much comfortable and will never slip from your shoulder. Try out a strap that comes with a wide shoulder comfortable pad and also try to shift it quite away from the neck towards the shoulder edge.
Just put your guitar strap over the head and it will naturally fall at the waist. If your guitar is vertical or horizontal, adjust the guitar by repositioning the strap on the shoulder. If you have a vertical guitar, keep it quite lower. It is best to keep the guitar at 45-degree proper angle.
The position of your body
If you are just trying to move from sitting position to standing position to play the guitar, practice regularly in both positions so that you will feel more comfortable and gradually you will find not much difference between two positions. This will help you to learn the process of playing guitar in standing position quickly.
Don’t harm your back or wrests, just find out your own comfort zone while you are playing guitar in standing position.
Practice
Practice is the only way to be a pro in guitar playing, especially if you want to play it in standing position. It is really tough to journey to go from sitting position to standing position, regular practice in this position will give you good control on the strings. After buying a comfortable strap that helps you to set the guitar in the right position and if you know the best strap attachment position and also a good position to play the guitar comfortably practice more in this particular mode.
Conclusion note
Learning the process to play the guitar can be one of the best experiences that you ever have. This is a fabulous instrument that brings a smile on other people’s faces. So, if you are ready to rock the stage, start your practice session today and try to find out your own tricks to play your best it in standing position.
Author Bio: Hi, this is John Anthony founder of Guitar Listy Playing and collecting Cool Guitars is my hobby, and all of my friends and relatives know it. For that reason, I receive many queries over the phone, email and social media about best guitar recommendation. And Personally, I love to help peoples, even I always try to help them with my best effort.
For other great blogs by this author, check out; "Get the most out of your guitar" and "Using the acoustic guitar"