If you’re reading this lesson, there’s a good chance you’re wondering if you are holding the guitar wrong. That’s good! Improper technique can lead to strain, injury and poor progression. Alternatively, learning how to hold the guitar correctly when you’re first starting out is a great way to ensure long term success with minimal discomfort.

Whatever your reason may be, in this lesson you will know the right way to hold your guitar.

How to Hold A Guitar Correctly While Sitting

Sitting down is how most guitarists first start. Sitting allows you to look down at the fretboard easily with little other variables to worry about. However, there are many things to check off on your checklist to ensure your seated practice isn’t holding you back.

First, let’s start with the chair you're sitting in. Here there are a few features you want to look out for or avoid:

Look, Ma: No Arms!: Having arms on your chair will get in the way of your elbows and force you into an unnatural practice position. This is the most important factor.

Don’t Be a Couch Potato: Sitting on the couch may be comfortable at first, but over time leads to slouched shoulders, a hunched back - just bad posture in general. The cushy seats under you also causes you to sink down below your knees. This position can cause lower back strain.

Okay, you’ve got the perfect throne for your ass, now what?

Once your chair is dialed in you want to make sure your posture doesn’t suck. After all, you went through all the trouble of getting a chair that won’t hurt your posture, why give up there?

When seated, you want to make sure that the guitar is below your chest, if possible.

Bend your knees at about 90 degrees with your thighs level with the ground

Righties, rest the guitar on your right knee. Lefties, on your left.

Watch your posture:

How to Hold A Guitar Correctly While Standing

When playing standing there are a few new variables to consider:

• Use an adjustable guitar strap
  • Adjustable straps allow you to set the height of the guitar to a comfortable spot
  • Find the right height for you. Too high can be exhausting on your arms and uncomfortable. Too low will make it hard to strum and pick in general.
  • If you're playing on electric, loop your cable through the strap before you plug it in. This will keep the cable behind you and out of the way.
• Tilt the neck upward slightly
  • This will allow you to fret chords and strings easier.
  • Avoid too extreme of an angle:
    • If you tilt the neck too high up your picking arm will get tired fast
    • If you tilt the neck too low you will find yourself stretching just to play some chords.
    • Find the happy medium

• Watch Your Posture
  • Keep back straight
  • Fretting arm elbow bent at 90
  • Feet at least shoulder width apart
  • Tip: Stand slightly off center to improve your balance.

Picking Hand

Holding a pick correctly is pretty straight forward:

Start by curling your index finger so the pad of your finger tip touches the base of the finger, making a C shape:

Place the pick on the corner of the C:

Press your thumb down firmly on top of the pick (not too hard, don’t strain or hurt yourself. You just want to have a decent grip on the pick)

Additional Picking Hand Tips:

• Rest bicep/upper arm on the upper corner of the guitar
• Practice anchoring pinky on pickguard
  • This one is tough but you’ll thank yourself if you can master it. Keeping your pinky anchored minimizes the amount of movement your right hand has to make so play any given string. Over time, this will help improve your speed and dexterity since your hand has to do less work.

Fretting Hand

Proper fretting hand technique will make playing chords (especially barre chords) and songs much easier. Luckily there are only a few things to watch out for:

Holding the guitar neck:

• You want your thumb to be close to the middle of the neck vertically

• Your thumb should also be as close to centered between your 4 fretting fingers as possible

• Create some pressure with your thumb but try to use your triceps to create more pressure when fretting

Let’s Talk Fingers!

Your fingers are numbered 1-4 starting at your Index (1st finger), Middle (2nd Finger), Ring (3rd) and Pinky (4th). This is important to know once you start learning guitar chords and reading chord diagrams.

When playing guitar you want to try and keep all 4 fingers bent slightly. This will help train your fingers to be in the correct position when playing and reduce the travel distance required to press down on a string.