Playing Position

Lesson 3/64 | Study Time: 5 Min

Course: Complete Fingerpicking Guitar

Playing Position

It is essential that correct playing position is used when beginning fingerpicking guitar. The basics of guitar technique include seating, holding the instrument and the correct position of both hands.

Seating

Sit towards the front edge of a chair with your right leg raised. Adjustable footstools can be purchased at most music stores. Experiment with the height of the footstool and chair until you reach a comfortable seating position.

Holding the Guitar

The guitar is secured at four points of the body. The right thigh, the forearm and the chest. The guitar should rest flat on your thigh and not lean backwards. Angle the guitar slightly upwards as shown in the previous photo.

Right Arm Position

The right forearm is positioned over the body of the guitar so that the right hand is in position to pluck the strings. The elbow is positioned at the edge where the face of the guitar meets the side.

Left Arm Position

Your left arm should not be close to your body nor be pushing away from your body. It should be able to move freely up and down the entire fretboard.

Previous Lesson Next Lesson

Brett Duncan

Product Designer

5.00

Profile

Class Sessions

1- Advanced Picking Techniques 2- Advanced Arrangements 3- Extended chord licks 4- Blues Fingerpicking Guitar 5- Constant Bass Line in the Key of E 6- Blues Bass Line Techniques 7- More Blues Scale Patterns 8- Introduction 9- Ragtime Fingerpicking Solos 10- Classic Rags 11- Basic Jazz Fingerpicking 12- More Jazz Chords and Techniques 13- Ragtime Fingerpicking Guitar 14- Advanced Jazz Chord Shapes 15- Single Note Runs 16- Combining Chords and Runs 17- Jazz Fingerpicking Arrangements 18- Open Tunings 19- Dropped G Tuning 20- Open G Tuning 21- Open D Tuning 22- Open C Tuning 23- Scales 24- GLOSSARY OF MUSICAL TERMS 25- Fingerpicking A Melody 26- Adding Extra Notes to A Chord 27- Left Hand Slurring Techniques 28- Arpeggio Styles 29- Accompaniment Styles 30- Second Position - Right Hand 31- Fingerpicking Technique 32- More Picking Patterns 33- Alternating Thumb Style 34- Fingerpicking Guitar Solo - Boots "N" All 35- Electronic Tuner 36- The Chromatic Scale 37- Dropped D Tuning 38- Playing Position 39- Harmonics 40- Jazz Chord Shapes 41- The Triplet Rhythm 42- Arpeggio Picking Patterns - <span class="symbolA">*</span>Time 43- Syncopation 44- Picking Patterns 45- Hand Technique 46- Changing Chords 47- The Major Scale 48- Tablature 49- Picking The Strings 50- The Minor Scale 51- Tablature Symbols 52- Chord Diagrams Used in This Book 53- First Position - Right Hand 54- The Major Pentatonic Scale 55- Picking with the Thumb 56- Scale Diagrams Used in This Book 57- The Blues Scale 58- Keys and Key Signatures 59- Combining Thumb and Fingers 60- Relative Keys 61- Learning All the Keys 62- Transposing 63- How to Transpose 64- How Chords Are Formed

GDPR

When you visit any of our websites, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. This information might be about you, your preferences or your device and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to. The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalized web experience. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. Click on the different category headings to find out more and manage your preferences. Please note, that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer.

Playing Position