View Full Version : Why can't I stand and play?
I seriously can't stand up and play the guitar. I have to sit. It's a real pain in the ass, especially on quick solos with alot of hammer-ons and pulloffs. Are there anyone here who has had the same problems, who can give me some advice? I haven't played a gig yet, but when the time comes, I really don't want to sit or stand with my guitar raised to my shoulders looking like the Beatles(no offence).
bLuZ_RoCkz
02.01.03, 4:16 PM
4 words....
1. get 2. a 3. good 4. strap
Could it be that my guitar is not well balanced?(tilting) It's a Yamaha Strat lookalike. Seems almost too big for me. It has very long body. I simply don't feel comfortable playing while standing. I reccon my strap is good, it's one of those straps which has a leather strap going zic-zac through another leather strap. It's a bit hard to explain. How does all those punk bands play with their guitars on their knees? I tried it once, and I almost broke my wrist.
skip tracer
02.01.03, 5:32 PM
its easy to play with the guitar that low when you just bang out two-finger power chords. but you look at pictures of jimmy page and he plays like that too. if you have small hands (like me) you just have to practice playing standing up a lot before you have that kind of flexibility. one thing is, you have to hold the neck the "wrong" way. instead of having your thumb on the back of the neck, grip the neck with your fist with your thumb touching the 6th string. that's how i do it, anyway.
idealflaw
02.01.03, 6:42 PM
I used to have difficulty and fatigue playing standing up. It took me a few years to figure out. you see, I was young and saw all these rockstars with their guitars slung low, and thought "hey, I should do that too". It's JUST FASHION! I hurt my wrist and my technique suffered. THat's why you can't hammer on.
When I wised up and raised my guitar, my sound cleared up and my fatigue went away.
Don't fall for stupid fashions; play how you feel comfortable regardless to wether you think it looks stupid or not.
Not giving a F*ck is SOOO rock...
But worrying about looking 'like the beatles' is retarted..
I agree with these guys, man. I play in a punk band . . . My guitar hangs down to my crotch when we're playing Blink or soemthing. But as soon as we start playing Chili Peppers, or any other band that requires some real skill, the guitar goes to my waist. Just practice and do what feels natural. I also couldn't stand and lpay guitar!!! Just practice man, then it becomes so natural that you'll like standing better!!! It took me at least a year to be able to stand and play. And don't even get me started on singing and playing . . . :D
also in agreeance... it took me two years to get comfortable playing standing up. while i sit i hunch myself over my guitar and stare at what i play. playing sitting down is still a might easier for me, simply cos i got used to my guitar in that position. and i also hold my guitar 'incorrectly' while standing. thumb just over the sixth string [except on barre chords].
as for straps, i use cheap nylon web ernie ball straps. i have no problem with them at all. light and comfy. but i'm also big, and they're a decently long strap. [i dont use/wear anything leather.] the upper contour on the back of my strat cradles my stomach so it hangs just at my waist. the most natural place for me... i can reach all the frets/strings.
final words practice practice practice, it will be tough, but if you're going to gig it's something you must learn how to do. good luck!
skip tracer
02.01.03, 10:51 PM
when playing my jazzmaster with the baseball-bat sized neck and high action, i have to wear my guitar kind of high, but with my strat or SG, i can wear it kind of low. it might have something to do with the kind of guitar you are playing, how heavy your strings are, and how high your action is, as well.
j_stashko
02.02.03, 1:31 AM
You just have to practie and get a good strap maybe. I play standing up all the time, all my friends sit down when we practice but I always stand and they get tired if they stand for a while but I just keep on going. You just have to always practice standing up, or most of the time because you are eventually going to need to stand up and play.
Thanks for all the answers, guys!
joeinthebox1980
02.02.03, 3:25 AM
Originally posted by j_stashko
You just have to practie and get a good strap maybe. I play standing up all the time, all my friends sit down when we practice but I always stand and they get tired if they stand for a while but I just keep on going. You just have to always practice standing up, or most of the time because you are eventually going to need to stand up and play.
yep. it's a cliche, but practice makes perfect... or close to it.
it's just a matter of getting used to it.
when i first started i had to play up high, but what works nicely is start by playing high and then slowly lower your guitar (if you want it low). it works for me.
dimebag
02.04.03, 12:26 PM
Unless you're a jazz player, I suggest just keeping at it until it works. It's like a lot of guitar related things, they feel awkward at first but then you get used to it. I guess there's two stances you can take with playing the guitar up high or sitting down.
1) It doesn't matter how you look or whatever, the only important thing is what notes you're playing and how you're playing them.
2) It's all very well playing great but that don't mean **** if you have no energy, stage presence, attitude or style.
I tend to agree with the latter comment.
Example - Zakk Wylde. Would he look be so good sitting down with his head bent over the neck looking at what he's doing? No. Yeah he'd still be playing the same stuff, but it just doesn't mean the same.
I know I've probably just talked a load of *****, but that's personal opinion. :)
By the way, I started playing with my guitar round my crotch almost as soon as I started playing guitar and that hasn't affected my playing much. Sure I find it easier and more accurate playing Jazz style, but I can still play fast and almost as well with my guitar round my bollocks and it adds a lot to my style and stage presence.
Phew....:D
symPATHETIC
02.04.03, 3:09 PM
you need a strap like carlos santanas....you will be alright with a little practice....i keep my guitar up around the torso....i went through a phase where i was playing punk stufff.....and i couldnt play all those fast palm mutes with my guitar down by my shoe laces....so punk had a different affect on me.
Actually i don't know how people can play high........it hurts my wrists and shoulders when i do and also i play half my speed at that height....i usually have my guitar below my waist and i can shred like crazy where as when its up high.....i can barely do simple chords.....but like everyone says.....whatever works for you! ! ! Also straplocks helps alot knowing that your guitar won't fall off! ! !
Originally posted by Aim
Actually i don't know how people can play high
Believe me, it's great. :D
jacobhimself
02.20.03, 8:25 PM
i say **** it. start a new trend and play your guitar under your chin like a violin.
The User
02.22.03, 7:20 PM
When I started playing, Greenday's 'Insonmiac' album had juct come out.Billie Joe Armstrong almost balances his guitar on his shoes. I took my cue from him and adjusted my strap to be as long as it would go. Thats how I learned to play. I still play my guitars very low- always have. I can play along to anything Slash plays, and my blues sounds fine. The only time i feel it has inhibited my playing is on bass with Tools 'Eulogy' where you have to slide chords around smoothly on about the 15th fret. Now I dont like playing sitting down at all...and I hate short straps. My only exception is that i refuse to play acustic guitars on straps. I can do it, but....its just not right.
Robert Fripp is a legend and he performs all his shows seated to this day.
Mobisimo
02.22.03, 9:35 PM
practice, practice, practice. i had the same problem and i just kept at it and now i can fly around pretty well with my guitar low. just practice and you will be able to do it soon.
good luck, peace
jonjonbolt80
02.27.03, 10:03 AM
some very great players play sitting down. bb king ben harper to name a few
sk8punck7976
02.28.03, 12:06 PM
i always play standing up, i barely ever sit, all my practice is done standing up, i learn most stuff standing up, all with my guitar by my crotch. i just have always been playing like that, so its no big deal for me. i mess up when i sit/ have the guitar up high. its weird. if i sit, i use the strap and sit at an angle. kinda hard to explain. its weird though, cause my guitar teacher, that taught me everything i know, plays his sg sitting down like with the strap button between his legs. hes really good, but i cant play high, at all. im kinda weird. ive been playing for about 3 or 4 years, so im really used to it, always low. i like how it looks up high all old shcool beatles style, but i cant play like that. i liked the hives way of doing it. im weird as hell arent i?
Satch_21
03.11.03, 3:21 PM
I started out with my strap at like bow-tie height, moved it to waist height, and then i found a happy medium in between...pretty standard really...
reallygeeky
03.11.03, 4:25 PM
Actually, if I'm playing fast power chords (punk), then I find the guitar being high can get really painful on my right elbow since my arm is swinging fast without fully extending at the elbow. I had slight tennis elbow in my right arm so it's all about finding a balance btw low (easy on my right arm, hard on the left hand) and high (great for being accurate and fast with my left hand but painful on my right elbow).
scottishpunk
03.11.03, 4:28 PM
if you play with your guitar at baw height then when u need upper fret acces just tilt ur neck up a bit, and you can get all the notes ur violin playing friends can. believe it or not with your guitar down lower it does help your stage presence, ive noticed in my local scene the most animated live acts all play their guitars low, its helps you get your upper body moving by not having your guitar there. that said tom morrello plays his guitar up real high and hes got immense presence.
I used to play my strat practically tucked up under my armpit, because of the way the body leans into your body with that concave at the top of the back of it.
I noticed today that the bottom of my guitar sits at my hip bone, so it's still fairly high.
Just easier for me to play that way, it's closer to what it's like sitting down really.
My bass player also has his bass up under his armpit (even higher than me), and he's a demon. Also plays a lot sitting down. ;)
I think maybe the trouble is, you play sitting down, your neck is parallel to the ground, and under your armpit. Some people also have a habit of leaning their guitar, and therefore, their fingerboard, forward or back when sitting down.
When you stand up, your neck becomes an acute angle from the ground, and the board sort of stays perpendicular to the ground.
Because I play a lot sitting down, I find I start leaning back when playing because I'm tilting the fretboard up towards the ceiling.
It makes for a sore back, and looks rather stupid. :D
At first I played mine pretty high up but then I got used to it and lowered it. Play however you want, but playing low looks the coolest. But do whatever's comfortable. If the guitar starts to block your vision, you might want to think about lowering it a few inches.:D
Originally posted by nobody
Believe me, it's great. :D
rodl, I can't believe I missed that joke the first time through this thread... ;)
idealflaw
03.16.03, 9:04 AM
that guy was right about lowering the guitar increasing the stage presence. I play my guitars pretty high up, as I play mainly on the high strings, and i asked my GF to tell me if I looked cool. She said "Mmm, okay" and I lowered the strap *just alittle* and she siad "That's it!!"
so even though i argued against lowering the guitar, there is a definate point of stage-presence.
I think the guitar looks best covering your genitals. Not too low and not too high.
sk8punck7976
03.16.03, 2:11 PM
when the guitar is covering my genitals its pretty ****inn low
just playing
but i agree.it looks cooler low. about there, and its way easier for me to play, it makes it more fun to jump off my drummers bass drum, and swing the guitar around my back, and get it behind my head and do all those cool things that make the crowd go "ooooooh, ahhhhhhh" . the real ooo's and ahh's and yeas come from playing though, so get those ooo's and playt the same thing you did to get the oo's behind your head and youll put on a bad ass show. the end.
I have the same problem but i'm getting better....u have to practice standing up or u wont improve....as for looking dumb with your guitar high look at Tom Morello....he's got that thing up to his chest but people only talk about how much ass he kicks...The morale: if u sound great people wont care how u look.
By the way, Ben Harper only plays sitting down.
Koolmosher182
03.30.03, 2:18 PM
Iv been playing for about 2 years and I can only play when the guitar is covering my balls! Any higher than that and i cant get to my power chords and both my arms hurt. Thats probably coz im a freak though.
It's all in the lenght of your upper arms, and what you like offcourse. But a good measure for beginning guitarists is when you're playing standing, when you look over the neck you should be able to see about 1/4 of the palm of your hand.
If your upper arms are quitte short, like me you're lower arm will be pointing way too much downward when you're guitar is swung low so you won't be able to see your palm at all.
Nathaniel Manx
04.03.03, 6:21 PM
Originally posted by Anders
I seriously can't stand up and play the guitar. I have to sit. It's a real pain in the ass, especially on quick solos with alot of hammer-ons and pulloffs. Are there anyone here who has had the same problems, who can give me some advice? I haven't played a gig yet, but when the time comes, I really don't want to sit or stand with my guitar raised to my shoulders looking like the Beatles(no offence).
stop ruining your hands and wear your guitar high and proud!!!
i started strapping mine up slightly higher than waist high after my doctor diagnosed a slight pain in my wrist as the early signs of carpal tunnel syndrome. playing my guitar low was pinching nerves in my wrist.
look at john petrucci. there's no way he'd be able to pull off all that crazy stuff if he wore his guitar around his thighs.
Aquatrotsky
04.10.03, 9:07 PM
I started out playing sitting down, because i didnt have a strap, then i got into Korn and started standing up with the guitar low around me Then I got into Tom Morello and started wearing it high, but then I got into Adam Jones and realized that my neck hurt and hang it in the middle. Now I am into Robert Fripp and hang the guitar in the middle like Adam Jones, but sit down most. of the time. It makes me feel best, and it is easier to play. For a song that requires a certain amount of energy (i.e. downstrokes and speed) to play, however; I stand up. I do not move around though, like the weirdo that asked for help on jumping. He should have his jumping privileges revoked.
TheWizard
04.10.03, 10:09 PM
I do not move around though, like the weirdo that asked for help on jumping. He should have his jumping privileges revoked.
lmao that is pretty funny.
Simply place the guitar at a comortable height. If you place it in an unnatural position, you're much more likely to develop physical problems over time and end up not being able to play at all.
You have a choice between looking cool by hanging the guitar low, or being cool by playing well. Hanging the guitar low will just make you look like every other forgettable guitar poser. Playing well will make you stand out.
If you're worried about how you look, maybe you just need to practise more.
Personally, when I play a lot standing up, I end up playing better standing than sitting, and vice-versa.
if you look at most of those guys who hold their guitars paralell to the floor, i think you will find that they have hands similar to those of a gorilla -- they're freakin huge hands -- clapton, hendrix, srv -- they could reach like 12 frets from the low-end easy (ok maybe not 12 but you get the drift) -- that's why they can play any damn way they want -- normal people can't, it's that simple -- watch angus young -- he can't play like that BUT he creates body positions (leaning out over the guitar neck for one and keeping the guitar's body on his right hip) that allows him to LOOK like he's playing like that -- look at how much his left arm is bent -- he's not reaching for it at all -- he's right on top of it and it looks just as good.
secondly, don't worry about how you look; worry about how you play. if you play like ****, it doesn't matter how good you look.
bellamy_rox
04.17.03, 2:18 PM
I can totally see where you are coming from, ive been playing for just under a year now, I played my first gig, and my guitar was just above waist hight, nice 'n' comfortable, but i looked at my guitar the whole time which ive got to stop doing, i believe from what u said that i have the same guitar, a Yamaha Pacifica right? Its real comfortable to play, but i recently got an SG, and its so top heavy i have to have it higher, but thats the way it goes. And don't worry bout looking like the beatles, just think you look like tom morello! That leads me to my next point when ever i play rage stuff, i have to have my guitar high, like tom's because i can't move around that fast that low down.
my strap is rather low, but i can play just fine... so perhaps if i raise it up i could play better... when i do have it tom morello high i hind it harder to palm mute, cause i have to turn my wrist more.
doingtheunstuck
02.14.04, 5:07 PM
when i first picked up a guitar for a ramones cover band a few years ago.. i played pickups over **** and had no problem.
after my long absintence from the guitar and picking up seriously... i've found playing standing up in general just doesn't feel right for me. no matter where the guitar is placed, how my posture is, whatever... it just feels inherently wrong. so i've come to the point of pretty much always playing sitting down... it's not for everyone, but i like it.
there's an added bonus to playing sitting down, too: i have both of my feet for pedal stomping.
I enjoy playing high and half drunk with my guitar a bit lower not at my ankles, though.
Originally posted by skip tracer
when playing my jazzmaster with the baseball-bat sized neck and high action, i have to wear my guitar kind of high, but with my strat or SG, i can wear it kind of low. it might have something to do with the kind of guitar you are playing, how heavy your strings are, and how high your action is, as well.
yeah, not to mention that sometimes the thickness of the body of your guitar plays into it too....some of my guitars are great for sitting down with, which are usually the thinner ones. with the thicker ones, the neck is usually more pushed out and easier for me to control, so it could also have to do with the body thickness and the perception it gives. the scale, the bridge type, all this can play into it as well.
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