Posture Tips for Guitarists

April 26, 2023

Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.

: Sometimes we need to take a break from talking about music to attend to the details that help us play the music we want to play.

One of those details has to do with this important question: Do you stand or sit when you play the guitar?

Maybe you do both. Let’s take a few minutes to consider some ideas and strategies that can help you as you spend time playing your guitar.

I highly recommend watching the accompanying video to this article, because I demonstrate multiple posture examples. Click here to watch it on YouTube. 

Standing & Seated Play

For about 30 years, I’ve been playing acoustic dreadnought guitars or a similar shape. The shape of this guitar allows me to rest my arm on the outside of the guitar body, with the elbow of my strumming arm at about a 90-degree angle in neutral position, as my strumming hand addresses the strings.

I typically don’t use a strap on my acoustic when I’m sitting down and practicing, because I’m able to hold it against me with my arm, but when I stand, a strap is absolutely necessary.

Evaluating Posture

When it comes to standing play, it’s important for us to keep our bodies centered over our feet, with equal distribution of our weight on each foot. Standing for long periods of time can be tiring, so be sure and have good support in your shoes. 

When possible, I also recommend using an anti-fatigue standing mat.  This is especially helpful when I’m practicing on a harder floor for long periods of time.

On the upside, standing does give us a lot more mobility. For example, if I’m leading worship, I prefer to fade to the side when I finish singing (so I’m not just standing at a mic during an instrumental section) and then I move back to the mic, to show everyone that we’ll be singing again. 

Strap Length

I practice seated most of the time, usually without a strap. But when it comes to standing, I’ve made sure my strap is adjusted to a length that allows my fretting hand and forearm to hold the guitar at a similar angle to when I sit.

Note that the neck of the guitar will be more vertical when I stand, but my fretting hand and forearm should maintain a similar angle as they approach the guitar neck. My upper arm will be closer to my body when I sit, and further away from my body when I stand, but everything else should look and feel very similar.

If you’re unsure of the strap length you need for standing play, I encourage you to first get comfortable with your preferred seated posture and angle without a strap, and to capture a photo or video of your fretting hand and forearm as you play in that seated position.

Then, attach your guitar strap, stand up, and try to imitate that hand and forearm angle, capturing a photo or video of you standing, adjusting the strap until your fretting hand and forearm look and feel similar to when you were seated. 

Other Pro Tips

I like to practice through my songs in the posture I plan to perform or lead worship in.  Although I don’t typically sit when I lead worship, I do perform some guitar ballads in a seated position. 

I also like to minimize variables, so as I stand, I often practice while wearing the same shoes I’ll be wearing onstage when I’m in front of a group of people. This is because I sometimes use pedals, and I want the feel to be familiar with the least amount of new sensations. Practicing in my socks can be more relaxed or cozy, but unless I’m going to be onstage in my socks, it’s worth putting on shoes.

As for clothing, I try to avoid wearing vests with buttons that can click loudly against the back of my amplified guitar. When I wear a jacket or a suit, I prefer to sit without a strap, especially because a jacket tends to restrict my movement, and I’ve even experienced some wear in the collar because of the friction from my guitar strap.

It’s also very common for me to practice with a music stand or tablet. In this case, I recommend having as neutral of a posture as possible, keeping the stand high enough to avoid a downward tilt of the head, which is not good for our spines.

And of course, with standing posture, if I only need to reference the stand or tablet occasionally, I may have it low and off to the side. The only thing I don’t recommend – and I’ve seen this a lot – is to have a music stand so high during worship that it actually creates a visual barrier so that people have a harder time seeing the worship leader. Ideally, having no music stand or tablet at all is the best scenario, but that of course, necessitates memorization.

Now, it could be argued that I’m getting a little too obsessed with details here, but think about it.  If we’re going to invest hundreds or even thousands of hours playing our guitars, it makes sense to have a solid posture and stance that not only avoids discomfort, but allows for optimal play, and therefore longevity.

I hope this has been helpful.  Now go…stand up, sit down, play, play, play!