over the months i have come to notice something strange...i...cant play standing up heh
i tried many ways of holding the guit when im standing up and yet i just cant reach the higher frets on the larger strings "fluidly"(which i can very easily when im sitting down)
thing is, you cant really bring a chair or a sofa to a show

ive tried to simply sit down, put my hands on higher frets and then stand up to see wtf is wrong in my posture thats making me so shitty when standing up, and yet cant seem to find out why

any ideas? i'm thinking that perhaps moving the place where the strap is tied to might help but i dont think i could do that

hrm...

edit: actually here's another bad habit i just cant seem to shake off: i keep resting my hand on the strings(as if palm muting) when i start playing quickly, which imho blocks my "top speed" a bit when string skipping...any exercises/songs to suggest thatd force me to not rest my hand on the strings?

Get a new shorter strap. That will definitely work.

Or if you're cheap, make a hole higher up in your existing strap.


I had a hard time playing standing up too when i started, but after time i got used to it....first i used the highest holes on my strap, then gradually went lower and lower until one point i attached a shoelace to my strap to make it 1 foot longer.

For the past year i've mostly played sitting down so i'm not used to standing up anymore.....i can reach fine, but my accuracy goes down quite a bit....but who cares about me eh?

Try the strap thing.

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I have mine where my nippels are, Tom Morello style heh. Looks kinda dorky but its just like sitting down, you have total access to the lower frets.

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yeah atm i was thinking about just raising it a lot, but im better off just getting a better strap this one's messed up a bit anyways, you know the plastic thing that controls the length? keeps trying to stab my shoulder muscles -_- hehe...

guess that my whole year of sitting down+resting hand on strings "paid off"(aherm in a bad way heh)

i'll go look around the guitar shoppe tomorrow and try to find some strap with more length control(The one i have is those cheap ones that they give when you buy a guit)

yeah i had the same problem as you when i joined my friends band, but after a couple of 6 hour long practices i can play standing up just fine hehe

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worst part for me when standing up is chords like this(which happen to appear often in the songs i play, being Martyr and my own stuff)

ie:
-----------------------------
-----------------------------
-----------------------------
-5--------------------------
-3--------------------------
-1-------and 15+ here--

You mean that type of chord around the 15th fret?

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your strap is too low i think

don't bend your wrist, i think that constricts blood flow to your hands, or makes you start different muscles or something; basically makes you play bad.

extend your hand straight, and look at it sideways. you should see a straight angle form with your wrist and fingers. now point your fingers diagonally to the floor, to form a negative acute angle to the floor (like 30 degrees). that's how your hand should be when grasping the neck, and fretting the notes.
don't bend your wrist into a 90 degree angle like Jimi Hendrix, or James Hetfield.

keep your wrist straighter, you should be relaxed and feel no discomfort and stuff.

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no, i mean that type of chord, AND around the 15thfret+ on lower string...sorry if it seemed ambiguous :P bit tired hehe

That's how I've been playing when I standup! I hadn't really ever realized how different it is to play standing as opposed to sitting. Sometimes I just stand one leg on my amp and prop the guitar on my knee. That seems to work ok for when I'm soloing!

yes it does. It replicated how you sit.

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Yea. Everybody trying to be all cool and play with their guitar by their knees. Although I know it looks cool, but I don’t torture myself and let my guitar to be at about 45 degree angle to the floor, rather than parallel.

And a lot of people make mistake by not putting their left hand thumb on the middle of the back of the neck. Unless you play funk with 9th chords, where you have to mute 6th string with your thumb and other special occasions, your thumb by no means should crawl over the neck. Doing it properly leaves a lot more space for left hand to move and better for joints and bloodflow.

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i play my Vs hangin real low. it took a couple of months to get used to it, but it looks cool and i feel comfortable with it now. and i can reach the higher frets easily enough. just gotta warm up properly.

anyway, experiment with what works and what doesnt, coz theres not right or wrong way to play, its up to you. people tell me its too low, but i wouldnt dream of playing any other way. and i can usually blast them away.

enough said.

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To me, the height of the guitar is very dependent on the left/right position of the guitar. When I'm playing a V or something else that hangs very much to the right, I can usually have the bridge halfway down my thighs without getting any trouble to reach. This does however require me to keep the neck at about 70 degrees to the floor to reach the lower (1,2,3 and so) frets, but it feels really comfortable.
Many other guitars hang too far to the left for me to be able to reach properly even if I have them high up. Too bad for me I don't own a V...

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i play decent standing up but im alot better sitting down
for some reason, standing up messes with how the body is anatomically therefor, i cant stretch my fingers as far. go figure...

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guess we could start a band called The Evil sitting Guitarists...or...something.... *gets some more coffee*

I have the guitar at middle, not so high and not by the knees. But I think that i still look cool. I play both standing up and sitting down at equal speed because when i practice i always stand up.

I know exactly what you mean...........i got the same problem when i was "young"

Now i'm using a very short strap....the guitar hangs "high" and its better to play the high frets....try it and you will see that its work.....

its reall just a matter of getting used to a position that feels good and looks good(if ur worried about that) after time u shoudl get used to it and be able do to do wat u can do sitting down

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I got an other problem

I can't sit down and play... I got to stand up...

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playing all low by your knees looks fucking stupid.. its sooooooooo nu metal

i play like.. normal i guess... not up too high.. but not low.. i used to not be able to play taht good standing up but one day it just clicked.. now i always play standing up

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so true.

how the hell is playing at your knees cool?!?
unless you have arms like jimmy page, keep your
guitar no lower than your crotch.

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I have the same problem

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what problem? your arms arn't long enough or you're too stupid to raise your fuckin strap?

i had the same problems, i think i couldnt play standing up cuz it was too low and my guitar was like parallel to the ground. about the resting your hand on the strings when playin fast thing just prop it up and stabilize it by puttin your other 3 fingers that arent holdin the pick pressin against the body, i didnt know to do it till i saw michael angelo do it, it really helps too.

Actually, i have problems getting situated. I cant get my hand comfortable on the neck. Learn to shut the fuck up.

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yeah ive been trying the 3 fingers-laying-on-board thing(saw it in an angelo video too hehe), but it just feels weird, guess ill practice with that a while

i'll have a nice opportunity to fix my bad habits next week, getting a new guitar so while getting used to it i'll try and change my way of playing a bit

My Soloist is like middle. Perhaps slightly high. My V though, is pretty low. I find Vs to sit on your body better.

I've tried the whole thumb on the middle of the neck, but my hands are so big it is one of the most unfortable thing. I can't even begin to practice with it. So far, my hand position has not hindered my playing at all.

i think playing while standing up is a lot easier. i have a harder time tremolo picking notes while sitting down for some reason. i play with my guitar at my hips/lower stomach level, i think that feels perfect. when plaing on the higher frets i usually put my left foot on something and rest my guitar on my leg, for some reason it feels better.

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i just adjust my strap to where the guitar is at the exact place it would be if i was sitting down, it seems to feel ALMOST the same playing standing up that way.

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Well, being the beginner that I am, I too have some difficulties.

I was playing sitting down all the time until I realized that you can't
play sitting down all the time. I bought a cheap ass adjustable
strap and had to adjust it so high and on an angle until it felt like
it did when I was sitting down.

When I have trouble looking at some of the strings, I kinda stick my belly
out and it actually helps (when I'm fret wanking).

I also watched some of Chuck's playing (Death) with his Stealth. He holds
it about waist high and he angles the neck upward.

It's fun to play standing up actually. It gets me in the mood to move around
and get 'into' the music more.

Try playing in front of a mirror too! You can practice your showmanship at
the same time. Try imitating Gene Simmons doing his 'guitar and head side-
to-side' stuff. It feels fun.

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I used to play my guitar really low when all i was doing was bashing out chords, but then i realised i had to give up looking "cool" for actually sounding decent ... so now i play it fairly high

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you'll get used to standing up. everybody who starts trying to stand up (since almost everybody starts sitting, exclusively, and often for a very long time before ever putting a strap on) gets this problem.

don't sag your guitar down to your crotch and it won't be so bad. also, your hand will get much more used to stretching slightly differently while standing up, and it'll be much more natural. make sure that your strap fits the way you want to play.

really invest in a good strap. i was usin a shitty old ass one today at our practice, and the back strap came off and sent my new les paul crashing to the floor (luckily my foot absorbed most of the impact.. just had to find a missing tuning knob and put it back on). dont let this happen to you!

yeah..me too... i can play sitting down, but then i just suck... i have to stand... i think thats the most comfy position to play

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I use my v when I play standing up, cos its so fucking comfortable. It sits perfectly near ure waist and is so fuckin cool to play.

PS-people who play with there guitars at there feet suck and look stupid

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