On sitting

I'm pretty certain that just sitting with the guitar is in fact one of the biggest technical challenges. I'm also certain that many non-musicians would be amazed at quite how much thought and preparation has to go into even this most fundamental aspect.

Here's an interesting article by Graham Wade:

http://www.egtaguitarforum.org/ExtraArticles/posture.html

And another by Steven Kenyon:

http://www.jacaranda-music.com/rests.html

I stopped using the footstool about five years ago, after untold tension and back problems. I even developed a limp at one point! I then used the Gitano rest, and began to think much more seriously about the positioning of the guitar. The conception of the instrument as I now see it is a million miles away from the low-slung electric guitar, or the folksy guitarist strumming chords on an instrument horizontally positioned on the lap. I now see the instrument requiring a position that looks towards those required by the cello or the pipa.

The headstock of the instrument is level with the eyes. The guitar as a whole is positioned slightly closer to the centre of the body then in some of the older methods of positioning the instrument. Sitting in an upright position, it is impossible to see the fingerboard of the guitar, though I am able to see through the gap between the top edge of the fingerboard and the sixth string. There is absolutely no torsion of the body to the left, and displacement of the right shoulder is kept to an absolute minimum, or not at all. The last requirement is achieved by ensuring that the head stock is positioned slightly forward, and the lower bout slightly back. By doing this, the guitar lies on a diagonal plane in relation to the left thigh, rather than perpendicular to it.

The problem is that I personally find this virtually impossible to achieve with the use of the foostool alone. Even with the stool on it's highest setting, I find the guitar is not quite high enough, causing me to twist the body slightly to the the left. Worse, having the footstool on such a high setting is very unhealthy. It causes extreme twisting of the pelvis and lumbar region, and I feel that it impairs my breathing by forcing me to constrict my left lung!

My solution then has been to drop using the footstool and explore other means of support. I used the the Gitano for some years, though I grew increasingly dissatisfied, as it is difficult to make that device compensate for the different chair height that you come across. For the past six months I have been using the Ergoplay, and I have found it to be an extremely satisfying solution. It can deal with all but the highest of chairs, and places the guitar in stable and secure position. In the past week I have been experimenting with using a footstool on a very low setting, with the remainder of the required distance being made up by a Dynarette cushion. I am growing to like this setup more and more, and I am considering making it my default. The guitar is held very securely, and I am sure that it could deal with the many different chair heights that we musicians come across.

Of course, there can be no one way of sitting and holding the guitar for everyone, that would be impossible. I'm still open to new ideas, and looking for better ways of integrating the instrument with my own requirements.