Why is Guitar Playing So HARD?

There are many reasons.

But the easiest to solve is often overlooked.

Many players find guitar playing harder than it needs to be because their position with the guitar is uncomfortable.

If your body is uncomfortable, everything you play will seem harder.

If this continues, you may even develop tendonitis or carpal tunnel syndrome!

How do you find a good position for playing guitar?

Here are some principles that help:

1. Positioning Your Body

Find a chair where your thighs are parallel to the floor. This is a good height for guitar playing. Sit with your feet flat on the floor and your spine aligned, not hunching or arching your back. Bring the guitar to you rather than twisting your body around the guitar.

2. Positioning the Guitar

You want the right hand to freely strum across the strings and the left hand to freely move up and down the neck. Adjust the guitar until both hands can move comfortably.

Tilt the top of the guitar slightly back toward you to give your right hand good access to the strings without tilting the guitar so far back that your left wrist is uncomfortable.

Slope the neck of the guitar up at roughly a 45-degree angle.

You can use a footstool, guitar support, or strap to help find the best position.

3. Left-Hand Positioning

Keep the left wrist in its midrange with fingers curved and thumb behind the neck.

4. Right-Hand Positioning

Keep the right wrist in its midrange with fingers curved.

Finding a comfortable position with the guitar can make guitar playing easier and more fun!

Keep making music!

Even though I have been playing guitar for 36 years, I still find it helpful to keep a list of positioning guidelines on my music stand when I start my practice session.

I call this my Warmup Routine Checklist.

If you would like a free 1-page PDF of my Warmup Routine Checklist, click here.