Playing standing with a strap

[Daniel H]

So, I’ve always been sitting in a chair when playing, but recently I’ve tried standing and using a strap. I’m using electric guitars, a Strat or a Tele mainly. The problem is, when I’m standing I can’t see the fretboard. When sitting, the body is tilted out so I can see over the fretboard, but when I stand, it hangs and the body comes in toward me on the bottom, drawing the fretboard in and out of my line of sight. I wish I had a method to get the position the same as when I’m sitting, so the fretboard is visible to me. I’ve already found a strap that I can shorten enough so that the wrist angle is not such a problem, so it’s up to the right height anyway. Does this sound familiar to anybody? Any suggestions?

[sunjamr]

I’ve always envied people who can play complex licks without even looking at their fretboard. I can play chords just fine while looking elsewhere, but as soon as I try to play a lick, I have to look at the fretboard. But just a couple of days ago I was surprised to see (on Youtube) one of the old-time blues musicians who held his guitar so that it was nearly flat. He had the strap adjusted so that it was held pretty high up. I’ve been watching so many Youtube videos lately that I can’t remember which one it was. Maybe T-Bone Walker.

Sunjamr Steve

[Billy]

Mary Spender says practise with the lights off/in the dark, I’ve tried practising with my eyes shut and it does make you focus more on what your fingers are playing( geez, this sounds like I’m writing for a porno mag)..
Can’t find the right way to wear an acoustic with a strap, though I was told that with an electric guitar the strap should hold the guitar at the height/position you have the guitar at while sitting..

..Billy..

[richard t]

It feels a bit awkward at first, but like most things involving guitar, it will feel natural after you do it for awhile. The little dots on the top of the neck work as fret markers, just takes some getting used to.
Each guitar has a little different balance and require a little different strap length for me. My higher end guitars each have their own strap.

And Steve, the guy that plays his guitar almost flat is T-Bone Walker. He also used to play it behind his neck, and I think he may have played with his teeth and done the duck walk. He was quite the showman as well as great musician. A great inspiration to Chuck Berry who also borrowed some of T-Bones licks for Johnny B Goode.

Daniel, people with big bellies like myself, tend to hang their guitars around their side than straight in front of themselves.

[Daniel H]

Funny you mention the big belly, because I was thinking this could be a good reason to finally just let myself go and acquire a proper beer belly. It should push the lower bout of the guitar out and tilt the fingerboard up to me. Problem solved! Think I’ll look for some Leslie West on YouTube.

[Anonymous]

I’m the same way Daniel. Most of the time I practice and learn sitting down. My back has been bad (and ignored) for a lot of years so sitting worked better. Now I’ve recently had surgery in my back and standing is exhausting so I do sit to play. When trying to stand with a strap however, I do need to shorten the strap and get the guitar up about where it is when I’m sitting. Like Steve says, I do fine with chords, especially in the open position, but when soloing or moving up the fretboard, I’ve got to peak. I think like in typing, looking at the fretboard slows you down, but I’m not experienced enough to play without looking. I doubt I’ll ever be. Since I do this for my own entertainment only, I guess sitting down is no big deal.

[Brian D]

I’m with Mary Spender – an important goal should be to be able to play without looking at your hands. On the violin, we’re taught to look at the sheet music; in the orchestra you need to look mostly at the conductor, and glance at the page when needed – no chance to look at what the hands are doing. I think it’s important to separate the skill from the eyes at some point.

Being new to picking notes and melodies (been mostly a strummer), I find that when I’m looking at my left hand, my pick tends to get lost in other lanes or just missing the strings entirely, then if I look at my right hand, the picking cleans up but I tend to miss my fingerings. Marty Feldman wouldn’t have had that problem, but I was cursed with eyes that both point in the same direction!

I think going back and forth like that is a great way to get the brain used to controlling what it can’t see. As I’m working on leads, I try to imagine standing on stage and looking at the audience or singing into a mic; can’t watch your fingers when you do those things…

[avanapa]

I totally agree with Brian D. Due to recent back injury I found it difficult to sit for long so started to practice guitar standing up. Man, it was so frustrating and was like I’d never played before. Chords were ok but lead and riffs were horrendous. I found though that while sittng for as long as I could before getting too uncomfortable, and sticking to riffs and melodies that were familiar to me, I played them without looking at the fret board. I then adjusted the strap so the guitar was virtually in the same position when I stood up as when sitting and found my playing standing had greatly improved. Don’t get me wrong. It takes time and patience and for me its still a “work in progress”. Good luck to anyone with similar back problem and hope this helps.

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