Tips for playing while standing?

[rspst14]

This has been bugging me for a while now. When I play guitar sitting down, my hands feel much more comfortable, my speed and accuracy are much better, and I don't find myself looking at the fretboard to see where I am quite as much. but as soon as I try to play standing up, I start having problems. My hands always feel cramped, my picking becomes choppy and less accurate, and I can't play nearly as fast. I've tried to spend more of my practice time playing while standing rather than sitting, but I'm starting to feel like I'll never be able to play live because of this. Does anyone have any tips for improving my playing while in a standing position? Thanks.

Ryan

[BS123]

Re: Tips for playing while standing?

Just do it..... Sorry, but I feel you just have to hide your chairs and do it...

[nuntius]

Re: Tips for playing while standing?

I know exactly how you feel man.

Acoustic is what I mainly play (even though almost all my clips are electric, I still wrote most them on acoustic ) and I don't even have a neck side strap pin on it, so I hardly played standing up.

I found the only way to get around it really is to play standing up... there's no shortcut

You could watch the positioning of your strap, try and make it so the guitar is at roughly the same height on your chest as it would when you were sitting down, and try to angle it similarly also.

Don't be worried about having it slung low or whatever because rockstars do or whatever, make sure it's at a height which suits you and is comfortable for you


Another thing - Do you find you look at your fretting hand a lot when you're stood up?

It's not as easy to do so as you kinda have to re-position your guitar, and the fact that you have to look also means you're not 100% confident in what your playing which may lead to tenseness and might explain some of the problems you've been hagving, so try and learn to play without looking at the fretboard. (Obviously if you're playing something very complicated you'd need to look but for the most part, like ryhthm playing, it's best to be able to play without needing to look)

The plus side is, when you play a gig, you can check out the birds in the crowd and not your fretboard

Theres a few ways you can do that.

1. Willpower - just don't look

Or if you find yourself looking, try either

2. Playing whilst stood up and watching TV or a film.

3. Playing in a dark room with the curtains closed (I've done that one a few times so I could really concentrate on getting parts perfected for live shows)

Meh, sounds kinda geeky but I found I had to do it to force myself to learn my way around the fretboard without needing to have my eyes glued to it.



Finally, relax You're thinking negatively about it, it seems like you might be tensing up in anxiety even, so just chill, losen the grip on your pick and play

[Sly_D]

Re: Tips for playing while standing?

Yeah, I have the same problem, which I guess is normal. Your arm and hand positions are not the same. It can create stiffness that really impairs your speed and flow. I think BS123's right. The only way to improve is to play standing ONLY until you feel comfortable.

Another thing that helped me. The lower the guitar the cooler. That's what I always thought... that may be the case for crappy rhythm guitar player, but this is awefull if you play lead and want to be accurate. The guitar MUST be higher than all those cool rock star if you look for accuracy. I say this because when I decided to put the guitar higher (and I don't mean flush to the armpit like George Harrison in the 60s, but say the middle of the guitar at belt level) I began to play better.

Any players who set their guitar at knee level play like crap live.

[ledzepp29]

Re: Tips for playing while standing?

if you just force yourself to play standing when practicing eventually you will be fine, you just have to get used to it, same as when you get a new guitar it may feel akward but if you just keep playing it you'll get used to it. Look at slash, he has his strap pretty low, and the strap is 1/2 inch thick. That combined with a les paul can not be comfortable but he does it and I don't see that affecting him...but also I don't see how he plays solos while holding the guitar up in the air solely by the grip on the neck so..... just set the strap to where its comfortable but not too high(visible crotch,belt), to me a guitar strapped on alot higher than normal is comparable to a dude wearing his pants up to his nipples... but I also thing hetfield and his rediculously low explorer looks just as stupid

[shroudofimpurity]

Re: Tips for playing while standing?

I feel much more comfort while standing. I play very fast, technical music, and there is nothing like getting into position and tearing it up! I notice a lot of dudes play their guitar so low(that must hurt your wrist). I set my strap a little higher, and I dont let my guitar neck get horizontal, I like my neck more vertical... its closer to playing a cello or something like that. If you play live or in a band at practice, I bet you wont even notice that you have problems while you stand and play.

[BlueSnMettle]

Re: Tips for playing while standing?

You could watch the positioning of your strap, try and make it so the guitar is at roughly the same height on your chest as it would when you were sitting down, and try to angle it similarly also.

Hey Ryan, I like this ^^^^^^^. I'd just start with what nuntius said and just lower your axe in small increments until you're happy with the results.


Peace,

Darrin

[JimiHWannaBe]

Re: Tips for playing while standing?

grow long hair so noone notices when your looking at your fretboard.

[BlueSnMettle]

Re: Tips for playing while standing?

grow long hair so noone notices when your looking at your fretboard.

Yes, there are many options

[tone4days]

Re: Tips for playing while standing?

yeah, it's all about strap height .. you have to wear it way up in order to get a good technique position ... look at pics of steve howe and/or pat metheny ... it's not considered 'cool' but it works ... i wear it way up, feel like a dork, but never feel limited by my hand/arm/wrist position ...

... except my tele .. i wear it lower than usual because i am mostly just bashing "springsteen style" on it (for now)

[JALIN]

Re: Tips for playing while standing?

I used to feel the same about playing standing. You just have to commit to playing standing and you`ll get used to it. Later you will find, like I have, that standing is more comfortable than sitting. Now stand up and let it rip!

[shroudofimpurity]

Re: Tips for playing while standing?

I think it looks funny when guitarists have their guitar too low. Like Slash or the guys from Korn or someone like that... soooo cheeseball. Just my opinion though.

[tone4days]

Re: Tips for playing while standing?

I think it looks funny when guitarists have their guitar too low. Like Slash or the guys from Korn or someone like that... soooo cheeseball. Just my opinion though.

agreed - Hetfield is a perfect example .. but for some reason, it did look cool on jimmy page ... go figure

of course, the way i wear it, i end up looking like the guy who got thrown out of The Archies for wearing it too high ... :-)

[Sly_D]

Re: Tips for playing while standing?

Yeah, this is an old trend in the 35-45 rock guitar player like me

I think you have to find a balance between the Archies and Hetfield... although if your comfortable with your position, it doesn't matter.

I agree though that I wouldn't dare showing my belt UNDER my guitar, since I've showed it for years OVER it. I feel OK with my belt at mid-guitar now.

[Davey]

Re: Tips for playing while standing?

i am most comfortable having the guitar a bit over waist level. the hands are in the most natural position and i'm much more confident and i dont think !!! what am i playing now, is this good, no.. like that..and then i screw up.. doesnt happen when i'm playing standing up.. seems more natural to me.

the 'the lower the cooler' thing is BS! i get cramps in my shoulders and wrists

just force yourself man.. and do what nuni said.. it helps =)
i used to read tabs and lyrics that i staped on the walls when i played