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Flamenco positions for short guys?
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trivium91
Posts: 208
Joined: Jan. 24 2022
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 Flamenco positions for short guys?
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Hey guys, just wondering what your sitting positions are? Im pretty short 5 ft 6 with a small frame, and pretty muscular due to lifting weights for 14 years. The traditional position, on the right leg with the footstool causes some rear shoulder pain as my arm is pushed far right. The cross legged Paco position is pretty good as it centers the guitar better, but causes lower back pain. Both these positions seem to make the golpe a bit easier, of course this could just be in my head.
The last position that i seem to like the best is a sort of hybrid classical position, but that could just be because of my classical background. Basically with a left footstool, but instead of resting the inward curved part of the guitar on the left thigh, the upper outward curve rests on the left thigh, while the large one on the right....basically like pepe romero. Its the most comfortable, the only issue is i have to readjust my shoulder/arm to the right frequently, otherwise my hand lines up to far over the soundhole and the edge of the guitar is on my upper forearm where it should at the crease where my elbow is.
The only thing i have not tried is power through the shoulder pain for a week with the traditional position for example, and than assess it after that.
What do short flamenco players do for their playing positions? I should say my legs are pretty short, my torso is taller. Think jhonny bravo lol, perhaps not the best frame to play guitar with.
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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Feb. 1 2022 20:20:19
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Richard Jernigan
Posts: 3430
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA
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RE: Flamenco positions for short guys? (in reply to trivium91)
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When I started to learn flamenco in the early 1960s they told me you had to hold the guitar like the Paco Peña photos above, and your guitar had to have pegs, not machines.
I eventually learned the position. The guitar is not held by muscle tension. It is held entirely by the weight of the right upper arm, with the arm, shoulder etc. completely relaxed. It took a while to learn. The straight part of the side of the lower bout is parallel to the floor, so the arm has no tendency to slide to the left or right. I'm 6'4" so there's too much room between my right thigh and shoulder. I have to put a footstool at the lowest setting under my right foot.
I turned 84 the day before Christmas and I can still do it for a while, but the arm and shoulder tend to tense up, which wrecks right hand dexterity. I have a couple of blancas and one negra. The negra is too heavy and has the wrong weight distribution for me to hold it for any length of time in the "Paco Peña" position.
I got tired of the pegs on the Ramirez long ago and took it to Gryphon Instruments in Palo Alto, California to have machines put on it. Frank Ford came out of the back room to refuse to do it in person. He said it would "interfere with the character of the instrument." I told him that Jose Ramirez III had offered to have his shop do it, but I never had the guitar in Spain long enough to get it done. I'm pretty sure Ford thought I was lying. Kenny Hill's shop up in the mountains did a good job.
I don't like the guitar supports that attach with suction cups, because for me they come loose and they damage french polish. I use a Murata support which is adjustable in height and clamps firmly to the instrument. You can clamp it tightly without harming the guitar. I set it up so I can keep both feet flat on the floor.
I played classical in the standard classical position for many years with a left footstool. A couple of months ago I tried the Murata for classical. To my surprise I found that the classical position was causing tension in the lower back. No pain, just tension.
When I was a teenage trumpet player an operatic baritone in his late twenties I knew emphasized the importance of eliminating unnecessary tension. "You have to learn to relax everything," he said, "your ears, your toes, your fingers, your hair..."
RNJ
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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Feb. 2 2022 6:36:05
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