Finding good Postures

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El Saare

Posts: 76
Joined: Mar. 11 2009
From: Damascus, Syria

Finding good Postures

Ola amigos

I think I have a problem in choosing a sutable posture to play guiar suits my length witch is about 165cm and my body is

regular to my lenght... means I am short and that is make me feel hard to consider a comfortable positure.I don't have full

flamenco technique, still learning so maybe it is a part of the problem.

Here is my postures I am playing guitar with and evry one with it is problem:

* Positure naming from Graf Martinez guitar method book.

1.(Manolo Sanlucar posture) still now it is the most comfortable one but feeling some anesthesia in the back right bottom

side.

2. (Gitano posture) Cofortable too but it makes my back to curved forward and my neck too.If I rised up my neck my look will

be ugly.

3. (PDL posture) good too and most controllable but the anesthesia again but in my right leg espesially with wearing jeans.

This postiture ables me turining the vertical guitar angel from 90Deg to decrease it littel bit sometimes to see whats going

on in frets(still need that sometimes), (Also to increase the angel more than 90 littel bet means forward it helps to have

more controlle with right hand techniques)**

**please also explane to me more about flipping forward

I can't play with the classical posture or Sabicas one or the traditional one.I feel all my left shoulder is far and out of

controlling the guitar.so I give up playing with this positures.

Also I think choosing a good seat may be good for me.when I play outdoor and don't find a good seat I can't play,and it make

it unpleased to my friends not to play or playing short time..

I am looking for finding good conditions from start to build up with.

Any advice will be very useful to me.

Thank you

_____________________________

My favourite part is when I squeeze the tea bag with the spoon, but the hard part is where i am going to place it.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 22 2009 20:51:35

mark indigo

Posts: 3625
Joined: Dec. 5 2007

RE: Finding good Postures (in reply to El Saare)

quote:

(Gitano posture) Cofortable too but it makes my back to curved forward and my neck too.If I rised up my neck my look will be ugly.

i would go with comfort over fear of ugliness! How do you know your look will be ugly? Has anyone actually said this to you? I say don't worry about it!

i use a guitar support, which might look "un-flamenco" but it puts the guitar approximately where it would be in the "PDL position" without having to cross one leg over the other (which causes me problems in my spine, neck, shoulders, wrists and fingers!).

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 23 2009 0:06:43

El Saare

Posts: 76
Joined: Mar. 11 2009
From: Damascus, Syria

RE: Finding good Postures (in reply to mark indigo)

the ugly look with the gitano posture I noticed it in couple of vedios.but anyway the most practicing goes with this posture. It's really frustrate

Guitar support is good but you have to carry it on whereever you like to play guitar if you can not play well without.

I feel I am still fresh to build with a good posture so I am trying to choose the best for me.

Thanks for reply

_____________________________

My favourite part is when I squeeze the tea bag with the spoon, but the hard part is where i am going to place it.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 23 2009 5:51:40

gj Michelob

Posts: 1531
Joined: Nov. 7 2008
From: New York City/San Francisco

RE: Finding good Postures (in reply to El Saare)

El Saare, I took two sound advices respectively from

(i) Ricardo: to relax about the whole problem and fearlessly change position whne you feel like it and as you please –from PDL to traditional, from gitano to Sabicas –

(ii) Anders: when playing traditional, lay a rubber-pad across your leg to firmly secure the guitar and prevent any awkward sliding. By doing so, you may incline and tilt the instrument to nearly any angle you may find comfortably suitable. It works wonderfully.

_____________________________

gj Michelob

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 23 2009 6:49:40

Djreisat

Posts: 28
Joined: Sep. 21 2009
From: Wilmington, NC

RE: Finding good Postures (in reply to El Saare)

Ahlan,
El Sarre I agree with what Michelob said about relaxing and changing positions. Play the way you feel comfortable with, hey its your music!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 24 2009 9:09:32

El Saare

Posts: 76
Joined: Mar. 11 2009
From: Damascus, Syria

RE: Finding good Postures (in reply to El Saare)

Thank you friends,

I think I will try to constraint on finding some relaxing method with the same postures I like and see what I will get after about 1 month. Habits needs 21 to 30 days to be changed correctly.So there is nothing to do with the length of the chair ( what a stupid thought

)

thanks again and Ahlan w Sahlan

_____________________________

My favourite part is when I squeeze the tea bag with the spoon, but the hard part is where i am going to place it.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 24 2009 10:00:17

gj Michelob

Posts: 1531
Joined: Nov. 7 2008
From: New York City/San Francisco

RE: Finding good Postures (in reply to El Saare)

quote:

Ahlan w Sahlan

Ah... That hypnotizing Moorish side of Flamenco… ‘love it !!

_____________________________

gj Michelob

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 24 2009 16:41:02

Posts: 72
Joined: May 21 2009

RE: Finding good Postures (in reply to El Saare)

Hi, Saare,

I'm shorter than you and play in the traditional position, but change the guitar neck angle around and move the lower bout's rest point on my thigh over time, as needed to be comfortable.

I've never tried Anders' suggestion to use a friction mat. I use a guitar strap to hold the guitar snug against my body.

Sometimes while playing I'll bring up one ankle and rest it on the opposite knee, but I've NEVER been comfortable playing in the modern "crossed legs" position for long. Maybe this is because I've only played full-size guitars, no narrow-body flamencos. More likely it's because I have short legs.

Let me know if you find a solution!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 27 2009 21:05:54

El Saare

Posts: 76
Joined: Mar. 11 2009
From: Damascus, Syria

RE: Finding good Postures (in reply to El Saare)

Hay X thanks for joining,

back again to the traditional way

... it is really tooo hard to me to play.I always try it from time to time.I tried also to lower the guitar neck angel but it is hard to keep the guitar from sliding from my right leg (thing if it is the right word to specify) you noteced that you use a strap maybe thats what does solve your problem. but I am not intrested in strap. also as I mentioned it is hard to control my left hand... feel too much easier with other postures.

quote:

but I've NEVER been comfortable playing in the modern "crossed legs" position for long.

Me too. so when I play (not practice) I play each piece in diffrent postuer or what I feel it is comfortble (I think you've got the idea).

About finding my solutions:

*First in practicing I am trying good posture I've never think to try it befor is to sit cross-legged on the floor ( or on one level , is it clear??) thats helped me much to play PDL posture on a chair.It make you play longer time than you are now.

*Playing on a chair. I am trying to focus on relaxing my seat while playing. and it is really works, But anyway I usualy stand up for 5 sec then sit down again evry 30 mins.I do so not just with playing guitar but also while working on PC or even in my classes

it is really good....

there is a joke here told to people who can't sit down for a long time just like me, it is to say " is there something troubling you on the chair??"

and as I mentioned befor, I am not pro player still learning, so maybe it will poseble to play in traditional way one day.but anyway I dont have to.

hope I've wrote something good.

_____________________________

My favourite part is when I squeeze the tea bag with the spoon, but the hard part is where i am going to place it.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Sep. 28 2009 7:00:15

Anders Eliasson

Posts: 5780
Joined: Oct. 18 2006

RE: Finding good Postures (in reply to El Saare)

Here in Spain there are lots of players in your size.
Most of them simply sit on a chair with both feet on the ground and rest the waist of the guitar on the right leg. (you could call it stell string posture

)
You need to adjust to all postures, so be patient. Most players have problems for years finding a good posture

_____________________________

Blog: http://news-from-the-workshop.blogspot.com/

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 19 2009 8:17:23

flybynight

Posts: 121
Joined: Aug. 14 2009

RE: Finding good Postures (in reply to El Saare)

Ahhh.. finally a post I can add some value on.

After practicing in the 'leg crossed over' position for 18 months, gradually my posture has gone out of sync, and together with a lot of driving, i got to the point where I could barely sit down with neck and shoulder pain. My right shoulder is now higher and more forward than my left.

Visited 4 osteopaths (2 of whom refused to take my money as they couldn't do anything). Finally found a chiropractor who clicked the neck vertebrae back in, but within 48 hours, ingrained muscle memory and bad posture have knocked some of the vertebrae out again. Not as bad - I can sit down now :-)

So now I need to get clicked back in again (immediately pain relief) and correct my posture using exercises, which will take months.

Interestingly, even in my current state, I can still *reasonably* comfortably hold the guitar in the traditional position for a few minutes, with the body on my right leg, and the neck pointing up at an angle. (Wild horses wouldn't drag this addict away from his poison...) This keeps the spine straight, and the shoulders square. I'm 6'1. I check the mirror every time now.

So.. please.. do what is comfortable first...

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Oct. 19 2009 11:06:28

Ramon Amira

Posts: 1025
Joined: Oct. 14 2009
From: New York City

RE: Finding good Postures (in reply to El Saare)

I have three suggestions for you. 1) Try the traditional classical guitar position. It might not look flamenco, but neither does the cross legged position. 2) There is a position that is exactly halfway between the traditional classical and the traditional flamenco. In this position, the lower bout rests on your right thigh, just like traditional flamenco, but you use a footstool raising your left leg, and rest the upper bout on your left leg. This is really an excellent position. I have seen Sabicas use exactly that position, though sometimes the upper bout looked like it wasn't resting, which would make the footstool superfluous. The other guitarist who uses precisely this position is Pepe Romero. 3) After a lifetime of using the traditional flamenco position, one day I just sat down on my couch and started playing. I haven't stopped. (Well, I stopped playing, but I haven't stopped using this position.) I'm sure plenty of other people have used it as well. You just sit on the couch, and let the lower bout rest on the couch itself, immediately to your right and also resting on your right thigh. It gives you total support of the guitar, and more importantly you are completely relaxed. Another advantage I find is that it brings the fingerboard more to the right, and so you get less of a feeling of "reaching" out with your left hand. But again, most of all, you are entirely relaxed, and do not have to become on a first name basis with a chiropractor. Incidentally, on YouTube there is a video of Melchor playing sitting on a couch in exactly this positon. (Tanguillos de Cadiz)

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 16 2009 6:43:06

El Saare

Posts: 76
Joined: Mar. 11 2009
From: Damascus, Syria

RE: Finding good Postures (in reply to El Saare)

Sorry for not visiting the fourm for a long time
and thank you for replying

I am still focusing on this problem and I now I am much better than befor and it became not that big truble to me.

changing the postures from time to time helped me a lot.

Prominent Critic: about No2 it seems great I will give a try.thank you

_____________________________

My favourite part is when I squeeze the tea bag with the spoon, but the hard part is where i am going to place it.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 30 2009 6:46:10