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Possibly unconventional thought on posture and guitar playing technique
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Ruphus
Posts: 3782
Joined: Nov. 18 2010
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 Possibly unconventional thought on p...
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Some will know that I propagate standing as best posture. Moreover with the guitar not suspended by a strap, but by a harness with a soundhole hook, in order to allow for single-point suspension.
The latter again allowing for a fully flexible holding, resulting in a just the more firm playing technique ( which on first sight might appear like a paradox prospect).
Even though practicing and appreciating the benefits of it since years, I am still learning and noticing ( while mainly occupied with correcting certain general issues, that are not related to this threads topic).
And here are some of benefits and apparently little discussed points that seem to become increasingly evident the more one takes advantage of above mentioned suspension and posture:
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First thing to note will be how standing contributes to developing and keeping rhythm. Without the lower body locked, the swing is being supported with the whole body from toe to head, which simultaneously makes maintaining rhythm much more natural.
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As mentioned lately on a thread somewhere, another ergonomical advantage with this kind of suspension is that it enables to largely reduce left shoulder / hand strain when distancing / going up the neck ( towards the nut).
It allows for your left hand to almost fully stay on same height. This as you swap from vertical to horizontal range.
How?
Precondition is that the guitar is being held as it were wedged between your arms with the `bending point´ presented by your torso / belly. ( Imagine a see-saw with L/R arms being rocking kids, and your torso being the support point of the see-saw.)
On this `see-saw´ the closer your left hands goes towards the nut it shall further pull the neck towards your body and vice versa / the further down the neck towards the bridge the more the right hand takes over with the gear head wandering ahead / horizontally away from you.
That way your targeted fret will stay in similar distance for your left hand, independently from where on the neck.
A substantial ergonomical relief and the more noticable the longer sessions are, of which you come out significantly less tired and less stressed in the upper back.
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Think of taking the guitar playing from largely determined by sensing the guitar ( dealing with its body) to instead dealing with the string(s).
The guitar instead becoming mere holder of the string, with your technique so to say bypassing / ignoring the guitar as tactile object and working out the string. Both hands mainly feeling the string, not the corpus and neck.
I don´t know if I can semantically convey that condition, but it ought to present perfection. A state that is greatly supported / enhanced by the standing single-point situation.
In ideal practice ( which I only reach to every other time yet) you end up sensing only your right hand striking the string ( of a very freely resonating guitar, besides / already different from a rather clamped / damped one with sitting posture) and your left one feeling just the fretting of the string. ( The hands feel each other through the string.)
More over, this is not only refined sensation but truely magnified control.
Even pitch control on sustain / decay becomes so clearly determined ( when either enhancing tension by pulling towards you / `bending´ the guitar [sharp] or releasing / giving in to RH elbow [flat]) when you play the string instead of the `string holder´ / guitar).
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I want to compare a one-point suspension and resulting technique to the common sitting and rather fixating situation with the crash compensation in car construction.
As you know the car building industry learned from the formula 1 racing. In regard of crash deformation builders originally set on deformation of a hit object. Thus they would try to arm cars body, basically like you do with a tank.
This concept to my understanding basically resembles the sitting and fixating concept with guitar playing.
Over time however for car builders it turned out that instead of arming cabins, engaging the exact opposite principle as crumple zones is being helpful, and has preserved many a lives to date.
This setting on flexibility and adaption to demand to my understanding quite parallels the ergonomics with the playing upright and with ideal suspension.
Just as food for thought and suggestion to try out by chance.
Ruphus
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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Aug. 9 2014 17:07:58
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Ruphus
Posts: 3782
Joined: Nov. 18 2010
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RE: Possibly unconventional thought ... (in reply to Ruphus)
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YT is blocked from here ( can only be accessed large-scaled with VPN).
I only saw the harness for a second when the page was refreshed ( oddly enough, as there must have happened a quick access without VPN / never had such before).
Unfortunately I have never seen a video with someone engaging such a harness. ( Actually never seen anyone live either, except for a guitar student whom I gave the harness for to experience the posture.)
I suppose however - provided harness adjusted to the individual´s size -, that most will find the optimal use naturally after a short while.
From what I remember personally, there was a positive sensation from the get go, despite of at first a certain insecurity with the freely `wobbling´guitar.
It took only a few days however until the pros clearly prevailed the new challenge, and after maybe a week there were only benefits left over. Most notably the involuntary security of planting ( like with a firmly walking sailor, so to say).
The wandering around and keeping the body moving wasn´t exatly detrimental either.
Only true hindrance to overcome was the laziness. My butt was all longing back for the armchair, but with a bit of will that issue was overcomned as well.
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What you describe certainly is an improvement as well, as it allows your left ellbow to stay close to your body and thus require much less of shoulder engagement.
But nothing beats swapping from vertical level to horizontal one. This gives the most of relief, as your arm can almost stand still while close to the torso ( while it is the guitar that gives way / moves around ).
Ruphus
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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Aug. 9 2014 19:58:38
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BarkellWH
Posts: 3458
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC
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RE: Possibly unconventional thought ... (in reply to Ruphus)
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Ruphus,
I'm trying to understand your concept, and what I am visualizing is that with the single-point suspension and the guitar operating like a horizontal "see-saw" as the left hand goes up and down the frets, it is the guitar that does most of the movement horizontally, while the hands, arms, and shoulders remain pretty much (though not entirely) in place. And that in so doing, it is less stressful than playing in the sitting position where it is the guitar that remains pretty much in place, while the hands, arms, and shoulders do most of the movement. Is this what you mean?
Bill
_____________________________
And the end of the fight is a tombstone white,
With the name of the late deceased,
And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here,
Who tried to hustle the East."
--Rudyard Kipling
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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Aug. 9 2014 21:08:50
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Ruphus, have you ever posted a video of your playing? I would love to see you in action with the posture & suspension technique you always endorse. 
