Holding the Guitar and Pick
Guitars comes in a wide variety of shapes and sizes and can be played standing up, laying down, or sitting; so there's no absolute way to hold the guitar. The main point for the beginner to grasp is that it should be as comfortable and controllable as possible. I find this is usually sitting.
Contents
Sitting
The middle of the bottom side of the guitar body usually rests on the right thigh and is balanced by the right forearm pressing the guitar body against the right flank/ribs/gut. The neck is almost parallel to the ground with the headstock slightly higher than the neck heel. The fretboard hand should not be required to balance the guitar. It should be free to slide up and down the neck, twist and turn to make different chord shapes and fret notes. Requiring it to balance the guitar only gets in the way of this.
For playing leads or classical music, or for non-standard body shapes, it may be more comfortable on the left hand and wrist to rest the middle of the bottom side of the guitar body on the left thigh and tilt it so the side by the rear strap also rests against the inside of the right thigh. This may make playing around the 1st fret more uncomfortable, however. I use it occasionally, but mostly use the method in the prior paragraph.
In practice, the left hand occasionally does do some balancing, particularly when holding chords with the left hand while the right hand strums the strings, which can be awkward if using too much forearm pressure against the body. Remember, the forearm only needs enough pressure to achieve balance - any pressure beyond that point is creating muscle tension and friction.
Standing
When standing, the strap is typically slung over the head and rests on the left shoulder - the strap crosses the back from the right hip to the left shoulder where it extends straight down to the front or horn strap pin. This prevents it from falling accidentally, and most guitar manufacturers balance their guitars so that when slung this way, the neck doesn't dip too much. A natural inclination may be to think the guitar's body should be centered in front of your body, but really it should rest on your right flank/ribs/hip. Your left hand should be reaching slightly away from your body.
Another inclination is to sling the guitar low, which looks super cool. Some people can pull this off, but I am not one of them. It kills my left wrist and greatly limits my playing ability. I don't think anyone should start that low. Sling it so it feels similar to sitting down or only slightly lower. As you gain comfort, you can start to lower the strap.
The Pick
When beginning, holding the pick (or plectrum) always introduces self-doubt. There's no absolutely correct way to do it, as it depends on your hands and the type of pick being used and even your playing style. You will adjust and gain comfort over time. The important things to know are that you have to grip it so that you can pick in both directions - down (from your head towards your feet) and up (vice versa). This shouldn't require any big adjustment - you want the natural give of the pick and the flesh of your fingers to allow you to "push through" the string as you pick, not angling your wrist differently or otherwise manipulating your grip.
Depending on the size of pick and your comfort in gripping it, the amount of available surface you can use to pick the strings will vary. You may have a thinner pick and use more of it, or a thicker pick and only pick very close to the tip. If you find you are having trouble picking, it may be your grip isn't giving you enough pick for your natural picking stroke. Or you may be using a pick type that doesn't suit you.
Typically you will hold the pick on the fingerprint or joint of your thumb and side of the last digit or joint of your index finger. My index finger is curled so that the last digit is almost parallel with my thumb, and my thumb is straight, not bent at the joint. Only the pick should hit the strings. Either curl your other fingers to make a loose fist or leave them more extended. If extended, you can straighten your fingers or give them a slight curl. I like extended, as it has advantages that we will get to later. I also allow them to curl slightly, which is most natural to me. But the most important thing is to not strain. The more strength you need to give your muscles to keep your unused fingers curled or extended, the more tension it places on your wrist which affects picking strength, speed, accuracy, and stamina.
Body Angle
One final thing. There's a tendency to want to angle the guitar so that you can see all the strings as if you were laying it flat on your lap. Or hunching over. This makes viewing your playing easier, but it makes actually playing the guitar more difficult. You'll naturally need to do this as you start, so that you can see which strings you are fretting/plucking. But keep this in mind as you get more comfortable - try to sit up more straight and angle the guitar so that you can only see the side of the fretboard.
How you hold the neck with the left hand is discussed in Basic Technique.
Ergonomics and Injury Concerns
Proper holding of the guitar and pick is essential to not only play better but to avoid injuries (however, it is not the only concern - see the article for more details). Here are some good pointers:
- You often want to push your head forwards to see the fretboard. This is bad posture for the neck and spine. Keep your back and neck straight, tilting only slightly forwards to see the guitar neck. But you don't need to see the face of the fretboard, only the side, which typically has additional fret markers. Learning which string you are fretting should be done by feel, not visual feedback, although early on you may need to use your eyes a bit.
- Conversely, you may want to rotate the guitar to face more upwards in a sitting position to see the face of the fretboard even while holding your head back. This means your fretting hand wrist will have to rotate even more to reach the thick strings and make certain chord shapes. This can lead to serious joint issues in the wrist. Again, looking at the face of the fretboard should be kept to a minimum while beginning to develop feel for which string you are playing. Then it should simply be avoided for ergonomic reasons.
- If the neck is too low, you may curl the fretting wrist strenuously to fret the thicker strings and make certain chord shapes. When standing, shorten the strap length to raise the guitar, reducing such pressure on the wrist. You may also want to hold the guitar in a classical position when sitting, with guitar resting on and between both thighs, not just on the picking hand's thigh.
- You may get in the habit of wrapping your fretting-hand thumb around the top of the neck. This isn't a big problem for lead playing on the thinner strings. For the thicker strings or some chord shapes, it means putting some serious stress on the fingers. If you sling your guitar high, or sit with it in classical position, it can mean bending the wrist away from the palm stressfully. You may not want to avoid placing the thumb over the neck like that at all; however, it's fairly natural and harmless for many kinds of playing. Rather, get used to the idea of switching between that and holding the thumb against the back of the middle of the neck.
- Depending on your guitar and strap, you may find that the guitar slips off your shoulder. To compensate, you may try raising your shoulders. Holding your shoulders as such for prolonged periods is very stressful on the joints and muscles. Instead, try using a larger (wider) strap, and shorten the strap length. Also, be sure that the guitar isn't in front your body, but on the picking hand's hip. If that doesn't help, consider the balance of the guitar. You may be able to weight the back end down to shift the weight balance away from the headstock. If nothing else works, consider a different guitar, using different body styles, woods, cavity placement, and chambering.
- You may find yourself hunching over the neck when playing, moving your head closer to where you are playing the fretboard. This curve in your spine is bad posture, and when held in such a position for prolonged periods can put lots of stress on it. Be sure to sit up straight.
- Baritone, 8-string, and bass guitars often position the bridge closer to the back of the guitar's body. For bass, this is less problematic, as the picking/plucking is generally further from the bridge. For guitar, especially metal guitar, where lots of palm muting is required, you will often pick near the bridge. If sitting with the guitar on the picking hand thigh, the bridge may require holding the picking hand back in an uncomfortable position. If held that way for long periods of time, this can cause lots of stress on the shoulder and neck. Hold the guitar in classical position instead, with the body on/between both thighs, positioning the bridge closer to the center of your body.
Homework
- Practice holding the guitar.
- Try to see how little pressure you can apply with your right forearm while balancing the guitar.
- Try to strum the strings while balancing solely with your right forearm (no left hand).
- Try to slide your left hand up and down the neck without using it to balance (pinch the guitar neck with the tips of your left hand middle finger and thumb, no other part of your left hand).
- Stand with your guitar and see how comfortable it is to reach the 6th string 1st fret with your left hand index finger or 6th string 4th fret with your pinky. It will not be easy but should be doable. If it's impossible, try shortening the strap length to sling the guitar higher.
- Get comfortable holding the pick and positioning your right hand between the end of the neck and bridge.