The Classical Guitar Posture

There are some basic things that can be followed for best results while playing Classical Guitar. And then, it is up to the comfort of the player to try out alterations to find the best playing position.

It is important to note that there is no single fixed way to hold the Guitar. Different players have different styles but most of the basics are followed. These basic things will help in the speed, economy in movement and clear sound.



The Sitting Posture:-

• Sit on a flat chair, back straight, feet flat on ground and arms relaxed.
• Left leg on foot-stool (normally around 7 inches; height can be varied for comfort)
• Guitar supported by upper left thigh, inner right thigh, centre of the chest and inner right arm
• Right hand elbow should not fall on the Guitar and the right hand should be at an angle to the bridge as in the picture so that the right hand knuckles are parallel to strings.

The Right Hand:-

• Right hand positioned over each of the six strings by pivoting the right arm from the elbow
• Fingers are denoted by their Spanish names;

1. Thumb - Pulgar (P)
2. Index - Indice (i)
3. Middle - Medio (m)
4. Ring - Anular (a)

• Thumb (P) to play 6,5 and 4 strings (Bass Strings); i on 3rd, m on 2nd and a on 1st string.
• i, m, a fingers will be curled towards the palm while playing frees-strokes.

The Left Hand:-

• Thumb should be on the back on the neck and should be perpendicular to it. It should not be visible from the front.
• Thumb should not be applying any pressure, should just gently touch the neck and follow the motion of the hand.
• Pivot the fingers at the large knuckle to raise and lower the fingers.
• Sliding the left hand up and down the neck of the guitar using a rotation at the shoulder
• Positioning the left hand fingers over the desired string by moving the left arm at the elbow.
• The point of contact with the strings will be with the finger tips. This makes sure that the fingers do not obstruct the other strings.

I am still adjusting to the basic posture and I'm planning to put up my pictures once I am sure I got the posture right. As my teacher would suggest me changes, I hope I would be in a better position after some more classes.

The following page has a detailed write-up on the basic posture, left and right hand basics.
http://www.classic-guitar.com/lesson3.html