Technique / neck size

[LewisW]

Hey all I'm looking for a little bit of advice about my playing as I've currently come to a bit of a hard spot.

I currently own a 2011 silhouette standard, play mostly p&w. I'm currently trying to increases speed so I'm going through techniques like most people do, start slow etc. what I've found when practicing this stuff standing (em pentatonic runs) is that my left arm is really uncomfortable and is too close to my body and when playing initial notes on the low e up high is pretty unnatural (lots of missing the string and going nearly off the fretboard.

So my question is .. Should I be considering a wider necked guitar like a jp or is this pretty common for this kind of excersise and I just have to get over it?

Thanks

 

[DrKev]

I do a lot of teaching and I know that we can learn to do anything with enough time and care. I've seen people with small hands play beautifully on classical guitars (which are wider than many 7-string electrics) and people with enormous fat fingers leave me in the dust on a mandolin (which is tiny and cramped). Without having you in the room with me and seeing you technique first-hand it's hard to tell you what's going on BUT remember that whatever we have trouble with is a signal that we need more work on it. In this case, if you have problems playing standing up, then you should spend more time practicing standing up.

I don't think another guitar will necessarily solve the problem because we naturally adjust the strap so that the guitar hangs off our body at about the same height and therefore our hands and arms will come to the guitar neck in a similar manner. And people manage to play both 6 and 7 string guitars without difficulty, with a much larger difference in neck width than there is between a JP6 and a Silhouette. I can't tell you if the JP is a better guitar for you than a Silo but I don't think neck width is the most important part of making that decision.

 

[Benji Peterson]

Try adjusting your strap to where the guitar is in a comfortable playing position while seated with the waist of the guitar over your left leg. It gets your body out of the way of the upper fret area. Then, try to play in that same position while standing.

 

[LewisW]

Thanks guys - will try it and report back

 

[agt]

Try adjusting your strap to where the guitar is in a comfortable playing position while seated with the waist of the guitar over your left leg. It gets your body out of the way of the upper fret area. Then, try to play in that same position while standing.

Benji, I checked out your site. I suspect it is a typo or a joke, but you have some EBMMs priced at $100,000,000!

 

[Benji Peterson]

Benji, I checked out your site. I suspect it is a typo or a joke, but you have some EBMMs priced at $100,000,000!

Nope I think that's reasonable for a music man. Haha. I am doing a marathon this weekend with the one other guy that has built this website with me. We should have all the inventory listed as well as with product descriptions by end of day tomorrow.
There are a total of four guys doing everything and we had to start over from scratch because of the Joplin tornado a few years ago. Anyway, lots to do but we're almost there. Thanks for checking it out and email me for any actual info that may be unavailable on the site at this time.
[email protected]

 

[AgustinJP50]

Both Dr.Kev and Benji have a point. When I started to play guitar, I always practiced on a sitting position. After about two years, I had my first gig. Two weeks before the date of the gig I decided to go over my practice routine but playing standing up, instead of sitting. I couldn't play half of the things I was able to play on a sitting position. From that moment on I always practiced standing up, and occasionally on a sitting position.
You could also try shortening the strap length as Benji suggested, so that the guitar hangs off your body at a more comfortable height.
Good luck and please do report back!

 

[LewisW]

So ive been playing more standing up.. and had to tighten my strap to get the frets closer to me (wasnt sure this was gonna work but it appears to). It defiantly feels easier - My accuracy is slowly improving so hopefully i will have fully adjusted soon. One things for sure im not gonna be sitting down to play again.. cant believe how different the transition is.

Thanks for the advice all - perhaps one day a video will appear, always nice to see your development over a period of time.

 

[Tung]

From that moment on I always practiced standing up, and occasionally on a sitting position.
You could also try shortening the strap length as Benji suggested, so that the guitar hangs off your body at a more comfortable height.
Good luck and please do report back!

Excellent point. I had something of a same revelation when I was starting out. I never practice sitting, always standing up in the same position as when I'm playing live. The only time i'm sitting down is when I'm teaching.
strap height is really important. You just have to mess around until you find what works for you. A word of CAUTION: just because it's higher up doesn't mean you're going to get better accuracy. I used to play totally in the high, jazz kind of position, but lately, I find lowering my strap enabled me to play more relaxed with the left hand. Case in point: Steve Vai (medium height), Nuno Bettencourt (low), john petrucci (high) and Yngwie (medium high) all wear different heights, but they all achieve real precision. You'll find that your preference will change as your playing progress, until you find that sweet spot.

 

[cionian]

Excellent point. I had something of a same revelation when I was starting out. I never practice sitting, always standing up in the same position as when I'm playing live. The only time i'm sitting down is when I'm teaching.
strap height is really important. You just have to mess around until you find what works for you. A word of CAUTION: just because it's higher up doesn't mean you're going to get better accuracy. I used to play totally in the high, jazz kind of position, but lately, I find lowering my strap enabled me to play more relaxed with the left hand. Case in point: Steve Vai (medium height), Nuno Bettencourt (low), john petrucci (high) and Yngwie (medium high) all wear different heights, but they all achieve real precision. You'll find that your preference will change as your playing progress, until you find that sweet spot.

I agree also. I've never practiced sitting down and in the beginning I too had my guitar up very high which initially feels easier for the fretting hand but problems do occur with the picking due the the arm being in an unnatural position which manifests in RSI. Steve Morse has his pretty low and has no issues with precision and speed

 

[DrugDM]

Hey all I'm looking for a little bit of advice about my playing as I've currently come to a bit of a hard spot.

I currently own a 2011 silhouette standard, play mostly p&w. I'm currently trying to increases speed so I'm going through techniques like most people do, start slow etc. what I've found when practicing this stuff standing (em pentatonic runs) is that my left arm is really uncomfortable and is too close to my body and when playing initial notes on the low e up high is pretty unnatural (lots of missing the string and going nearly off the fretboard.

So my question is .. Should I be considering a wider necked guitar like a jp or is this pretty common for this kind of excersise and I just have to get over it?

Thanks

Does it matter how high or low you wear your guitar to play dotted eight notes...
I play P&W as well so I am just joking with you. It really is personal preference and the more you play/practice standing up; I believe you will find the position that works best for your right and left hand to work in sync.

 

[tbonesullivan]

I'm getting in this a bit late, but all of what has been said is great advice. mess with the angle you hold the guitar at, as well as the height of the guitar off the ground. I know many who like to play flying V' style guitars sitting down because it is very easy to get a nice classical guitar style angle by resting your leg in the "V".

I have had a lot of issues over the years with getting comfortable playing, and trial and error is really the only way i've found to get around the issues. I also prefer playing while standing up because it is much easier to change the angle of the guitar neck on the fly when playing in different registers.

 

[DrKev]

I do remember a time when I would deliberately practice standing up for exactly the above reasons. Then I played a ton of gigs (over 1400 at last count mostly in bars/small clubs), which is a considerable amount of time standing up so I don't even think about it any more. Until today.

A song my soul band will be playing, "100 Days, 100 nights" by Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings - I figured out the horn section intro for the guitar this afternoon. Definitely a LOT easier the higher the guitar is! And think I have a few more hours work on it too before I'd dare attempt it in public. Tricky!

 

[Tung]

A song my soul band will be playing, "100 Days, 100 nights" by Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings - I figured out the horn section intro for the guitar this afternoon. Definitely a LOT easier the higher the guitar is! And think I have a few more hours work on it too before I'd dare attempt it in public. Tricky!

That's a great song with a great horn line.

 

[cordokiller]

Dude...think about Yngwie Malmsteen, he plays a 7" radius Strat with not low action and he flies!..it's just determination and discipline!...

 

[ksandvik]

Every guitar player has their optimal position concerning guitar placement, high, low, between and so on. It's best to try to find this one and ignore those who say that you don't look like Slash and so on...