re: Guitar players: F major barre chord

This is why I became a bassist 20 years ago

quote:

---

Another thought I had is guitar position. Barre chords in general are hard to play if you wear your guitar down below your waist. You should have it up by your torso and the neck should be tilted upward. Look at Sonny Landreth. It looks nerdy but it's really the proper position.

---

Yes indeed. Proper position helps everything, from fretting cleanly to reaching faraway notes to avoiding injuries like carpal tunnel.

For playing while seated, nothing beats a good guitar support. Classical players put the guitar on the left leg and elevate with a foot stool, which most people aren't going to want to do, though it does get the guitar in the ideal position. Good alternatives are things like the Dynarette cushion or my favorite, the Neckup strap, the latter working great on the right leg.

For years when I was younger, I wore my guitar low, because I thought it looked cool to wear it low like Jimmy Page. But then I realized he was able to get away with it more because he has freakishly long arms and a short torso. Later, I realized if I wore the guitar higher on my body (with the neck pickup above my belt line), I was able to play so much cleaner because, all of a sudden, I wasn't killing my fretting wrist. Roy Buchanan never looked cool with his chemistry teacher clothes and his tele strapped way high, but his guitar was positioned for maximum effectiveness.