How to use the neck - What guitarists should learn from John Mayer [Guitar Hero Posture Analysis]

Hello!
My name is Takuto Fujioka, a guitarist who can see your posture!

I will continue with Guitar Hero Posture Analysis today. This time, I would like to analyze the posture of the popular guitarist John Mayer.
(I think it will be easier to understand if you watch John Mayer live on YouTube etc. before reading this article.)

I thought after watching the live video, isn't John Mayer really tall? Lol
When I looked it up, I found that he is 190 cm tall! By the way, Antonio Inoki is also 190 cm tall.

By the way, in a word, John Mayer's posture is "solid, stable and well-balanced".
Compared to the guitarist playing in the background, I get the impression that his posture is beautiful and his movement is very stable. I think there are various factors in that, but this time I would like to focus on his "neck", the characteristic which I thought stood out the most!

First of all, regarding the head. It is generally said that the weight of the head is 4 to 5 kg, and when compared with a guitar, it is as heavy as a Les Paul! It feels very heavy to hold in your hand, but that much weight is on your neck.
For example, imagine holding a heavy Les Paul in your hand with it upright. If you could hold the guitar upright, the weight would be right underneath.
However, if the Les Paul loses balance and tilts even a little, you need to support it with your hands and adjust the position so that it will not fall, or return it to its original stable position.

The relationship between the head and the neck is the same, and if the head is moved forward and the balance is lost, the neck will have to make the same effort as when supporting the guitar. There are so many muscles in the neck and it is strong, and once you get used to it, it becomes difficult to even feel the strength. But be aware that the muscles in your neck are actually under heavy pressure (constant).

Now let's think about how to use the neck to get a stable posture like John Mayer.
The first is to remove unnecessary power.
In other words,find its weakness.
As I said earlier, the neck has very strong muscles that naturally help you balance.
First, touch your neck to see where and what muscles are attached.
Then, next, try to find out in which direction you should move the neck force to apply or remove the tightness.
If you are not sure, lie down and try a neck massage yourself. Where the muscles feel tense or stiff, it is possible that the muscles are usually affected by your posture and are overpowered. Remember the position of that muscle and see what it looks like when you sit, stand, or play the guitar. I think that if you accumulate such awareness within yourself, you will get a feeling for its weakness.

The second is to know how to use the neck correctly!

Regarding the neck joint: see [Balance] Things guitarists should know about their body, and refer to that.
When moving the neck, it is important to be able to consciously and naturally move the AO joints (joints at the boundary between the head and spine) described here.
When moving the neck, most people move the neck from the spine below the neck from the shoulders to the chest. In this case, compared to the case where the AO joint is moved to the main axis, the position of the head moves significantly forward, so the movements such as "moving the neck to the rhythm" and "moving the neck to look at your hands and feet" each causes unnecessary muscle work.

However, John Mayer is able to move this AO joint accurately, and he is able to move his neck firmly as long as his head is not out of balance. As a result, there is no unnecessary muscle contraction in the neck, so he can play in a relaxed state.

What did you think!?
By all means, when you watch the live video, please pay attention to the guitarist's playing style and posture. There may be new discoveries with lots of information that cannot be obtained just by listening to the music( ^ω^ )
See you next time!