[Posture] Things guitarists should know about their body

Hello!
My name is Takuto Fujioka, guitarist in an acoustic unit called BABY BABY and an occupational therapist.

It's been a while since the last installment, but this is the third in the series!
This time I would like to talk about the "posture" while playing the guitar!

I usually work as an occupational therapist for rehabilitation apart from music.
Postures vary from person to person, and the habits of each person appears in their posture.
And it's also difficult because there are many parts that we don't notice.

Even if you say "posture" in one word, various factors are involved, so I will post various explanations!
This time, I would like to think about "posture during practice". Thank you for staying with me!

By the way, what kind of posture do you have when you are practicing the guitar?
Are you sitting?

Are you looking down like this?
I think some people will stand and practice.

I can't see my face. .. ..

Staring at the fingerboard
Isn't your posture like this? (I'm sorry the room is dirty. Lol)
This photo is a bit extreme, but when I first started playing the guitar, I had to look at the fingerboard with all my might to hold down the chords, and I had to check picking to play arpeggios. I think it's easy to look down.

This kind of stooped posture is very unstable for playing the guitar!
This is the so-called "bad posture".
I think that just having a bad posture will have various effects on the playing side.

For example

・The guitar that you hold is tilted due to the influence of your posture, and the pick and strings do not hit in parallel, so you cannot play a consistent stroke.
・The position of the right hand is not stable, and the fingers and nails touch during picking, making it impossible to make a good sound, and your nails get chipped and cracked.
・Because the left and right posture is not balanced and the posture is distorted, it is easy to get tired and start to hurt when practicing for a long time.
・If you get used to this posture, you will not be able to see the front (floor side) when you stand on the actual stage, and you will look nervous to the audience, which will affect your stage appearance.

There are various problems such as these.

It's a matter of course, but I think there are surprisingly few people who actually practice the guitar while paying attention to their posture.

When I read various online articles,
Straighten your spine! Raise your face!
There was also information that it was written that taking a "correct posture" was a good posture.
However, I think that by being aware of that, I get more stress in my shoulders and lower back, and I can't concentrate on playing the guitar as much as I do to get the right posture.
I think it is not the "correct posture" that is important for playing an instrument, but a well-balanced posture that allows you to relax with ease.

So what kind of posture is easy and stable?
Before talking about it...
Let's start by learning how you yourself are playing the guitar!

So let's check your posture first.
The easiest way to check your posture is to "play the guitar while looking in the mirror"!

When you play the guitar

・What is your posture?
(Please pay attention to the position of the head, the height of the shoulders, and the back muscles)
・Where are you looking at?
・Are your right and left hands relaxed in their natural positions?
・Where is the rhythm taken?
・Where is the center of gravity, in front, back, left and right?

I think that there are many things that you will notice by objectively obtaining information with your eyes.
Please also check the difference between sitting and standing without doing anything and whether you are relaxed.

If you are in an unnatural posture by holding the guitar, feel and see for yourself what is unnatural!
I think this is the first step to finding a comfortable posture.
The work of "noticing the change and correcting it by yourself" is very important.
By looking at yourself objectively and knowing yourself, you will be able to get rid of the wasted power that you have been using, and your unnatural posture will become more natural!

Also, seeing your guitar playing objectively in the mirror will improve your live performance. If you haven't done it before, please try it!
When I first started playing the guitar, I was practicing by looking at my whole body in the mirror in the bathroom (laughs).
I think it's a good idea to imitate your favorite guitarist and stand up and compare his posture with your own!

Of course, when you sit down and practice, you can just use your upper body, so you can check the silhouette reflected through the mirror or window glass, or take a picture with your smartphone camera!
Please check your posture!

Next time, I would like to talk about the center of gravity and bones and muscles.
Thank you for reading to the end!