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Playing Position

Lesson 3/58 | Study Time: 5 Min
Playing Position

Playing Position

It is essential that correct playing position is used when beginning fingerpicking guitar. The basics of guitar technique include seating, holding the instrument and the correct position of both hands.

Seating

Sit towards the front edge of a chair with your right leg raised. Adjustable footstools can be purchased at most music stores. Experiment with the height of the footstool and chair until you reach a comfortable seating position.

Holding the Guitar

The guitar is secured at four points of the body. The right thigh, the forearm and the chest. The guitar should rest flat on your thigh and not lean backwards. Angle the guitar slightly upwards as shown in the following photo.

Right Arm Position

The right forearm is positioned over the body of the guitar so that the right hand is in position to pluck the strings. The elbow is positioned at the edge where the face of the guitar meets the side.

Left Arm Position

Your left arm should not be close to your body nor be pushing away from your body. It should be able to move freely up and down the entire fretboard.

Brett Duncan

Brett Duncan

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Class Sessions

1- Open E Tuning 2- Dropped G Tuning 3- Open G Tuning 4- Open A Tuning 5- Dropped D Tuning 6- Open D Tuning 7- Open C Tuning 8- Scales 9- Fingerpicking Technique 10- GLOSSARY OF MUSICAL TERMS 11- INTRODUCTION 12- Tuning the Guitar to Itself 13- Tuning the Guitar to Itself 14- Chord Diagrams Used In This Book 15- Tuning the Guitar to Itself 16- The Chromatic Scale 17- Tuning the Guitar to Itself 18- Tuning the Guitar to Itself 19- Other Fingerpicking Books In the Progressive Series 20- Tuning the Guitar to Itself 21- Playing Position 22- Using An Electronic Tuner 23- Tablature 24- Hand Technique 25- Chord Shapes - Open C Tuning 26- Chord Shapes - Open E Tuning 27- The Major Scale 28- Chord Shapes - Open D Tuning 29- Chord Shapes - Open A Tuning 30- Chord Shapes - Dropped G Tuning 31- Chord Shapes - Open G Tuning 32- Acoustic Guitars 33- Octaves 34- Octaves 35- Picking the Strings 36- Bar Chords - Dropped G Tuning 37- Acoustic Electric Guitars 38- The Minor Scale 39- Octaves 40- Tablature Symbols 41- Bar Chord - Open D Tuning 42- The Major Pentatonic Scale 43- Picking With the Fingers - the Free Stroke 44- Bar Chords - Open G Tuning 45- Bar Chord - Open C Tuning 46- Tuning the Guitar to Itself 47- The Blues Scales 48- Picking With the Thumb 49- Chord Shapes - Dropped D Tuning 50- Bar Chords - Dropped D Tuning 51- Finger Names And Numbers 52- Keys and Key Signatures 53- First Position - Right Hand 54- Relative Keys 55- Second Position - Right Hand 56- Learning All the Keys 57- How Chords Are Formed 58- Bracing the Right Hand

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