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Playing your first acoustic guitar

By: P R jones

Playing a guitar for extended periods of time is really stressful for your back if you don't have good posture. Keeping the following key points in mind should help you maintain a good posture and hold your guitar correctly. When you hold your guitar, the back of the instrument should rest against your abdomen. For people who use the right hand for playing guitar, the neck of the guitar will point to their left. The guitar body should rest on your right thigh. Your left hand should go around the guitar's neck while your right arm goes around the body so your hand is near the strings. If it doesn't feel right, try to shift your body around until you feel comfortable and relaxed.

If you are right handed, you will use your left hand to press the strings and construct chords while playing the guitar. Your left hand fingers are bent and pressed down on the strings and fret board.

The guitar neck's back is curved, so that your hand will naturally conform with the shape of its neck. Your thumb should arch over the top of the neck when you hold it properly. From there, your thumb is in position for constructing chords. When you are constructing chords it is ok to press your thumb into the back of the guitar neck, although this is more in common with playing guitar scales. You should try both thumb positions and then you will be able to use the one that is most comfortable for you.

You use your right hand to "strum" or play the strings in order to create the various chord sounds. Let your right arm rest on top of the guitar. Your right bicep should be relaxed and over top of the guitar's body. Your hand should be located directly above the sound hole of the guitar. This is the place the sound is made while you are playing guitar.

Picks are commonly used when playing guitar. Hold the pick between the thumb and forefinger of your right hand. Then, pull the pick across the guitar strings. This is similar to plucking the strings with your fingers, but you will want to use a bit more pressure.

Left-handed musicians do not need to worry. There are two options for playing guitar left handed. First, you can re-string a right-handed guitar to reverse the order of the strings. Second, you can buy a specially made left-handed guitar.

Not only does proper positioning while playing guitar allow you to play for extended periods of time, but it also helps you produce the correct sounds. So take time to learn how to hold the guitar and position your body correctly.

Article Source: http://www.articlegoldmine.com

When you start playing Guitar here you will find many tips and tricks to get you playing you Guitar,plus many great resources and acoustic Guitar sheet music Playing Guitar

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