How to Hold a Guitar Correctly (Electric, Acoustic & Classical)

The complete guide for beginners to avoid pain, play cleaner, and improve your technique fast.

The Usual Method (Sitting Position)

The usual sitting position is the most commonly used posture on electric and acoustic guitar. Sit with both thighs horizontal and your back straight, ideally on a slightly backward-leaning chair. The guitar rests on your right leg (for right-handed players). When the chair is too high, the guitar tilts forward, making it unstable or causing the body to slip.

Use a normal chair or one with adjustable height. If needed, raise your right foot a few centimeters using a footrest or even a book to stabilize the guitar and bring it closer to your body.

Your right arm hangs naturally over the guitar body, giving stability and preventing the instrument from falling. A guitar strap can also add extra support.

Your left hand holds the guitar neck. Stay relaxed, avoid tension in the shoulders and wrist, and—most important—keep your back straight.

The Classical Method (More Control, Better Access to the Neck)

The classical posture can be used on classical, electric, and acoustic guitar. Place your left foot on a footstool or riser and rest the guitar on your left leg. Lean your right arm over the instrument and keep the neck straight, pointing more to the left compared to the usual method.

This position gives the frets better accessibility, especially higher up the neck.
For beginners who struggle with hand position, this method often results in cleaner notes and better posture.

However, for electric guitarists this is less ideal for standing performance. If you practice in classical posture but then perform while standing, the transition feels unnatural.

Playing Guitar While Standing (Essential for Electric Guitarists)

Standing is the third major playing position. If you ever plan to perform live—or even rehearse seriously—you should also practice standing up.

Attach your strap securely to both strap buttons (never trust cheap fasteners). At Guitar Training Studio, we recommend Schaller Strap Locks because they never pop off accidentally.

Strap height is a personal choice:

High guitar position = easier to play fast, clean, and technical.
Low guitar position = harder to play, but looks cooler.

Try different heights and find your natural playing comfort. Note that acoustic guitars often require a different strap length than electric guitars.

Guitar Strap Length and Playing Comfort

Strap height has a much bigger impact on your playing than most guitarists realise.
A higher strap position brings the guitar closer to your body and hands, which makes bending, fast runs and precise chord changes much easier. A very low strap might look cool on stage, but it increases tension in your wrist and shoulder and makes clean playing harder.

As a rule of thumb: start with the guitar at roughly the same height sitting and standing. When you stand up, adjust the strap so the guitar doesn’t suddenly drop 20 cm lower. From there, experiment a little higher or lower and notice how it affects your accuracy, speed and comfort.

How Left-Handed Players Should Adjust Their Posture

The descriptions on this page are written for right-handed guitarists. If you play left-handed with a left-handed guitar, simply mirror every instruction:

Where it says right leg, use your left leg.
Where it says left hand on the neck, use your right hand.
Classical position: guitar on the right leg instead of the left.

The principles stay exactly the same: stable chair, straight back, guitar close to the body, relaxed shoulders and wrists. Only the sides are reversed.

Common Mistakes When Holding a Guitar

A lot of technical problems start with how the guitar is held. Frequent issues:

Chair too high or too low – the guitar tilts away from the body and becomes unstable.
Guitar too far from the body – you have to stretch for every note and chord.
Collapsed back and shoulders – creates tension and often leads to pain.
Strap only for “looks” – strap is too loose to actually support the instrument.

If you recognise any of these, fix the posture first before blaming your fingers, your guitar or your “lack of talent”.

Tips to Improve Stability and Reduce Fatigue

A good posture should feel stable and relaxed, not stiff. A few practical tips:

Keep the guitar body close to your torso instead of letting it hang forward.
Let the right arm (or left for left-handers) rest naturally on the guitar to add weight and stability.
Keep your back long and straight, not hollowed or rounded.
Take short breaks and stand up regularly if you practise long sessions.

When the instrument is positioned well, your hands are free to focus on sound, timing and expression instead of constantly fighting the guitar.

Take Your Guitar Playing To The Next Level!

If you like clear, practical guitar and music coaching instead of random YouTube tips, you need structure. My guitar books and coaching programs give you that structure, so you can finally make real progress and level up your playing.