There’s a right way of holding your instrument, and as a beginner, you must ensure you don’t fall into any bad habits from the get-go. In this lesson, we’ll learn the proper way of holding your guitar to improve your playing. Now let’s get stuck in!

Step-by-Step: Holding a Guitar

The following steps will teach you how to hold a guitar from a right-hander’s perspective. If you’re left-handed, do the opposite.

Step 1 - Rest the guitar on your right leg.

I recommend you sit the acoustic or electric guitar on your right leg. Resting the guitar on your left leg is more like a classical approach. It can bring some benefits, but not for most beginners.

Step 2 - Use your right arm to stabilize the guitar.

If you’re playing an acoustic guitar, you should have your arm resting on top of it. If you have an electric guitar, your arm will come slightly over the top of it. Let it rest on the front of the instrument.

Step 3 - Make sure your fretting hand isn’t holding up the guitar.

Your fretting hand must be there to press the strings! Make sure your guitar is stable without using your fretting hand. You should be able to move your hand up and down the neck quickly!

Step 4 - Don’t lean the guitar back towards you.

Leaning the guitar towards you is a natural movement for beginners, but it’s a bad habit. When you do this, you work harder to bring your wrist around the neck. It causes unnecessary tension in your hand, which you should avoid at all costs.

Step 5 - Be aware of your posture.

Finally, try not to lean your body over too much. When you’re playing, the natural tendency is to hunch over to check out what your hands are doing. It can happen sometimes, but be aware of it and make an effort to stay as upright as possible while playing.

Alright - now I’m confident you know what’s the best way of holding a guitar! I promise you: your whole guitar journey has just got easier - and free of any back pain!

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