Learning to hold your guitar properly is an important part of playing successfully, but of more importance is how you hold your plectrum (aka: pick) and your hand position. Getting into bad habits when you are first learning can be very hard to overcome later on, so please persist with the advice I give here particularly about holding your plectrum and hand position, holding your guitar is a relatively easy choice.

0. Contents
1. How to hold your guitar
2. How to hold your plectrum (pick)
3. Related lessons & resources

How To Hold Your Guitar

There are only two methods of holding your guitar, one is the Classical method with the guitar body sitting on your left leg (if you are right handed), and the second is a general method with the guitar sitting on your right leg (if you are right handed). I personally use both methods depending on the situation, highly complex acoustic songs would make me use the Classical method, everything else I would just use the general method. For Classical players there is only one way to hold your guitar and it is very important to follow the Classical method.

The Classical Method gives your left hand some more leverage and strength, but also gives your right hand a nice angular position for finger picking which the majority of Classical players use (see figure 1.a below).

The General Method gives you a much closer look at your left fretting hand and is definitely easier for fast playing and modern styles (see figure 1.b below), and if you need proof of this, then watch Paul Gilbert play Technical Difficulties on YouTube whilst using the general method.

When holding your guitar whilst standing up you will need to adjust your strap so that the guitar is in a similar position to when you are sitting down, perhaps a little lower (see figure 1.c below). Some guitarists have their guitars slung down very low and although this looks "cool" it is a very poor position and makes even the easiest riffs much harder to play and is not advised.

How To Hold Your Plectrum (Pick)

Learning how to hold your plectrum or pick, as well as positioning your hand correctly is of the utmost importance. That being said there are a couple of different theories on doing this, like using your pinky as an anchor or picking right above the fretboard. I have seen many different methods that are equally successful, but there are some basic trends that come through in each. I will teach you here the most successful method which is employed by the majority of guitarists including myself.

First lets get the holding of your plectrum right. Using your thumb and index finger, hold the pick so that it is pointing down the same direction as your index finger (see figure 2.a below). You can also give yourself a little more strength by helping your index finger and use your middle finger as well.

Now lets get your hand position correct. Using the palm of your right hand (if you are right handed) place it directly on top of your bridge/tremolo system, try not to put pressure down but rather rest it on the bridge (see figure 2.b below). When you are playing your palm should move up and down the bridge vertically inline with the string you are playing so keeping it in a rested position is important. When picking, make sure the up and down action is coming from your wrist and not your arm, this very important!

Remember, keep these methods as strict as you can, in other words don't take short cuts and make sure you keep an mindful eye on your hand position and plectrum at all times. Happy playing!

Related Lessons & Resources

• Guitar Lessons
• • Alternate picking exercises
  • Sweep picking

External Resources

• Guitar at Wikipedia.org
• Holding a guitar pick at cyberfret.com