Practicing standing up

[Catalyst77]

I have to confess that although ive played guitar for 12 years ive never really practiced standing up.  I've recenctly been lucky enough to acquire a feline les paul, as jonathon said i picked a great girlfriend! (she bought it for me).

And i though that as i had a top quality guitar maybe i should put some effort into being a better guitarist.  Ive always played super strats in the past (esp's etc) but i'm finding the conversion a bit tricky.  When I practice standing up with the les paul i'm trying to play with good form (i.e. thumb behind the neck) with the guitar at about belt hight (not too high not too low)

I'm finding that a lot of the time my wrist ends up being  bent about 90 degrees and after about 30mins it becomes increasingly uncomfortable - almost like its going numb!  Is this normal - i.e. part of the process of getting better, or am i doing something wrong?

[MDV]

I dont know

But your girlfriend is clearly the finest woman to grace this earth. If shes hot as well, then I have to kill you. Nothing personal.

[indysmith]

"Belt height" is quite vague; which part of the guitar's body is at belt height?
One good way to target your problem is just to play the guitar at a different angle, i.e. with the neck pointing up further, to bring it closer to you.

[Will]

Why do you need to keep your thumb on the back of the neck? its good form to transfer between back / wrapped over depending on the style.
Why don't you try sitting down, and do the strap up so it is high, stand up, and play like that.
drop it down a notch every week/month or two until you are happy.

[Twinfan]

Sounds to me like you're playing it too low.  What looks good usually isn't the best for playing.

As Indy says, try holding the neck at a steeper angle and see if that helps.

[Ben_W]

Can you play standing up with a superstrat? A friend of mine had a problem vaguely similar to this, and he raised his guitar and he was fine.

Try raising it to a beatles height, just to see if it is more comfortable, then you could gradually lower it until it starts to get uncomfortable. :)

[Catalyst77]

Its actually the same height that i play the esp.  i.e. the top horn sort of just reaches the belly button.  Ive been doing a lot of legato stuff to improve my hammer on pull-offs and theres no way to get to the higher strings without bringing the thumb behind the neck.

It is kind of frustrating cause the ESP is much easier to play, but just doesnt sound anywhere near as good.

I dont mind Persevering for the sake of better technique - i just dont want to do any permanent damage!

[gwEm]

practising standing up is a good idea! :) probably the neck sticks out less compared a strat, so you need to hold your hand closer to your body. to me then it seems like the best idea would be to try holding the guitar at a different angle.

which lion did you get by the way?

[TwilightOdyssey]

As with any other physical activity, STOP AS SOON AS IT BECOMES PAINFUL!!!!!

The fact that your wrist is bent shouldn't be causing you any pain, but you might have a pinched nerve which is being exasperated by the way you are standing and the weight of the guitar strap pushing down on said nerve. (Very common)

If this happens every time you play standing up, you might need to simply stretch your spine out before playing, I know that many guitar players hunch when playing standing up.

If it feels like the pain is muscular in origin, you should stretch your wrists out slowly prior to playing, and run em under warm water for a few minutes. This will loosen the hand muscles and warm em up.

You might want to start off playing standing up for shorter periods of time and build up, too.

[il˙ti]

I had this problem too. Then I saw Petrucci play. Problem solved.

[TwilightOdyssey]

I had this problem too. Then I saw Petrucci play. Problem solved.

Care to elaborate on that?!

[il˙ti]

Not much to elaborate on really, just started holding it higher and putting my left leg on a stand (or monitor) for the difficult parts. It's really not possible for me to stretch comfortably with the guitar hanging at belt height even though Vai and Gilbert does it. You also get your wrist at the same angle as you do sitting down which makes the change from sitting to standing a whole lot easier.

[dave_mc]

i'm perfectly capable of standing up without practising..

sorry.

anyway, i agree with ben, if it hurts, stop, in case you do some damage. practising standing up is a good idea though as if you only ever practice sitting down, you'll find you struggle to play standing up.

[Catalyst77]

Hmm

I have fiddled around with the angles a bit (i.e. slanting the neck vertically slash style while standing on a make belive monitor) its not really pain more of the feeling you get when you fall asleep on your hand!

If you try and bend your hand as close to your wrist as possible for as long as you can you'll get it !! thats the angle i need to reach the higher strings up the board withought knocking or impinging on other strings.

I guess i could move the guitar up a bit but i was hoping for more of a slash look than George formby!!

practising standing up is a good idea! :) probably the neck sticks out less compared a strat, so you need to hold your hand closer to your body. to me then it seems like the best idea would be to try holding the guitar at a different angle.

which lion did you get by the way?

It's the amber lion with a Riff Raff in the Bridge and Mule in the neck, sounds sweet, its really resonant and articulate.  I was actually there to check up on a custom build i commissioned lasted year and made the mistake of picking it up.

Its the fifth one down on this link.

http://www.felineguitars.com/gallery/guitars.html

[_tom_]

That sounds really odd, theres no reason your wrist should be at that angle :? My only guitars are les pauls and I dont have to bend my wrist like that to play.