Holding the guitar

[Mik]

I recently injured my right foot and unable to put much weight on it experimented with right leg crossed over left and waist of the guitar resting on the right thigh. I liked it. It was more intimate somehow and my right hand seemed to fall more naturally on the strings.

What are the pros and cons of this position compared with the traditional lower bout on the thigh?

[Bob Weisenberg]

Ergonomically, your new position is better, although not as good as the traditional classical guitar position with a footstool. In my observation, flamenco guitarists use the traditional flamenco position (lower bout on the thigh) for formal playing, but very often use your new position instead when playing informally. It's a lot more comfortable.

If the problem is your right foot, try Diego del Gastor's favorite position. He leaned back in his chair instead of bending over the guitar, and let the lower bout rest lightly on his right thigh, and instead of tucking the guitar under his right shoulder to keep it from falling over, would hold it a little more upright so it just kind of rested there. The guitar still needs to be supported by the left hand a little, but there is little to no pressure on the right leg and foot.

Let me know if any of this is unclear.

[Mik]

Thanks for the informative response, Bob. Struggling already, I was concerned that I might be creating further problems for myself. From what you say, it seems it’s simply a matter of personal preference.

[Bob Weisenberg]

Yes, absolutely--personal preference. Have you ever seen how Paco de Lucia holds the guitar? He crosses his right ankle over his left knee, with the guitar waist resting on the right thigh. I can't do this for long, but it seems to work for him!

[Mik]

I’ve not seen this, but sounds like some form of yoga! Given it’s Paco de Lucia, is he sitting on anything?

[Bob Weisenberg]

No, not sitting. I think he's levitating, actually.

[Mik]

Must be doing tremelo then!

[falseta]

Nice! I can picture PDL floating on stage doing tremelo.... hehehe...

I was just watching the Francisco Sanchez - Paco de Lucia dvd last week where PDL talks about the first time he got invited to play at the Teatro Real and he played with his legs crossed instead of the traditional position. PDL says the critics gave him a hard time for doing this and went on to say that the critics thought it was a great disrespect to the audience and flamenco or something like that.

I have tried the tradional method, legs crossed and both feet on the floor. I prefer both feet on the floor and find that this gives me the best position to play for longer periods of time and stay relaxed.

[Bob Weisenberg]

I was living in Spain back in those early Paco de Lucia days, and he was roundly criticized, mostly by the foreign guitarists, for introducing jazz chords and other non-flamenco elements into his playing, and playing too many notes and playing too fast, so it doesn't surprise me that they criticized his position as well. The foreigners were always the ones who were most fanantical about purity.

[ronjazz@mac.com]

Paco is now using a footstool under his right foot for when he's accompanying or just playing rhythmic stuff. As we get older, we lose joint flexibility, and the way he has been sitting is more difficult for a whole concert. I have read that Vicente Amigo has had severe back problems from his sitting position. I found the Paco position to be so comfortable that I adopted it for classical concerts as well, and the comments were interesting, in that it made most people feel more comfortable and relaxed!