Level 1 · The basics · 10 min
Find your playing position
By the end, you can balance the guitar with your left hand free.
Lesson steps
1 The chair
Sit near the front of a stable chair with both feet supported.
2 min
Check for · Your right foot rests flat and your shoulders stay level.
More detail
A chair without arms leaves room for the guitar. If you use a footstool, rest your whole left foot on it.
2 The guitar on your thigh
Set the guitar on your left thigh with the neck angled up.
3 min
Check for · The headstock sits near eye level and your left shoulder stays down.
More detail
A guitar support on your thigh lets both feet stay on the floor. A footstool raises the thigh instead.
3 Your right forearm
Rest your right forearm on the edge of the guitar body.
2 min
Check for · Your fingers hang near the rosette, the ring around the soundhole, with your shoulder down.
More detail
The contact point is a little below the elbow. Let the arm rest under its own weight.
4 A free left hand
Open your left hand beside the neck.
3 min
Check for · The neck stays at the same height and the body stays in place.
More detail
Your left hand needs to be free to reach a note. Set up again from the chair between attempts.
You can move on when…
You pass when you can set up three times and open your left hand each time without moving the neck.
If a movement feels difficult
The neck drops when I open my hand.
Adjust the support height until the guitar balances.
I tilt the whole guitar to see the strings.
Bring the soundboard, the face with the soundhole, close to vertical.