Sitting with Your Guitar (Electric)
Lesson time: (0min 49sec)
Course preview
This lesson is part of the course Guitar Method: Rock & Pop
Watch a preview of the full course below.
Lesson transcript:
How to Sit and Hold Your Electric Guitar
Here we're going to look at how to sit and hold our electric guitar.
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Feet Position: Start with your feet shoulder-width apart.
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Guitar Placement:
- If you're right-handed, it's very common to rest the guitar on your right leg.
- In classical guitar, you may see it positioned differently, but for electric guitar playing, we rest it on our right leg.
- For left-handed players, the guitar will be placed the other way around.
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Body Positioning:
- Tuck the guitar into your body, positioning it diagonally.
- Use the inside of your arm to bring the guitar in.
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Elbow Positioning:
- Your elbow should be at the corner of the guitar's body. This allows for a nice action when:
- Strumming
- Plucking all the strings
- Your elbow should be at the corner of the guitar's body. This allows for a nice action when:
There should be no issue reaching any of the strings; it should feel nice and smooth.
As mentioned, bring the guitar into your body and use your hand to come under the neck of the guitar to hold the frets.
About the instructor

Tommy Webb is a London-based guitarist who completed a BA(Hons) Degree in guitar at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford, studying under Sandy Beales (One Direction, Wheatus) and Nicolas Meier (Jeff Beck). His own playing moves freely across rock, pop, indie, hip-hop, country and metal - the exact ground his guitar methods cover. Tommy has worked with a wide range of artists and bands across the country, including Jarki Monno and Indira May, sharing stages and sessions with guitarists Paul Murray (Jess Glynne, Zak Abel) and Adam Chetwood (Paolo Nutini, Mark Ronson), and drummers Alex Woodward (Black Honey), Luke Robinson and “Bambi Music” (N-Dubz, Lethal Bizzle, Wretch 32, Tinie Tempah). On stage, he has performed at the Jazz Cafe opening for soul singer Jocelyn Brown, plus venues and festivals including Ronnie Scott's, Troy Bar, The Watford Colosseum, Camden Assembly, Kensington Roof Gardens, Notting Hill Arts Club, Meraki Festival and Sundown Festival. On record and radio, Tommy has played live sessions for BBC Three Counties Introducing, Vibe FM and Pulse 88, with tracks featured on BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2. He has recorded at studios including South Lanes Brighton, Hempstead Road and Titan Studios with producers such as Steph Carter (Gallows, Lyoness) and TMS / Froe Barnes (Lewis Capaldi, Dua Lipa). In his guitar methods, Tommy passes all of that working-musician know-how on to you - teaching the techniques, tones and feel behind real styles, from rock and pop to indie, hip-hop, country and metal, so you can play the music you actually love. read more




