Tag: Health

Classical Guitar Foot Stool or Rest?

Nicole NealLeave a comment

This is a choice that you may be faced with in first coming to the guitar, or coming back to it after a while. It may also be something to think about if you’ve been playing for a while.

For years and years and years, throughout my formative playing years through my eighth grade and beyond I always played guitar with my left leg propped up on the trusty, adjustable foot stool. There was no reason to do otherwise – my teachers played in this way, all my “guitar heroes” played in this way (Bream, Williams and so on).

To be honest, for a long time I’d not seen anyone play using any other form of support to raise the guitar up to a height that both allowed playability and was comfortable. That was until I started to see more and more folks – my peers, teachers, players – using these adjustable rest-type contraptions attached to the side of the guitar which rests on the leg propping the guitar up on the left leg.

Interesting, I thought. There must be a reason why I’m seeing more and more players choosing this type of tool to raise and support the guitar over the foot stool, so I tried out a few different styles of rests for myself. And there are a whole host of different styles of rests to choose from (a couple of which I really didn’t get on with), but some which, for me personally, were fantastic. I now use the rest over a foot stool 100% of the time.

Why is this?

Well, my feet are both flat on the floor meaning that there’s no undue strain or twisting on the lower back. This allows for much more comfortable playing for longer periods of time (although of course you should always take regular breaks), and ensures that you’re not going to be storing up trouble for later on.

I also understand that the prolonged use of a foot stool can shorten the hip flexor on the side being raised by the foot stool (as can too much sitting generally). So you could potentially end up with a shortened hip flexor on one side of your body causing an imbalance as well as a weakness. Great…. not!

Having both feet flat on the floor also provides a very stable platform for playing – you feel very grounded and centred, a sensation which I find lacking with the foot stool. And with the type of rest that I have I can change the height at which I have the guitar and the angle – this allows me to receive better feedback from the guitar, both aurally and also in terms of the vibrations felt from the instrument in my body. Being able to fine-tune the height and angle of the guitar also means I can achieve a much more ergonomic (i.e. better, more comfortable and healthy) playing position than can be afforded to me by a foot stool alone.

So in answer to the question, foot stool or rest, I’d say it’s really up to you, but think about what it is you want. If you want something that’s going to allow you to play comfortably for longer periods, and for a longer time overall, with fewer physical issues then I’d say give some serious consideration to a guitar rest.

Been playing guitar for a while? It it time to take a break?

Nicole Neal1 Comment

As regular readers of this blog will know I’ve recently been away on my holidays, visiting good ol’ Blightly (my mother country). And this was a holiday away from the guitar as much as anything else too.

Yes, believe it or not, there are times when I’m not playing guitar. This particular time I did have access to a guitar (I choose not to fly with my guitar if I can at all help it), courtesy of my brother in the UK, however, I think it is extremely important – just once or twice a year – to step away from the guitar completely for one, two or even three weeks.

Why is this?

Well, if you’re practicing and playing (or even teaching) on a regular (i.e. daily or more or less daily basis) then some downtime gives you a physical break from the rigours of that daily playing. Downtime, especially after an exam or other big performance, allows the fingers, hands, arms, shoulders and so on an opportunity to rest and recuperate.

If you’re practicing and playing regularly, taking a break of week or two is really not going to impact on your development. In fact, it’s likely to have the opposite effect. Rather like a professional athlete, who cannot maintain the same level and intensity of physical training throughout the year – this would almost certainly lead to injury and fatigue. We guitarists also need to take some time out.

Stepping back from your guitar for a week or two can also provide a mental rest. We all know that when we’re learning something new, and even when we’re working on something tried and true, it takes a fair amount of concentration, mental effort and energy to learn, prepare and play a piece of music.

So putting the guitar down for a little while can help you to refresh and recharge the mental batteries, giving you renewed energy and vigour for playing and moving on with your playing. Stepping back from the guitar for a time can also help you to see the woods for the trees with regard to a piece or pieces you’re learning or have even been playing for a while. When we’re playing the same things day in, day out we can run the risk of becoming that bit too close, too immersed in something that we may miss something, be that voicings, fingerings, notes in a chord, musical direction or whatever. A little bit of distance from the music for a while can sometimes help see and hear things in a different light.

And you may also surprise yourself, as I certainly did yesterday. Picking up my guitar yesterday for the first time really in three weeks and set about playing a piece I’d started to learn a couple of weeks before I went on holidays – I was very pleasantly surprised to find the piece a whole lot easier to play than I’d previously felt it to be (or recalled it to feel like). So along with some physical and mental rest time, I’d allowed my brain to stew on the information I’d been feeding it in the preceeding weeks.

So, whilst your fingers may feel a little like you’ve had a couple of pints before sitting down to play in that couple of days after your holiday (that will soon disappear), I’d strongly recommend taking a look at your schedule and programming in some rest from the guitar – it will do your playing a world of good!