Guitar Teacher Wrong?

[Senior Gomez]

Ok, i've been playing guitar for about a year right. Well I just started taking lessons from this guitar teacher and the first day in there he told me i was holding my guitar all wrong (on my right knee, the way i see everyone else i know or playing guitar on TV or a concert dvd) and he told me to put it on my left knee and straighten my back and not to have my thumb come over the neck of the guitar when i hold it(it arches your fingers more) and stuff like that. Im at the point playing guitar where im gonna start absorbing stuff like a sponge as my friend puts it. So am i going in the wrong direction? Nobody else i see play guitar even dave matthews plays on his right knee and SRV plays w/ his thumb over the neck. I mean my teacher is pretty good but i dont wanna learn the wrong way you know? HELP PLEASE!!

[Easy E]

that way is considered the classical fingerstyle way. Unless you want to learn how to play that way, he is wrong. Tell him thats not the style you want to play or the way you feel comfortable holding the guitar.

[filmdude100cms]

well if the guitar is tilted up and rested on your left knee and between your legs, with the thumb thats finger style.... but i do allot of finger style and i play regular... also leaving your thumb over it stretches it and your other fingers, so one day you can use your thumb to fret strings on the E6 string, and the other fingers elsewhere....

hes wrong...

[dmbguitar718]

hes wrong...

No he's not. But the most common way is the way you were talking about. That's how I do it. I play almost all fingerstyle, and I hold it "normally".

[Tranman66]

Either way is fine. I started out with a classical guitar so i held it like you, but then i switched. It really doesnt matter, but i do prefer doing it "normally" because it looks better and feels better with long period.

[filmdude100cms]

hes wrong...

No he's not. But the most common way is the way you were talking about. That's how I do it. I play almost all fingerstyle, and I hold it "normally".

well i mean it seems like his teacher is saying play on your left knee, and keep your thumb in the same position. if hes doing strumming and not fingerstyle, and hes about to get to the point where hes movin his left hand constantly, itll be a problem eventually.

[GuitarGuy305]

Ditch the teacher:

"When I found the guitar, I refused to take lessons. This was my real emotional release, and I didn't want to be taught how to approach the instrument." - Eddie Van Halen.



Adam

[Senior Gomez]

thanks all

[acoustic_saint]

Ditch the teacher:

"When I found the guitar, I refused to take lessons. This was my real emotional release, and I didn't want to be taught how to approach the instrument." - Eddie Van Halen.



Adam

Eddie is the man. 8)

[mangold]

i go right kneed

[pearljammer]

FWIW, my teacher told me the same thing.

[Dancing Ants]

the thumb thing is great if you're doing some picking, like going from the low E string to the high E string really fast. Other than that..i'd just leave it down.

Also, I play on my left knee...but i'm a lefty. So if you're a righty..play on your right leg/knee/whateva.

[Dancing Ants]

Ditch the teacher:

"When I found the guitar, I refused to take lessons. This was my real emotional release, and I didn't want to be taught how to approach the instrument." - Eddie Van Halen.



Adam

agreed. ALTHOUGH...learning Theory can only help you. take a general theory class at your local college. It will help a ton.

[dmfollower]

hey praisedave, is that keller in your av?

[dmbguitar718]

yeah it is, and its a sweet picture of him.