Resonator playing position

[growler]

Hi Michael
I'm sorry to hear the forum has been a bit quiet , hopefully this might stir up some interest ( or not ). I have been playing a metal resonator for nearly a year now, before I purchased it I read somewhere that the correct way of playing the reso was the classic
leadbelly style, the guitar resting on your legs and at an agle of 45°. Having played a normal acoustic for years in the normal position ( neck parallel with ground ) I found this new position somewhat strange but have persevered with it to this day. Due to the sheer weight of the guitar and its small size I thought this must be the reason for playing in this position ..... Well as soon as I started playing the reso in this new position I was noticing after a time I was developing on accute pain in my upper left arm , thinking it would go after a while , and I will get used to this new position I have persevered with it to this day .... and guess what the pain is still there . As a matter of interest has anybody else had the same problem, is it just me , am I too tense ,
possible playing it too hard, not relaxed, or heaven forbid is it some sort of medical problem I might have with my left arm . I do not do hardly any manual work being an illustrator , the only manual work I do with my left arm is holding the pencil whilst I sharpen it . Recently I have been trying to play the guitar with it resting on my right leg,
body slightly twisted, it seems to be working . I will persevere with this and see if the pain dissapears. Changing subjects is'nt Bob Dylans new C.D "Modern Times" good
check it out on the American amazon. com and watch the video of him playing " Cold Irons Bound"...... what a cool dude 58 years old ..... regards Growler ( Karl)

[Deleted]

There's no right and wrong position, but I think what you are describing is holding the instrument in a 'classical guitar' position, with the guitar waist resting on your left knee (assuming you are right handed) and the lower bout between your knees. One problem with this is that it brings the guitar neck further away from your body, and so naturally you have to hold your hand and arm away from your body further - this could be the unfamiliar aspect of the position which is causing you distress. I think you may be barking up the wrong tree with this stance, and I think i'd revert to a more conventional seated position. There are only really three points I would stress about playing in a seated postion:

1) Sit up straight! Don't slouch, and make sure your feet are planted comfortably, either on the floor, on the crossbar of a stool, or some people find raising one or both feet on a guitar case helpful. You certainly shouldn't be twisting your body. I've got to say, I'm pretty particular about finding the right sort of chair - too low or too soft a seat can put you in a very uncomfortable position.

2) When using the slide, your thumb should only be making a very light contact with the neck (either on the top edge or the back of the neck), just enough contact to act as a stabiliser for your hand and a pivot for vibrato, and you certainly shouldn't be grabbing a handfull of neck with your thumb locked over the bass strings (apart from specific bass figures).

3) Don't hold your left elbow clamped against your body- otherwise this will literally cramp your style. The 'classical ' position DOES help with this problem. Holding the elbow in tightly tends to go along with the hunched-over the guitar position - your head drops to look at the left hand, shoulders rotate and the elbow moves into the hip - stop that straight away! Your whole left arm should be relaxed from shoulder to the wrist. Easier said than done (and easier to demonstrate than describe), but I find it a good starting excercise is to just put your thumb on the neck and deliberately let your hand 'hang' off the neck, letting your fingers drop down away from the fretboard, and feel the whole weight of your arm relax onto the anchor that is your thumb. Then gently shake your hand and arm back and forth (still let the fingers hang, don't bring them up to the fretboard) and feel ALL the muscles in your arm flopping about. This will help in developing a relaxed but controlled vibrato, and will generally help the fluidity and smoothness of your slide playing.

Best of luck with this.

[Michael Messer]

Hi Growler,

As Chickenbone John has just said - there is no right or wrong stance, but there is a comfortable and logical way to play and keep the aches'n'pains away. Too many darn rule books in my opinion! There is no reason whatsoever to adopt the classical playing position when playing a style O, Tricone or similar, unless that is how you have always played. The classical position became popular in recent years due to people seeing Bob Brozman playing in that position. Apart from Bukka White, I can't think of any old-timer-National-players that used that position. Play your guitar in the position you have always played and you will be fine. Nationals are pretty heavy and a certain balance technique is something you will (should) develop as you get more experienced. I have been playing Nationals for 30 years in the regular acoustic guitar 'right leg' position and I haven't lost one yet! When I first got to know BB in the late 1980s I tried the classical position too, I got a pain in my left shoulder and all kind of s**t going on in my back, so I went back to the proper rock'n'roll / folk way of holding a guitar. Likewise, BB tried to be a rocker and play some screaming electric lap steel solos, and like my classical position he soon put that idea away too!

We are who we are :-) ....and nobody is better at being you than YOU.

Shine On,
Michael.

[growler]

HI Michael
Thank you for your swift reply and advice, also thanks to the excellent advice given by Chickenbone John. I find it a shame that this " basic " advice wasn't around when I started to play the reso and adopt the spanish position . Come to think of before I
purchased the reso I used to play slide on my Lowden in the conventional seated position..... no problem , Also when I play slide on my Les Paul I use the same seated position , guitar resting on right leg but with a strap over the guitar to balance it. So it makes you wonder why I suddenly changed posiotion when I got the reso .... As you say " to many rule books " ..... be yourself...... once again thank you both for your expert advice , I know it is going to help me ...... regards Growler

[Deleted]

The most comfortable way to play slide is to get a squareneck and play it in bed!

[Michael Messer]

Hello Richard, good to hear from you!

Shine On,
Michael.

[Richard]

Isn't that just typical of a lap player