Guitarists, You Need This To Practice Better

We guitarists are always looking for ways to optimize our practice and playing. Some of us are convinced that if we had the right guitar, it would be easier to play faster. Others are convinced that if they had a high-end pro amp setup, they would finally have the perfect tones. In either camp, many guitarists fall victim to Gear Acquisition Syndrome where they struggle with the urge to keep buying guitar stuff they don’t need. The truth is that you don’t need a lot of fancy equipment to play guitar and get better at it. While I don’t consider myself to be far from a “guitar minimalist”, there are certain pieces of gear that are worth getting because they help improve the player experience. In this discussion, I’m going to share with you a simple, inexpensive piece of gear that makes your playing easier and more comfortable.

The Must-Have Piece Of Gear

I’m going to cut right to the chase and tell you what this simple, inexpensive, guitar practice enhancer is: 

It’s a footrest.

You might be wondering why you should care so much about a specialized piece of equipment that wears the bottom of your foot as a hat. Well, the whole point of the footrest is that it gives you a much more comfortable experience whenever you are practicing or playing guitar in a seated position because it elevates one of your legs higher than the other. A lot happens when you introduce this one little item because the footrest helps balance the guitar across your lap, which in turn puts the guitar in a more ergonomic position in your hands as you play. The enhanced position this puts you in allows you to see the fretboard better when you look down at it, access both ends of the fretboard more comfortably, and have a much more comfortable practice experience.

Today, we are going to be taking a look at the On-Stage FS7850B 5-Position Footrest. This specific footrest has 5 adjustable positions that sit anywhere between 5 and 10 inches high. It also folds completely flat if you need to store it or carry it somewhere. The On-Stage footrest is pretty solid and durable since it is mostly made of metal (\m/). I personally find the quality to be pretty impressive, especially since it is currently selling for only $12.95 on Sweetwater. The only nonmetal parts of the footrest are the rubber feet on the bottom and the textured rubber pad that the bottom of your foot goes on. These elements help stabilize your foot and prevent the footrest from sliding all around the place, especially if you’re heavy-footed and like to put the pedal to the metal.

My Previous Alternatives

I’ve always seen guitarists, especially classical players, use the footrest, but I never saw the point. 

At first, I didn’t see the need for having anything under your foot except the floor. If I wanted to elevate one of my legs, I would just raise my left heel and leave the ball of my foot on the ground. While this gave my left calf some much-needed hypertrophy, this idea wasn’t sustainable because it became uncomfortable to maintain during practice sessions.

I then decided to try one or two yoga blocks since I had them lying around. If I’m not mistaken, Kevin Frasard was the one who inspired this idea in one of his videos. By the way, you should totally check out his YouTube channel if you’re into metal guitar or lifting weights. I tried the yoga block idea for maybe a year, give or take, and I thought it worked pretty well. Over time though, I grew to realize that the guitar still wasn’t in the best position for me. I think this realization had to do with the flat surface of the yoga blocks being suboptimal. What’s great about this On-Stage footrest I got is that it is angled a bit so that it keeps your leg in an ideal position.

Whenever I was too lazy to use a yoga block, I also tried using the bottom part of my computer chair. This was probably the best alternative I tried before using an actual footrest, but it still didn’t feel quite right. Sure, this was a pretty stable method for elevating my foot. Similar to the challenges I’ve had with the other methods, resting my foot on the bottom of my computer chair did not leave my foot in a sustainable position since my foot wasn’t at an ideal angle. If anything, my foot was angled opposite to what it should have been. It also left my foot at a height that was too low, so I needed something that could lift my leg higher. After exhausting all the free options for elevating my leg, I knew it was time to finally pull the trigger on an actual footrest.

Why Sit Classical?

As I mentioned, the footrest is commonly used by classical players who play the guitar in the classical position. The classical position requires you to sit with the guitar on your left leg, or your right leg if you play lefty.

Most guitarists tend to favor the guitar resting on the leg that corresponds with their picking hand, and I get why because it can feel more comfortable. However, sitting with the guitar in this more casual fashion has some not-so-comfortable side effects. Mick Thomson of Slipknot has addressed these issues by stating how sitting with the guitar on the leg that corresponds with one’s picking hand can cause unnecessary pressure on both arms. Since you have to be somewhat rotated in that position, the muscles on the side of your picking hand, such as your trap and bicep, are stressed due to some degree of flexion. This also puts pressure on the shoulder since it has to flex and stretch to maintain the position. On the side of your fretting hand, your hand and arm are also unnecessarily stressed since your arm has to extend to reach the neck instead of staying relaxed.

The benefits of sitting in the classical position include a more relaxed posture, ease of access to all areas of the fretboard, and more efficient playing overall. A footrest allows you to easily achieve the classical position. Plus, when you roll up on a squad of other shredders and take a classical seated position, you automatically look like you know what you’re doing.

Conclusion

I don’t tend to buy, let alone recommend, gear unless I truly believe it’s worth the money and makes at least some reasonable difference in the guitar-playing experience. No gear you buy will make you a better player, but certain things like a footrest can lead to more productive practice sessions. If you are a serious student of the guitar, I highly recommend you at least try sitting in the classical position. You don’t have to use a footrest, like the On-Stage one I got, but for the current price of $12.95, it’s a small investment that could make your practice sessions easier and more comfortable.

Watch the full lesson here: Guitarists, You Need This To Practice Better