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musical instruments

How to Play Guitar with Good Posture

Andre Segovia playing classical guitar with excellent form
June, 2016

     From the Argentine romantic composing a tango to the K-pop star strumming for an audience of thousands, guitars are a favorite instrument around the world. In fact, the guitar is the second most played instrument after the piano. (source). Amateur and professional players use a variety of playing positions - some are significantly more ergonomic than others. 

    In the classical position, the guitar is sharply angled up so that the wide end of the instrument’s body sits against one leg and the neck is held aloft with the opposite hand. This position allows the musician’s shoulders to be square and resting more posteriorly in line with the back instead of rolled forward as  in the modern style of playing with a horizontally aligned guitar.

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“I’ve Been as Lucky as I’ve Been Unlucky:” Cynthia’s Story

May, 2019

“I would do anything for Esther. She’s the epitome of goodness.” Like many Gokhale Method students local to the Bay Area, Cynthia deeply values her personal relationship with Esther. Cynthia is 72 years old and a native Californian. Her husband, Charlie, is also a native Californian, and they love their home state.

Cynthia has always valued being in good shape and pursuing outdoor activities. She started backpacking after she got her undergraduate degree in Spanish. She continued backpacking while teaching Spanish, and during a backpacking trip in the Canadian Rockies, she realized she actually wanted to be a geologist. She had with her a book on local geology, and says that “the exposure of the sedimentary, folded, metamorphosed strata in the Rockies would make anyone into a geologist.” She returned to school for a geology degree... Read more