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RE: Steemit Open Mic Week 48: Beethoven - Sonate n°8 op13 'Pathetique' 2nd movement
there's been a lot of excitement over "supports," for people that don't want to add strap buttons to their classical's, but I don't like them. It's essentially the same concept of trying to make classical posture more ergonomic, but the strap is more versatile and feels more comfortable to me.
I used the supports for awhile but then switched to the strap -- but now i am reconsidering. I've been struggling to find a good position that allows for me to freely take breaths for singing and maintain good posture/ergonomics. The position that you have the guitar in is prime but does it rest heavily on your chest? I noticed my in-breaths in that position would cause the guitar to move. The foot stool isn't bad for this I just don't think it fits well with the vibe of my music/live shows.
I used to sing and play a lot, and would exclusively use a strap when I did that. I never noticed much difficulty with my breathing or my breathing moving the guitar, even when I would be playing more difficult accompaniment for my vocals. I was standing and singing while I played though. I don't know if that makes much of a difference, but at least for singing I needed to stand predominantly because my vocal style requires a lot of breath. I have a gut too, so you'd think if I was to notice the guitar movement effecting my playing I would. I also like to hug the guitar. It's sort of frowned upon by some classical guitarists because it can diminish tone, but I makes me more confident in my accuracy. The support really gets in the way of that closeness for me.
I think the thing I really like about the strap is it allows you to modify your position while playing. There is more movement. But it's so connected it feels like it's part of you, so I rarely feel like I'm guessing where the frett is. If you see me guessing it's because I forgot what note to play, not where that note might be.