How To Keep a Guitar From Slipping Off Your Legs (9 Tips)

Playing the guitar is a favorite pastime for people of all ages worldwide; it’s an activity that you can do with family and friends to relax, bond, or even party together. But one common problem that people have when playing the guitar is getting it to stay in one place. So, how do you keep a guitar from slipping off your legs?

Here are 9 tips on how to keep a guitar from slipping off your legs:

Use guitar supports or lifts.
Buy a guitar strap.
Make a D.I.Y. patch for your lap.
Work on your posture.
Play standing up.
Wear clothes that aren’t slippery.
Hold the guitar differently.
Try a differently sized guitar.
Experiment with different guitar shapes.

This article will help you figure out some of the best ways to keep the guitar in one place while you play. Continue reading to discover some of the most crucial tips for keeping a guitar from slipping off your legs.

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Table Of Contents show

1. Use Guitar Supports or Lifts

Picture yourself in front of hundreds—or even thousands—of people, performing a song on your guitar. Now imagine you’re playing a complicated song that requires focus, skill, and strumming your fingers at what feels like a million times a minute. Now imagine your guitar sliding around on your lap like it has a mind of its own. This lack of control is a common problem, and one way that you can address it is to use a guitar support or a guitar lift.

One of the best solutions to an unstable guitar is to get a guitar support (or a guitar lift) to help keep it in one place. These excellent tools come in various sizes and shapes and can function differently, but they all serve the same purpose: to give you a secure and stationary resting place for your guitar while you play. They keep your guitar steady when you are going in for your most intense solar or riff.

There are numerous guitar lifts and supports available to choose from, so it’s vital to understand which one works best for you. Depending on your posture, body type, and how you intend to perform, some options may work better for you than others. Make sure to do your homework and choose one of the best guitar lifts or supports you can find to make sure that you get the best results out of your guitar performance.

Choose a guitar support or lift that lets you play the guitar the way you want to play it. If you like holding your guitar closer to your chin, then pick a slightly higher lift. This extra height will also keep the guitar further from the ground, which will help to ensure that it won’t easily slide down off your legs and onto the floor.

2. Buy a Guitar Strap

A guitar strap is another straightforward solution to a guitar that is constantly slipping. Guitar straps aren’t just a great way to keep a guitar close to your body, but they also look great. While they won’t keep your guitar firmly on your leg the way that support or lift does, they are still an excellent option and tend to be more comfortable for a lot of people.

Just have it as tight as it allows you to and keep it snug to your body, and you’ll not have the problem of it sliding off of your knee as often.

There are hundreds of unique guitar straps that you can find on the market today. Make sure that you get a strap that is high-quality and has a good reputation so that your guitar will stay firmly in place. Some of the very best brands of guitar straps include the following:

Fender
Levy’s
Taylor

Choose your material wisely. Fabric that likes to grip, such as suede, prevents the guitar from sliding around. Having a strap material that clings to your clothes is an excellent first step for trying to control your guitar from sliding around on your lap.

If you pick a guitar strap with a short leash, you are less likely to have it sliding off of your knee. While comfort is essential, it may be a good idea to pick a strap that keeps the instrument snug to your torso while playing so that you’re not constantly in fear of it falling onto the ground.

3. Make a D.I.Y. Patch for Your Lap

As effective as guitar straps, lifts, and supports are, the fact of the matter is that they do cost money. And sometimes they cost a lot of money. It might be hard to justify spending your hard-earned cash on something that seems like you could make for yourself at home. Luckily, there’s no need to fret. With a bit of motivation and some imagination, you can make a patch for your lap that will keep your guitar from slipping off your legs.

If you’re a D.I.Y. type of person, then the best choice for you may be to design your own solution. With a few simple steps, you can make your own patch that will help keep your musical instrument in place while playing. Here’s a quick look at what you’ll need to make your own anti-slip patch for your guitar:

Choose a grippy material that you want to use for your patch. There are so many different options that you could decide between for this. One of the most popular choices is a standard polymer material, similar to what you would use on a kitchen shelf to prevent things from falling.
Decide if you want it to be a temporary or permanent fix. Now you can decide if you’re going to rest the material in your lap or attach it to your guitar for future use. Keep in mind that a lot of adhesives may cause damage to your guitar, so if you’re at all worried about the appearance of your guitar, you shouldn’t try this method. Setting the patch in your lap can work great and prevent most of the slipping.

The wonderful thing about making a D.I.Y. patch for your guitar is that you can control everything about it. You get to choose the material, as well as whether you want to attach it to your guitar. This can give you the confidence to play your guitar the way you want to, and you can rest assured that it isn’t going to fall off of your lap.

4. Work on Your Posture

Your guitar might be sliding around on or off your legs as a result of your posture. There are several very important things to keep in mind when you are sitting down and holding a guitar.

Keep Your Legs Parallel to the Ground

One of the most important posture tips for this issue is that you keep your legs level and flat. This way, your guitar does not have a slope to slide down.

Choose a reliable chair on a flat surface to have a suitable base for sitting up properly and supporting your guitar. Then, sit up straight, and keep your thighs in a level position, if not slightly tilted towards your body. You can prop your feet up ever so slightly if you want to, ensuring that your guitar will be angled towards your body and not the ground. This additional lift will keep your guitar from slipping off your legs.

Proper Posture Protects Your Overall Health and Improves Playing

It’s also essential to maintain proper posture so that you don’t injure your body over time by trying to keep your guitar on your lap.

Make sure that you aren’t slouching, as this could also cause your guitar to slide downwards. Not only will you stop your guitar from moving around as much when playing, but hopefully, you’ll be improving your overall health by taking a few extra minutes to address your posture when playing the guitar.

If you constantly find your guitar wanting to go from your lap to the ground, try experimenting with a different posture. Sit up straighter, prop your feet up slightly, and your guitar will rest more snugly on your legs.

5. Play Standing Up

It might seem obvious, but one of the best ways to make sure that your guitar is not sliding off your lap is to simply stand up while playing. It’s literally impossible for your guitar to slip off your legs if you are standing up and holding it. Now, there are other factors that you need to consider when playing standing up, but you’ll not have the problem of your guitar slipping off your lap.

Here are some things that you’ll want to do for extra support when playing the guitar standing up:

Make sure that you are holding the guitar in a comfortable position for you.
Use a strap to ensure that you have a backup for your guitar in case you lose your grip.
Stand in a way that doesn’t cause pain to your back or legs.

If you take these steps and play standing up, you will find that you can control the guitar very well and not have the same problems with it slipping off your lap as you do when you are playing sitting down. Try standing the next time you are playing guitar for friends, family, or in a professional setting.

Here’s a YouTube video from The-Art-Of-Guitar on how to properly play the guitar standing up for best results:

6. Wear Clothes That Aren’t Slippery

Whether you are playing guitar for people you know or for strangers on a stage, it is often encouraged to dress for the occasion to impress the people that you are playing for. Looking appropriate for the setting might mean dressing to the nines for an upscale event, or maybe it means looking like a true rock star if you are playing heavy metal, punk, or rock and roll music.

Be sure that you are wearing clothes that can help grip the guitar rather than promote it sliding around. Ensuring proper clothing means wearing something made of a fabric that prevents things from slipping around. Wear your favorite pair of jeans or even a suit, but choose clothes that you think will help keep your guitar in one place.

Here are some examples of fabrics that you’ll want to avoid when dressing for a performance:

Polyester
Silk
Rayon

These three fabrics should be avoided at all costs when you are playing the guitar. You might as well grease your guitar with oil or butter if you consider wearing these fabrics while sitting down and playing the guitar. These materials might be very comfortable and look professional, but they make it very difficult to maintain a steady grip on your guitar.

Choose these fabrics instead, and you can ensure that your guitar will stay in one place while you are playing it while sitting down:

Denim
Leather

7. Hold the Guitar Differently

Again, if your guitar keeps sliding off your lap, the problem might have more to do with your own position than any external factors. One of the first things that you should look for is whether your grip on your guitar is contributing to its tendency to slip off your legs. Some things that you’ll want to consider when you’re examining how you hold the guitar include:

Keep the guitar close to your body.
Hold the bottom part of the guitar slightly inwards to prevent slipping.
Hold the neck of the guitar up a little bit to prevent it from sliding.

It is of the utmost importance that you learn how to hold a guitar correctly. Not only will you prevent the guitar from falling onto the floor, but you’ll get better sound quality and less pain in your muscles and bones.

Luckily, if you follow a few easy steps, you’ll be able to hold the guitar properly and prevent it from falling off your lap when performing your most intense solos and songs.

8. Try a Different Sized Guitar

There are numerous reasons why your guitar might be falling from your lap to the ground. It could be that you need something to add to it or wear to keep it from sliding, or it could be your posture. Yet another factor that you might want to consider is that the problem could lie in the guitar itself. If you find your guitar constantly slipping, you may want to consider looking at a different-sized guitar.

If you have a very large guitar that is disproportionate to your body, it will make it more challenging to hold the guitar properly. As discussed earlier, having poor posture or failing to control the guitar correctly can make the instrument slip off your lap. If you have a guitar that is too big for you, this could easily lead to these problems that cause your guitar to land on the floor instead of staying firmly in place.

If you’re constantly losing control of your guitar and it feels like it will slide right off your lap, then one thing to check is if the guitar fits you. There are multiple deciding factors to consider when looking at whether your guitar is too big. Here are a couple of common things to look at if you suspect that your guitar is too big. These could be what is causing it to slide off of your lap:

Your age. If you’re a younger child or have a smaller frame and are currently using a full-size guitar, then you may want to consider a change in size. Try out a smaller guitar or one intended for children if your guitar is slipping off of your lap.
Your strength. If you choose a guitar that is too heavy for you, it might be hard for you to hold up. If you don’t have a lot of arm strength, you might want to look at a lighter-weight choice for your guitar.

9. Experiment With Different Guitar Shapes

One final reason that your guitar might be sliding around is the shape of the guitar. Guitars come in numerous sizes and shapes, so it’s vital to recognize if the form of your guitar is what is causing the problem. If you can’t figure out why you can’t keep the guitar in one place, it may be time to see if you need a guitar in a different shape.

Go to your local music shop and try some different guitars. There might be one that better matches your body type or the performance you do. Practice with several models and try to identify the best guitar shape that will allow you to keep it neatly in your lap while you are playing.

Conclusion

As guitarists, we can all agree that it is frustrating to play an instrument that is constantly slipping around. To diagnose why your guitar keeps slipping off your legs, consider your own instrument’s size and shape.

To prevent the problem from occurring further, consider helpful tools like guitar lifts, straps, and non-slip patches.