Yep, I am, especially the bass strings. It was kind of an arc where the bass strings are more towards the neck. My right elbow rests on the widest part of the bout. More like Steve Kaufman than Tony Rice (whose elbow is past the corner on the bottom of the guitar). From the āKaufman positionā, itās equally as easy for me to slide towards the neck or the bridge. Lest anyone think I am saying something I donāt intendā¦ I canāt play like Kaufman nor Rice. Anyway, I like the tone when picking more over the soundhole, but the strings feel flabby and flatpicking is less precise. It makes sense I have migrated up since I havenāt doing much flatpicking for a few monthsā¦ just lots of whanging on chords.
Pick Placement Relative to Sound Hole?
I had to go look at pictures of Kaufman and Rice for comparison to see what you mean. Funny, but Iāve never given a whole lot of thought to how my arm drapes across the guitar. I just found a spot that felt comfortable (and didnāt cut off blood circulation) and went with it. I think Iām closer to Riceās position than Kaufmanās, though.
Wish my right forearm was about a foot longer so I could set up completely parallel to the strings. Then I could swing a perfect arc across the strings. Guess Iād look pretty funny with one long arm, though.
I guess I arc like most other folks. My pick starts out just over the soundhole on the low E and ends up about an inch from the soundhole back toward the bridge on the high E. I can drift to the extreme in either direction pretty easy since I rest the guitar on my left leg. Seems to free up my right arm more. Might sound weird but it works for my short self!
Bulldog, when you put the guitar on your left leg, do you end up with the neck pointed up in a more vertical position?
Which leg do you use, mreiz?
I am now devoted right legger. I used to do lefty leg for a bit while learning classical. I also did it a bit for fingerstyle stuff (lots of barres). When I was lefty legged, I would have the neck pointed more towards the ceiling.
Well Larry, I guess itās angled some compared to a right legger but I wouldnāt say it was in a āclassicalā position. Iāve honestly tried to play with it resting on my right leg but it just seems too cramped under my arm and the neck wants to push away from me. Might be my middle age spread acting as a fulcrum! I use to be short and stocky, now more short and chunky. 
http://s1157.photobucket.com/user/jmart63/media/php5tuIN4PM_zps163471e1.jpg.htmlhttp://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/p599/jmart63/php5tuIN4PM_zps163471e1.jpg
Bulldogās form looks alot like Jack Lawrence.
I read a quote from him a few years ago where he said playing on the left leg is more natural & reduces stress in the arms & shoulders. Iāve tried it several times for long periods of time & it just doesnāt seem to work for me. It feels uncomfortable & I canāt play as well. It seems to change the sound of the guitar even (less bass & thinner sounding). Anyone else notice this or am I crazy?
Iām glad weāre all different & hats off to those of you who can play left-legged.
J.W.
Itās kinda funny how where we pick turned into what leg we put our guitars on. 
Nothing wrong with leg placement discussion either!
Sorry for starting this thread then leaving it high and dry! Been traveling a lot lately. Got back home from Mexico and Texas again on the 1st of July, then some friends came in for the 4th and we went to watch the Nashville Fireworks then headed down to Chattanooga where we rented a cabin for a few days and took all our kids to all the places to see. So I have not been playing a lot of guitar! To boot I nearly cut off my finger (Index) tip 3 weeks ago on my fretting hand. It managed to finally attach itself after looking pretty bad for 3 or 4 daysā¦still real sensitive when I play, especially when I try and slide.
I am heading back out of town on Thursday to play in a golf tourny in Ohio at a Country Club I used to belong at there. I think I will finally settle down a bit later this month and have some time to pick!
Oldhat
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still real sensitive when I play, especially when I try and slide.
Oldhat
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Please donāt slide too much until it feels firmly attached. Iād hate for us to be having to search eBay for some Tony Iommi fingertip accessories. 
Yeah J.W. holding it like that allows more of the guitar back to be against your body which will definately mute the sound. I donāt hold it pressed against my gut for that reason.
Other than using my right leg, it looks like my positioning is pretty similar to yours, bulldog
I hadnāt thought about the potential muting effect of playing off the left leg, but it makes sense. Even off my right leg, I try to create a little triangle of space between my lap, my torso and the back of the guitar. I love feeling those bass notes vibrate in my gut.
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Sorry for starting this thread then leaving it high and dry! Been traveling a lot lately
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I think a lot of members might be doing some summer travel. The boards have been really slow.
But, Iām doing the opposite of you, oldhat. I used the holiday to get in extra pickinā. I jammed at a party on Thursday/Friday until about 3 am, slept most the rest of Friday, then went to my regular jam on Saturday. It was lots of fun, but it sure blew up my practice schedule!
The tough part I have with flatpicking is that when I hold my pick with two fingers it makes me sweep across the stings towards the bridge as I move towards the bottom strings. Itās just the nature of the shape of the sweep arc. In order to correct this I would have to drop my shoulder and elbow more than I would like, making it uncomfortable. Instead, I have adopted a three finger grip which allows me to stretch my fingers out more and adjust the arc to be more straight, allowing me to hit the stings better in their sweet spots. It also give me a lighter touch on the strings on my strum strokes.
I am not sure if this is going to be bad in the long run, but the benefits right now are worth it. It also makes going back and forth from flatpicking to rock style easy. I actually just started forcing myself to play both ways ā¦ the typical closed hand two finger grip ā¦ and my modified version ā¦ just in case I hit a speed roadblock with my modified version.
Sounds like youāre holding the pick similar to Dan Crary.
Iāve never tried holding the pick like that. Probably because Iām a lefty playing righty and havenāt developed much fine motor control in my right hand. I tend to lock my pick in and let my wrist do most of the work.
This topic hits me squarely between the eyes (as some would say ,then it hit me) after playing the classical for thirty years on my left leg, I donāt seem to be able to move the steely over to the rightā¦and my pick always drifts to far down to the bridgeā¦I think I am that old dog new tricks groupā¦
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I had to go look at pictures of Kaufman and Rice for comparison to see what you mean. Funny, but Iāve never given a whole lot of thought to how my arm drapes across the guitar. I just found a spot that felt comfortable (and didnāt cut off blood circulation) and went with it. I think Iām closer to Riceās position than Kaufmanās, though.
Wish my right forearm was about a foot longer so I could set up completely parallel to the strings. Then I could swing a perfect arc across the strings. Guess Iād look pretty funny with one long arm, though.
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I would like to have my fingers about a 1/4 inch longer and my wrist be able to twist a bit more but we have to work with what we have . I really have to have my guitar neck up quite a bit to make the C chord and do it comfortably and make all the notes ring . I have a real stiff wrist left hand onlyI guess it is repetitive motion sickness LOL from thirty years doing mostly the same thing over an over again. mmm? sounds like guitar practice.
w
I started paying attention to how I set my guitar and it is almost a natural thing for me to hold the guitar on my left leg I guess I do that with out even thinking about it and have for years . I also play right in front of the cut out of the hole, bridge side of the sound hole . We all do what it best for us and that is as it should be .
My avatar proves that out does it not >??
I think the avatar does agree with your description. What a coincidence! 
I will add one thing to the pick placement discussion that ties into another thread I posted. For flatpicking, I play more towards the bridge. When I play at church there is a fair amount of strumming (sometimes fast) that is involved. The combination of strumming alot near the bridge with a rigid pick seems to wear the equipment down much quicker. The saddles wear grooves, strings break, etc. While it took an attitude adjustment, itās not the end of the worldā¦ Iād rather have to maintain my guitars a bit more and get more of the music I want as opposed to treating them like fine china and have them stay like brand new until I am put under the ground. Since I became aware of it, I have been able to mitigate it a bit (softer picking hand, not strumming hard real close to the bridge) but I am still touching up the saddle on my stage guitars with every string change.
I find that I am more inclined to be concerned with my pick placement relative to the strings more than anything else. When the pick is not close to the strings, I canāt seem to get any tone at all! But back when I was starting to play the guitar, I did find that my pick was not only close to the sound hole, but often fell right in. 
But back on topic, I started playing guitar before I knew what felt right to play it. So I have a tendency to change legs and in turn change my posture to accommodate the different guitar positions. The rock side of me wants to play with the guitar resting on my right leg, while the classical guitar side of me want to play on my left leg. Honestly, the left leg position allows my shoulders to be relaxed and level, so is probably a better position ergonomically. In addition, the left leg position more closely represents how I hold the guitar when standing using a strap. In both positions, I have practiced to keep my picking hand away from the top of the guitar so that I can have better control and more power with my picking hand. The actual pick location when it strikes the string for me is near dead center of the sound hole. Back when I was resting my palm on the bridge, the pick would strike near the bottom of the sound hole (brighter tone).
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The actual pick location when it strikes the string for me is near dead center of the sound hole. Back when I was resting my palm on the bridge, the pick would strike near the bottom of the sound hole (brighter tone).
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Iām a wanderer in position. In the last couple years Iāve moved the opposite direction (towards the bridge). For me itās a tradeoff in what kind of tone sounds right to me at a given time. I used to loved the rounder tone more towards the neck whereas lately Iāve been liking the punchiness from moving back more towards the bridge. I also like the feel of picking more towards the bridge. I suspect in a few months Iāll be picking up over the fretboard.