a) Schematic diagram showing height of the centroid of guitar body from the centroid of groin, the hindlimb spread angle and the angle of tilt of the mean chordal line of the fretboard. b) Regions identified due to variation in the stated parameters. A decrease in α (decrease direction noted by the direction arrow) shifts the margin.
Let
h be the height of the centroid of the guitar body from the centroid of groin,
α be the angle of spread of the players hindlimbs,
β be the tilt angle of the mean chordal line of the fretboard from the horizontal.
The h-β chart can be divided into two real and two pseudo zones. The real zones are "Geek"(entry) and "Cool"(no. 4 through 8). The borderline pseudo-zones are "Wannabe Geek" and "Wannabe Cool". The lower the guitar is hang (lower h) and the less tilt the fretboard gets (lower β), the cooler the guitarist looks.
The four cases that can arise are as follows:
I. Higher guitar tilt (β), high hung (h) guitar : Geek
II. Lower guitar tilt (β), low hung (h) guitar : Cool
III. Higher guitar tilt (β), low hung (h) guitar : Wannabe Cool (pesudo-zone)
IV. Lower guitar tilt (β), high hung (h) guitar : Wannabe Geek (pesudo-zone)
This zones are divided by an imaginary border set by the angle spread of the players legs or the iso-α lines. The more spread they are, the chances of them being / acting cool increases via the upward shift of the border. Jack Black in School of Rock described this technique as the power stance.
Let us for illustrative purposes study the stances and guitar holding (axe wielding) pattern of the following guitarists. Images may or may not be copyrighted, please don't create a fuss about it.
From top to bottom, left to right: 1. Steve Vai, 2. Joe Satriani, 3. John Petrucci, 4. James Hetfield, 5. Kirk Hammett, 6. Saul "Slash" Hudson, 7. Mark Knopfler, 8. Eric Clapton, 9. Steven Wilson, 10. Buckethead
Most guitarist try to stay within the "Cool" zone although a few of them tend to approach the "Wannabe Cool" like Steve Vai[1]. His guitar neck tilt is usually high while keeping the guitar close to groin. Joe Satriani[2] juts a bit into the "Geek" region due to his low leg spread (occasionally he spreads them but usually limbs are pretty close), yet still manages to stay in the "Cool" region most of the times. Petrucci[3] and Buckethead[10] both are in the "Geek" region but Buckethead sometimes steers clear owing to his leg spread which is a bit wider than Petrucci. Hammett[5], Clapton[6] and Knopfler[7] use a nominal weighted stance. Clapton and Knopfler have surpringly similar stance , use similar equipments (Strats) and play similar music (mostly). Slash[6] and James Hetfield[4] use negative h, hanging their guitars well below the groin. Not only is it uncomfortable to play, but also if air jumped incorrectly with such a configuration, one might hear a painful "ouch".
Location the guitarists on the h-β chart.
Legend: 1. Steve Vai, 2. Joe Satriani, 3. John Petrucci, 4. James Hetfield, 5. Kirk Hammett, 6. Saul "Slash" Hudson, 7. Mark Knopfler, 8. Eric Clapton, 9. Steven Wilson, 10. Buckethead
Although Steven Wilson[9] has a mild negative h and uses a nominal weighted tilt, he is still a Geek and is an exception to this theory.
As examples I have only included 10 guitarists. I encourage the reader to come up with more examples and exceptions to h-β hypotheses and point their location on the h-β chart.
