# So where do I put my boob when I'm playing guitar? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 3, 2008, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-do-i-put-my-boob-when-im-playing-guitar/458739 "2008-08-03T21:14:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-do-i-put-my-boob-when-im-playing-guitar/458739/1 "2008-08-03T21:14:44Z")
I have recently started trying to learn to play acoustic guitar. My guitar is a classical, 3/4 size, and my boyfriends is a full sized acoustic. I can’t play his yet because the metal strings are too hurty. That, plus I’m in a different state right now. Anyway, so I’m sitting here with the guitar–classical, so no strap–and it fits pretty well on my lap against my leg… but my right boob is kind of mashed under the fat part of the body of the guitar. I have 32DD boobs, so they’re a noticeable obstacle and make the guitar sit too far out from my body (aside from being uncomfortable.) I can lift my boob up and rest it in the “waist” section of the body… but I think that looks tacky as hell. Is there a standard way to deal with this? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-do-i-put-my-boob-when-im-playing-guitar/458739/2 "2008-08-03T21:38:32Z")
> [@](#): > > **So where do I put my boob when I’m playing guitar?** Tell him to go into the other room until you’re finished. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-do-i-put-my-boob-when-im-playing-guitar/458739/3 "2008-08-03T21:45:55Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] Tell him to go into the other room until you’re finished. [/QUOTE] A big hand, ladies and gentlemen! Catch the midnight show and try the steak tartare! ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-do-i-put-my-boob-when-im-playing-guitar/458739/4 "2008-08-03T21:49:29Z")
You’re not allowed to shill meat products in my thread, Chefguy 😛 Vegetarian’s prerogative. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-do-i-put-my-boob-when-im-playing-guitar/458739/5 "2008-08-03T21:56:02Z")
I’m sorry, I can’t help it: Hi, **Opal**! ---
**Author:** ![SSG\_Schwartz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SSG\_Schwartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSG_Schwartz)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-do-i-put-my-boob-when-im-playing-guitar/458739/6 "2008-08-03T22:17:24Z")
Whenever I have a question like this, I look to the best source for an answer. [Liz Phair](http://www.geocities.com/kingsnake_boomboom/liz_phair_2a.jpg) may be of help. SSG Schwartz ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-do-i-put-my-boob-when-im-playing-guitar/458739/7 "2008-08-03T22:19:56Z")
Well, I don’t have double-anythings, but I don’t have a problem with Cs. Are you possibly leaning forward too much? That could combine with boobage to shove the guitar out more than you want it. ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-do-i-put-my-boob-when-im-playing-guitar/458739/8 "2008-08-04T00:31:30Z")
> [@](#): > > So where do I put my boob when I’m playing guitar? The Boobie Trap? ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-do-i-put-my-boob-when-im-playing-guitar/458739/9 "2008-08-04T00:58:27Z")
I think your options boil down to: –Let it sit on top –Park it behind –Buy a strap I don’t know. I’m a guy. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-do-i-put-my-boob-when-im-playing-guitar/458739/10 "2008-08-04T01:00:17Z")
I have asked The Wife this question, and now she is afraid to pick up her guitar. Despite thirty-five years of playing, she fears that she will not know how to hold the instrument. Thank you for injecting doubt into my wife’s mind… ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-do-i-put-my-boob-when-im-playing-guitar/458739/11 "2008-08-04T01:02:59Z")
1. I’ll hold on to it. 2. Preferably while your boyfriend is somewhere else. 3. Hi, Opal! How you doing? ---
**Author:** ![freekalette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@freekalette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freekalette)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-do-i-put-my-boob-when-im-playing-guitar/458739/12 "2008-08-04T01:14:09Z")
D-cup bassist checkin’ in! A strap is a good idea, but I know that with an acoustic, sometimes you want to sit down and do the whole “folk singer” thing. What I do is prop my right foot up on something small, like a milk crate, and hunch my back a little bit. YMMV, but it works for me. And yes, when I am home alone, I so totally prop my boob on the top. It’s comfy! ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-do-i-put-my-boob-when-im-playing-guitar/458739/13 "2008-08-04T01:34:42Z")
[QUOTE=Greg Charles] 1. I’ll hold on to it. 2. Preferably while your boyfriend is somewhere else. 3. Hi, Opal! How you doing? [/QUOTE] You walked right into that one, Opal. Since dopers like to ponder all things, here’s one for you. _The unique Traveling Songwriter has a thin body of solid mahogany with a rear sound hole_ (underlining mine) [http://www.birdlandmusic.net/product.php?productid=2961](http://www.birdlandmusic.net/product.php?productid=2961) How would the lovely, talented, and uh, buxom Opal play without blocking it? **Hi, Opal? How you doing?** ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-do-i-put-my-boob-when-im-playing-guitar/458739/14 "2008-08-04T02:10:13Z")
I plob the boob over top. It actually helps hold the guitar in place. Of course, I do not perform in public. Only when alone in the house. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-do-i-put-my-boob-when-im-playing-guitar/458739/15 "2008-08-04T02:17:33Z")
[QUOTE=freekalette] D-cup bassist checkin’ in! [/quote] From what I’ve seen, most bassists other than John Entwhistle tend to sling it fairly low. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-do-i-put-my-boob-when-im-playing-guitar/458739/16 "2008-08-04T02:20:03Z")
On the drums. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-do-i-put-my-boob-when-im-playing-guitar/458739/17 "2008-08-04T02:27:04Z")
I decided to check the videos I’ve shot. I hadn’t paid attention to it before, but [this piece of video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zzcMmfGBjY) features a female vocalist playing a full-sized acoustic guitar, and she seems to have her right breast tucked into the left cutaway. This was before an audience, and I’m a healthy heterosexual male and I hadn’t noticed this until now. So I wouldn’t worry too much about what people think. If you’re talented enough, people aren’t going to be looking at your breasts. If not, there’s always “American Idol”. ---
**Author:** ![freekalette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@freekalette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freekalette)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-do-i-put-my-boob-when-im-playing-guitar/458739/18 "2008-08-04T02:36:08Z")
[QUOTE=gaffa] From what I’ve seen, most bassists other than John Entwhistle tend to sling it fairly low. [/QUOTE] Pssst! Me too, but we were talkin’ about playing sitting down. :smack: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-do-i-put-my-boob-when-im-playing-guitar/458739/19 "2008-08-04T02:43:51Z")
[QUOTE=SSG Schwartz] Whenever I have a question like this, I look to the best source for an answer. [Liz Phair](http://www.geocities.com/kingsnake_boomboom/liz_phair_2a.jpg) may be of help. SSG Schwartz [/QUOTE] Nope, no good. She’s standing up and has a strap. Mine is a classical guitar with no strap–you have to play it sitting down. I have to emphasize this since a lot of people seem to be suggesting getting a strap: it’s a classical guitar. Not an acoustic guitar. I would have to drill holes in it to put a strap on it and I’m not willing to do that. (There is some kind of strap that clips onto the sound hole but I’ve heard that can chew into the wood.) Additionally, there are two reasons why I don’t _want_ to play standing up. First, I have very low blood pressure and get dizzy a lot–I generally don’t do most things standing up if I can avoid it. More importantly, though, is that the stuff I want to play would, I think, be a lot harder to do standing up. I don’t want to do chord-strum-strum-strum, chord-strum-strum-strum type stuff. The stuff I’m learning is all single-string picking and playing individual notes. (I have yet to actually try to play anything that involves any strumming at all, in fact.) The video of Happy Rhodes is encouraging, but she plays standing up and so her guitar sits a little lower than mine does, so it’s more nestled in. To get my boob on top of my guitar I actually have to lift it up and it’s sort of squished up in addition to sitting on top. Plus, being a 3/4 size guitar and therefore small, so that part of the guitar is much closer to the middle of my body, meaning my boob is also squished to the middle. 😕 **Zsofia** - that’s a good point. I’m just learning and so I do lean forward a bit to see the strings. I’m really, _really_ not to the stage yet when I can even come close to doing a chord without looking at the strings. Also, since I’m not just strumming, at this stage of learning I have to look at my right hand, too. **Savannah** - it’s encouraging to hear that putting the boob on top is at least considered acceptable to some! ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-do-i-put-my-boob-when-im-playing-guitar/458739/20 "2008-08-04T03:12:50Z")
[QUOTE=OpalCat] The video of Happy Rhodes is encouraging, but she plays standing up and so her guitar sits a little lower than mine does, so it’s more nestled in. [/QUOTE] Here are a few of videos of her playing while sitting. It’s funny, I never noticed where she keeps her boob before either, now it’s very noticeable to me! Damn, it’s like the “cigarette burn” being pointed out on films. [Temporary and Eternal](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XVVkbUwprc) [Collective Heart](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l13g3FkUB4w) [Feed The Fire](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zuMeMx3tnY) [If Wishes Were Horses How Beggars Would Ride](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyG_g73R0wY) (well, actually she’s standing up but with her foot on a chair) (warning: excruciatingly sad song about putting a beloved cat to sleep) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-where-do-i-put-my-boob-when-im-playing-guitar/458739.md?page=2)