Classically, sitting on a kitchen chair with legs spread open, you have the waist of the guitar resting on your left thigh, and raise the height of your left leg (usually with a heap of books) until the top of your thigh is parallel with the floor. The Jazz or Ladies Position is to cross the left leg over the right, which gets the thigh at the right height without needing the books. The neck should be raised until the nut is about level with the shoulder. KEEPING YOUR ELBOW AWAY FROM YOUR BODY you should be able to keep your forearm at right angles to the neck if you are fingering around the fifth fret. The face of the guitar can incline back at an angle of about 15 degrees, which will allow you to see what you are doing. Your fingers should be in line with the frets, and your thumb midway up the back of the neck. If you can't remember to keep that elbow out, tie a pillow against your left side to remind yourself. I couldn't play bar chords at all until I got the hang of this positioning.