It’s a different kind of guitar.
The typical posture for playing a guitar is standing. However, a lap steel guitar is a different kind of guitar and it’s usually played sitting down. Let’s get into it.
A lap steel guitar is a type of steel guitar and the Gretch G5700 Electromatic lap steel guitar is a great example of what one looks like. It’s played using a metal slide (sometimes called a tone bar) to fret the strings and a pick is used to strum or pluck the strings. A lap steel guitar is typically used in Hawaiian, country or in a blues music and has a very distinctive sound. Here is a great demo of the lap steel guitar.
The tuning for a lap steel guitar varies, but in most cases a C6 tuning (C-E-G-A-C-E) is used for Hawaiian or country music and a open G (D-G-D-G-B-D) or open D (D-A-D-F#-A-D) tuning is used for blues music. A lap steel guitar is also fretless, meaning it has fret markers, but no raised metal frets. The string action is set high to prevent any unwanted string buzz during play. Another unique thing about a lap steel guitar is there is no truss rod to keep the neck straight. This is because the player doesn’t have to wrap their hand around the neck to fret a chord, allowing the neck to be made from a much thicker piece of wood eliminating the need for a truss rod.
Playing a lap steel guitar is easier than a regular guitar, but it does require you to master new skills and develop different muscle memory. If you ever have the urge to build your own lap steel guitar, buildyourguitar.com. talks about all the things you don’t have to consider when building a lap steel guitar. It’s one of the least complicated guitar builds there is. You now know about a guitar that’s just a little different.