Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
At The Back => Time Out => Topic started by: Transcend on June 19, 2008, 08:51:46 PM
-
Just a quick question to ask if its bad technique to play with you thumb not resting in the back of the neck of the guitar?
sometimes i do have it resting there but sometimes i have the joint of my thumb on the back of the neck with my thumb sticking up.
and also if so why is it bad?
-
yes its bad... but who cares :P
-
will it hinder my playing at all? ive noticed i only seem to do it when im playing really slow finger picked things
-
as long as it sounds good no one gives a damb.
-
you offten need your thumb to give u strength wen playin barre chords. but i thnk hendrix offten used his thumb to hold down notes on the low E string so really its what ever works for you.
-
NO! You cannot play blues/rock based music unless you have a firm grip on the guitar, which means thumb over.
- unless you are playing a classical guitar that was made post 1840 or so, then it is wrong and you will lose balance and have bad posture. Finger on middle of neck works for neo classical shredding too.
-
Many players adapt and play both styles - depending on what they are playing both guitar and style wise.
-
well, i play both styles... not that i'm a great a player (a bit sh!t in fact, but at least i have a good time :) )
-
Whatever works for you is good ! 8)
-
I always play barre chords without the barre- I use my thumb over the top to hold the low E note. Lets me get fancy with hammer-ons and pull-offs, Hendrix/Fruciante (think under the bridge).
Sod it, there is a 'proper' classical technique, but whatever works, is comfortable and doesn't do you any damage is fine.
-
Depends really, for some passages I find the thumb on the back of the neck way preferable, as it allows cleaner execution of the notes, whereas in some fingerpicked parts, or weird droning clean riffs, I get my thumb over for them.
To be honest, anyone who says there is only one way to play is wrong, I don't play one way for same stuff, and it doesn't hinder me whatsoever.
-
Also depends on the guitar - some have thinner necks, and lend themselves to using the thumb "over the top".
Basically, it doesn't matter. I suspect that when you've been playing for a while you'll move your hand into all sorts of positions, not all of which are "text book", but will work for you.
Mark.
-
ah thanks i was wondering if this couldve been the cause of my recent injury but i went back playing through everything i played on the day and i noticed that i played them with the thumb on the back of the neck.
-
You wanna play like folk legend Richie Havens. Take a look at this:
http://www.richiehavens.com/HM3365.htm
-
Basically, it doesn't matter. I suspect that when you've been playing for a while you'll move your hand into all sorts of positions, not all of which are "text book", but will work for you.
Mark.
+1 to that!
Roo
-
I tried using my thumb under the neck but it has its advantages.
For classical (of course) and M.A.B-esque speed picking it would be better to have your thumb under.
Over the neck has a lot more advantages IMO. You have a generally better grip over the guitar and it'll make Vibrato and Bending easier.
I use both actually, for example when I play a Paul Gilbert piece (for example Scarified) I use both. For that manic pentatonic stretch at the end I switch from thumb over to thumb under, then again I suppose it comes naturally.
In essence I'd just play and not think about it PDT_015
-
... i tell you what... never claimed to be good or owt anyway.. but i realised today how much i do rely on my thumb for notes on the low strings... it may have had someting to do with the fact i have played more today than in the last year but i had 340 patches to go through on the Boss GT-8 i just got from HH.
Tbh its never something i have worried about but i did notice i was getting some hand pains tonight... it may just be the amount i was playing but i did become very aware of my bad posture and fretting hand position - the two things were definately connected
-
... i tell you what... never claimed to be good or owt anyway.. but i realised today how much i do rely on my thumb for notes on the low strings... it may have had someting to do with the fact i have played more today than in the last year but i had 340 patches to go through on the Boss GT-8 i just got from HH.
Tbh its never something i have worried about but i did notice i was getting some hand pains tonight... it may just be the amount i was playing but i did become very aware of my bad posture and fretting hand position - the two things were definately connected
I developed my pains when i was playing for along stretch continuously without breaks too.
-
You have to also take into account that in classic guitar it is not just the thumb on the middle of the neck that is correct but also that the thumb stays parallel to the middle finger, so that the tendons remain both relaxed and strong whilst the fingers move, allowing for maximum speed and stretch. This also necessitates the classical holding position (if you try it in the folk style position, your hand will hurt after a while).
That makes sense due to the big fretboard of the classical guitar where the style is such that you tend play fluently around chord positions. Classical guitarists don't bend, and their vibrato is in a nut to bridge direction.
That entirely reasonable logic doesn't make much sense with a skinny neck like an strat or an Ibanez (although the classical position works better on my baseball bat necked Tele) unless you are doing arpeggio shredding. If you are playing lead that is based on scales and bends (like most blues and rock guitar), the natural point of balance in skinny necked guitars is not with you thumb on the middle of the neck parallel to the middle finger, but at the side of the neck. So it is difficult to see how it is wrong, its just a different technique for a different style.
-
For my 2p worth, I sometimes play with my thumb over the top of the neck and add perhaps a 3rd or 5th bass note to a chord. Like Elliott says, it is just a technique and not"wrong".