barre chords using thumb over neck

[matteo]

im trying to incorporate this in my playing, but am having a little difficulty! it jest seems my hands are too damn small and fingers are too fat!  :cry:also, how do you bar the low root when its on the 5th string? do u just mute it? how big an advantage is it to use this technique? any tips will help lol :D

[Davey]

just learn to use the regular 4 properly and you wont need to ever use the thumb

[Roobubba]

I never use my thumb (although sometimes it does creep over the top, but usually only in certain hand positions, so I don't try to worry about this!). Although I've never had a lesson (on guitar) and probably make about a million mistakes a minute, I do think it's bad practice to use the thumb instead of fingers :)
That applies to so many walks of life :D

Roo

[gwEm]

i've seen them played in this way, but i don't use many barre chords in my music - just one song. i would probably consider using the thumb though, since i already use my thumb to damped the low e string in some metal riffs reasonably often.

[Ratrod]

My index finger does the job better than my thumb so I'll stick to that.

I do use my thumb for muting the E string on certain open chords.

[Philly Q]

If you have really small hands or stubby fingers (sorry! :lol: ) it probably isn't going to work.  My hands are medium-sized I guess, and I find it very difficult.  Hendrix used that technique quite a lot, but if you look at pictures he had big hands and really long fingers.

I don't think it's a particularly essentially technique - maybe for some complex jazz chords I guess, but I know nothing about that...

[Matt77]

It's a great way to play chords as it leaves the 4th finger free for trills and other stuff
Get some good tab for "The Wind Cries Mary" by Hendrix.
That is a good song to get used to it.
Hand size doesn't really matter. I've worked at a guitar school and seen plenty of different hands of all shapes and sizes learn.

Make sure the pad on the tip of your thumb mutes the 5th string when you don't need it.

[Ted 'N' Leo]

although sometimes it does creep over the top, but usually only in certain hand positions, so I don't try to worry about this!

Silver platter roo.

[Mark66]

It's a great way to play chords as it leaves the 4th finger free for trills and other stuff
Get some good tab for "The Wind Cries Mary" by Hendrix.
That is a good song to get used to it.
Hand size doesn't really matter. I've worked at a guitar school and seen plenty of different hands of all shapes and sizes learn.

Make sure the pad on the tip of your thumb mutes the 5th string when you don't need it.

I have quite small hands and use the thumb over the top no problem, great for Hendrix. As Matt said, try "The Wind Cries Mary".

[Philly Q]

OK, I retract my comment.  I'm just useless.  :(

[CJ]

It's a great way to play chords as it leaves the 4th finger free for trills and other stuff
Get some good tab for "The Wind Cries Mary" by Hendrix.
That is a good song to get used to it.
Hand size doesn't really matter. I've worked at a guitar school and seen plenty of different hands of all shapes and sizes learn.

Make sure the pad on the tip of your thumb mutes the 5th string when you don't need it.

yeah i was going to mention that as well. i never use my thumb except for a few hendrix songs that were taught to me by my teacher. also try little wing. that song is a hell of a lot easier using your thumb. and i have small hands.

[Ratrod]

Big hands do help.

But there are techniques and exercizes you can do that enable you to stretch your fingers further.

I know this guy who has really small hands but he has no problems playing all those Hendrix things, jazz stuff and finger picking stuff. He learned these exercizes from his classical teacher.

[badgermark]

I use the over the neck trick all the time, infact i can't think of when i would use a full barre any more. Means my thumb is constantly over the neck when playing chords, and i leave it there when i play single notes too, using my other fingers to mute the unused strings.