Hi,
I've always known that some people have their thumb comming over the neck when they play. But I've always thought that having it pivoted behind the neck was suppposed to be better technique... However when I tried thumb over the neck recently, I did find it took all strain of my wrist, whereas if I play for a long time normally, I can feel it in my wrist a bit.
So I looked through all the videos I have on my PC at the likes of Paul Gilbert, Ygnwie Malmsteen, EVH, Randy Rhoads, Jason Becker, Steve Vai etc and they all have their thumb over the neck and theyr some of the most technical guitar players in the world - You look at Paul Gilbert, his thumb curls right over....
So what im wondering is - Is what im doing very unusual? Unrecomened for better technique? Dangerous for my wrist? :?
I've never thought about it before, cos it hasnt been holding back my technique so far, I shred a lot. But maybe I could go further by changing the position of my thumb
I play with the thumb over the neck too but drop my thumb when it makes it easier to stretch or reach for some chords, among them barre chords. I think rock, blues, c&w players typically play that way. The thumb's over the neck for a lot of open chords but you drop it when dropping it makes it easier to stretch or to fret barre chords. I think you'll see that the players you've been watching do that as well.
Classical players probably do typically drop the thumb, but they're also working with a wider neck.
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well , its no problem.The only thing , u gotta have long fingers and not a classical guitar in your hand :oops:
I try to place my thumb where it makes most sense. For many things, the back of the neck is the best place, but bends and finger vibrato do not, normally, lend themselves to having the thumb stuck behind the neck, you need a lever - namely the thumb anchored to the top of the neck.
If you have a problem with having your thumb at the back of the neck, it's usually down to having the guitar too low (just look how high a classical player has the neck, in relation to his body). It may look cool to have the top of the guitar scraping your groin, but it won't help with good guitar technique (whatever else it does for you ;) ).
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my thumb moves from over the neck to behind it depending on what i'm doing... for instance, d chords with f# in the bass, a bend, or a walk up/holding a bass note on the sixth string while my other fingers hold a chord or i'm feeling lazy, or a slide with my thumb (intro to little wing).
i rarely anchor either hand , unless i'm doing something which doesn't require movement. i just try to keep comfortable.
greybeard: a low slung guitar is good for certain rhythm techniques (usually slamming the heck out of it), although you may have to hump it up or prop it on a knee to play a solo.
i generally keep mine on my lower gut/pelvis, as it's uncomfortable to play fast rhythms or sing when it's on my chest, but i make sure my boys stay out of harm's way.
I noticed sometimes my thumb runs parallel to the neck pointing at the headstock. This usually happens when I am doing solo-type riffs and some chords (mostly open chords). I have only wrapped my thumb around once and that was to fret a note on the low E string while playing a chord on the treble strings.
I read somewhere that for classical guitar, the thumb behind the neck is correct, but thumb over the neck is fine if you're playing electric.
When I was first learning (as opposed to now? :D ), I tried to keep my thumb behind the neck and my hand in the "right" position, but that made chords like C and Dm hard to play. So now my thumb is all over the place, over the neck, parallel to the neck sometimes, etc. My open chord switches are way faster, and I can play longer.
Having your thumb over the neck makes it way easier to mute the bottom E string when you need to, too.
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It's quite simple: that thumb needs to be wherever it is most efficient. With yoru thumb over the neck your reach is diminished as your fingers get pushed inside. With the thumb behind your reach is best but bending and espescially giving vibrato to a bend is near impossible in this position. Both positions should be stress-less.
thumb over /thumb behind. it all depends what I am doing.
when barre ing thumb behind really works well on the lowewer frets. point it at the hedstock.
alot of times Im thumb over using the open F chord shape up and down the neck....my thumb is over the top holding down the low E for some bottom end sound.
put it where it make sense for you. not your mouth tho. ;)
Your thumb helps with muting and giving you strength when you bend a string, but in classical playing it's a huge no-no. If you watch lots of players, they usually move their thumbs from over the neck to behind the neck in alot of instances, for example if you're playing barre chords or huge stretches having the thumb over the neck might not be very efficient, but when bending having the thumb behind the neck would probably be very hard to do. Basically, you figure out this stuff after alot of practice.
Steve-0
Really depends on the notes I'm playing. Single note runs, thumb behind, some chords thumb up.
Well its a releif thats not no ones gone "NO NO you shouldnt do that! Change your technique now!". I guess I'll carry on how I've always been playing...It does baffle me though how Jason Becker could do those insane arpeggio sequences with his thumb sticking out over the top - I find it hinders me during sweeped arpeggios more than anything :?
Anywho thanks for the replies
I pay absolutely no attention at all to where my thumb is. It goes where it needs to all on its own. Sometimes it is sticking up over the top, sometimes its in the middle somewhere.
Either is correct, and they both help you in certain situations. I call the thumb over the neck thing the baseball bat grip. As others have said above, don't use the bat grip exclusively, it can be limiting.
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The players you listed aren't the most technical in the world. Classical players are, and they don't put their thumbs over the neck.
That said, does it matter? Nah, do what you find comfortable. I put mine over the neck most of the time (subconciously)
