I have really been working on keeping my thumb behind the neck and I have become very comfortable with this and it has really help me smoothly transition from different chords and notes.
I have noticed that my thumb is usually in one of two positions: running perpendicular to the neck or parallel (more often perpendicular) and I have noticed that my hand cramps-up sooner when I have my thumb perpendicular to the neck. Is it bad form to have the thumb perpendicular, or is it my hand just getting use to the new positioning? Or I am just playing for too long for my hand to withstand? 8) :wink:
"That’s what takes place when a song is written: You see something that isn’t there. Then you use your instrument to find it."
- John Frusciante
yes. I think that is bad form. when playing bare chords things work best with the thumb parallel with the neck.
you can add better pressure without stressing out the hand that way.
of course the thumb moves around a bit. but it should pretty much stay parallel.
A teacher I know talked to me about this once. I was asking him a question, didn't have a guitar in hand, and placed my hands on an imaginary guitar (never thought I'd stoop to air guitar, but there I was) and before I even got to my question he said, "You're thumb's in the wrong place".
His take on this went like this:
1) You have an opposable thumb - it's what separates you from the apes.
2) Put your thumb out to the side (hitch-hiker thumb position) and squeeze with your fingers. Now put your thumb against your index and middle fingers and squeeze again. Which way gives you a stronger squeeze?
3) Hold your hand out, palm up and let your thumb go naturally to where it wants to when you relax and close your hand. Your thumb goes to your a point between your index and middle fingers.
4) That relationship of fingers to thumb is where your hand is most relaxed and where it has the most strength. Preserving that relationship as much as possible when holding the neck of the guitar is desirable because it gives you the most balance, and gives you relaxed focused string pressure.
5) You have an opposable thumb. Monkeys don't. Don't play like a monkey - play like a human.
The other teacher I know added something along these lines:
"That's all fine in principle, but you're still trying to play the guitar, so do what it takes to do what you want to do. Sometimes you're going to have to put your thumb up there."
