What do you guy's do with your thumbs???

M

MenT-aL

New member
I was playing my beloved guitar last night, and wondered how i could prevent the ache's you get in your thumb when playing stuff like power chords, and fast scales, which move your playing hand up and down the neck like a yo-yo.
Is there any tricks to strengthen your thumb? or any way to position it so that it doesn't ache?

I find that when moving up and down during a fast peice, my thumb get's stuck at a horizontal kind of position??

Any feedback would be much appreciated.

regards

aL
 
I use almost constantly my thumb the Hendrix way due to my hughe hands. So My thumb never aches... sorry I can't help you with that!
 
I don't have overly large hands, but my thumb has never ached from playing. Could be technique, or sad to say arthritis. Get it looked at.
 
You might try holding your guitar another way, higher or lower or whatever. I've never had my thumb hurt but my wrist used to kill me until I started to ware the guiter higher when standing.
 
I'm not entirely sure from your description how your thumb is positioned, but if it's causing pain then you definately have a problem with techique. There are many ways to position your thumb and it's usually based on the phrase or rhythm you are playing. Typically for scale playing (and bar chords, when you are using your forefinger as the "bar") the thumb acts as kind of an anchor under the neck so that your fingers will stand up straight on top of the strings. For playing 5th power chords you can cradle the neck in your hands so that your thumb somewhat sticks up vertically in the air. Your thumb should move accordingly to the positions you switch to on the neck, should adjust according to what you are playing, and should not stretch in any fashion that is not typical to its normal function outside of playing the instrument.

I would suggest watching guitarists in music videos to see how they are positioning their fret hand.

Hope this helps

Cy
 
Like Cyrokk said it's probably technique. Look at your hand and thumb as a visegrip. If your having pain in your thumb it may be from overuse or needing to exert too much pressure on it to get a clean sound. This may be caused by the way you are positioning your fingers on the fretboard. They need to be directly behind or on the fret. If too far back you need extra pressure on them to keep the string from buzzing. Ideally your finger should meet the fretboard at a 90 degree angle (you need cut fingernails). This reduces the amount of force needed to get a clean sound. When using barcodes try not holding them for an extended period, squeeze with the beat or with the strumming. Try a lighter gauge string or lower the bridge if needed. Squeeze a tennis ball a few times a day. There are lot of techniques to reduce hand stress. Oh ya and one more thing, like the President says, listen to your mother. Drink lots of water :)
 
Cheers guy's.
I'll keep a watch on my thumbs activities tonight, see what i can change. It's usually just when i play power chords that it aches, and when i am scalling, espec when using all 4 fret fingers moving up and down the neck, my thumb gets stuck horizontally.
I think this is because it begins in the natural vertical position, then doesn't move when the rest of my fingers move up the fretboard, thus meaning it becoming further and further away from my fretting fingers, eventually ending up horizintally. It's weird!
Oh and another thing, call me an idiot but i think the aches are due to my thumb being double jointed. I realised this this morning. It can pop out and in the socket. Maybe this is why it aches too.

My thumb has never had this much attention!

Anyway thanks for your reply's.

regards

aL
 
You might want to read 'Even Cowgirls Get The Blues' by Tom Robbins.



I'm usually accused of having my thumb up my ass.....never aches though.
 
I wear a ring on my thumb,... it might sound kinda weird but my thumb kept stickin to the back of the fretboard and my thumb was aching from that,...so I put on a ring and it slides right accross now :)


but thats probably not your problem

so oh well,....
j/p


-J
 
Do you mean a sharp ache in the muscle at the base of the thumb, the one that's kinda part of the palm of your hand and that you use to squeeze the neck? If so it's just muscle fatigue caused by a normal buildup of an acid that I can't remember the name of. Moving and flexing the muscle lets the acid disperse.
 
It may not be your technique. It could be that the neck of the guitar is too small. I have one guitar with an exta thin neck and after playing bar chords for a while, I do get a pain at the base of my thumb. I could do the same amount of playing with a Strat and not even notice.


Just a thought...
 
Hey Cyrokk, were you saying that you sometimes play with the thumb on the back of the neck and sometimes with the thumb where it can wrap over the fretboard? If so, how do you do that? I've never been able to play with the neck in my palm; my thumb is always on the middle of the neck. Whenever I try doing the Hendrix thing I feel lost, like I've never played a guitar before. To be able to switch from one left hand position to another sounds difficult, but no doubt there must be some advantages.
 
I've been teaching a friend to play guitar and he was complaining about his hand hurting. I told him to just grab the neck naturally, like you are just holding it, and that should be the playing position. His hand stopped hurting so much. Unfortunately that doesnt always work for bar chords, though.
 
When I play single line speedy runs,the classical position is most comfortable.That is where the ball of the thumb,just above the knuckle, is placed on the LOWER half of the back of the neck.
Delta style fingerpicking or certain jazz chording seems easier to do with the thumb flapping over the top.
Tom
 
Same here...

Classical position for scales.

Hendrix position for blues or chord comping. In fact, I'm constantly reaching over the neck w/ my thumb to pick up the bass note of a chord. This is my preferred way to play.

When soloing in the high register, sometimes I let go with my thumb and lay it against the side of my hand, so it extends under the neck with the rest of my fingers. I guess this is a by-product of having to work around the heel.

Aaron
http://www.aaroncheney.com
 
Whenever my hands (or arms or shoulders) hurt while playing the guitar, it usually means that I've gotten tensed up like a piece of spring steel. Relax that hand, use straight posture (really - it feels way better than the blues slouch), adopt as close to a classical technique as you can manage and start watching what you are doing. I'll bet the hand is tensed up way too much for chording - which is wasted energy and hurts like hell!
 
Well after watching what my thumb does extensively, i have noticed that i take up a very odd position when playing. The middle part of my thumb becomes the only part touching the back of the neck, thus meaning when i am playing bar chords or soloing, the whole pressure (espec. on bar chords) is put on this one part, and i think it is because of this that i get pain. I have come up with a few excercises to do before i begin to play, eg, playing bar chords without using my thumb at all, and purposely playing with most of my thumb on the back of the neck.

Thanks for all the reply's, if i still feel pain, i'll take a picture of what my thumb does, and maybe we can get somewhere with that.

cheers guy's

regards

aL
 
uhm, why did nobody reply " i stick it up my butt"

oh wait cause i'm the only one here who needs to grow up...:rolleyes: well i said it anyways :P

guhlenn:)
 
you can use your thumb to mute the 6th and 5th strings when you're playing power chords...i've tried it, and it gives me far better control than muting with my right hand or using my other four fingers...hope this helps...
 
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