Ok...Fretting Hand

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punkin

punkin

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How about your fretting hand. My previous teacher condemned my left hand posture. I have a tendancy to wrap the thumb around the neck and hang it over the top two or three strings. He said it made for potential for tendonitis.

I play with the guitar slung a little low when standing up. It's comfortable for me. Teach wanted the guitar up high with the head at about shoulder height. I think this is more of a classical approach.

Thoughts about the thumb or on posture?
 
Good posture for effective playing technique and posing tend to contradict each other. One day you'll reach a point where you'd rather play well rather than look cool.
 
I wrap my thumb over the top most of the time. Sometimes I even fret notes with it. I don't think you can do those really big string bends without having your thumb over the top.
 
I have found that within reason, how your fret hand is postured is largely based on the music you are playing.

I was told that the ideal position is your thumb under the neck at all times so that your fingers can stand up and be vertical on the strings. But this isn't exactly an across the board rule because, although in classical guitar and fingerpicking this would make sense since you typically want every note to ring, this does NOT apply to other forms of music. Rock and metal often require that you mute most of the other strings either because of distortion or for percussive attack. Good luck trying to do that with your thumb behind the neck.

Not to mention the fact that your fret hand has to be extremely flexible to handle the size of the frets at various positions on the neck. You need to learn how to change the position of your hands quickly so that you can play certain phrases correctly.

Plus, sometimes if you are in a groove, a particular hand position just feels cool and helps you get into it better (case in point: when I cover "Achilles Last Stand" I play the bottom string with my thumb while wrapping my fingers around the twelfth and fourteenth fret, which really nails the groove of the piece). In the end, the music should override the technique.

Hendrix often played with his thumb on the bottom strings. He actually fretted those strings to create polyphony. I suggest that if that position is comfortable for you, then you should work on incorporating those strings in your playing as well.

Cy
 
I'm of the school, "if it works...don't fix it". I've got fairly large hands. Keeping the thumb tucked out of the way causes cramping...my thumb actually get sore. Put it into perspective, I can easily fret any string with my pinky yet keep the thumb over the first three. Biggest problem seems to be the fatty fingers.

As for posing...not...I played for many years (self taught) until I began to realized my limitations. I just didn't know any better. I then saught out additional training. Teach wanted to break all my bad habbits.

I too noticed SRV and Hendrix playing this way. Some would argue that Hendrix was a bit sloppy but you gotta wonder how much of that was from being loaded all the time.
 
Not taking a swipe at you, I play with my thumb as well. It's handy to do suspended chords with pull offs and such.
 
No offense taken...I'm a gear slut too. But what's a 64 Firebird?
 
I strangle electrics. I will play a proper bar if the occasion demands, like a low fifth on a barred A. But I like the sound and feel of a "grabbed" barred E over a properly barred one. For lead work I only bring my hand around if I have to, mostly at the top of the neck.

I think grabbing the guitar is a bit more of a bluesy thing, as apposed to more classical based playing like EVH.

Anyhow, I'm firmly in the wrapped thumb camp.
 
punkin said:
How about your fretting hand. My previous teacher condemned my left hand posture. I have a tendancy to wrap the thumb around the neck and hang it over the top two or three strings. He said it made for potential for tendonitis.
Click to expand...
For certain bar chords I do that quite a bit. I never got tendonitis.

As for the teacher, well, they want to teach you the schooled way... Or maybe what is comfortable for them. Look at many rock stars and you will see a variety of postures. They are mostly self taught musicians who discovered their craft and their needs through their comfort zone.

I have played bass for almost 30 years and a number of those years were in bands. I was one of those "no pinky" guys because I taught myself. I have played Rush and Yes (two bands I find extremely useful in the craft of bass playing) and for the most part...no pinky. I admit though, I did have to learn to incorporate my pinky because of certain runs (like Tempus Fugit).

Like I said...if you can rock and are comfortable, hats of to ya! But the teach ain't gonna like it! :D
 
punkin said:
I play with the guitar slung a little low when standing up. It's comfortable for me. Teach wanted the guitar up high with the head at about shoulder height. I think this is more of a classical approach.

Thoughts about the thumb or on posture?
Click to expand...

I completely agree with what your teacher says. I studied classical guitar a few years, got MAJOR wrist problems to the point that I CAN'T play guitar anymore for longer than 15 minutes without serious aching, and have learned alot of postures because it's the only way for me to play anything. (I mostly play sax and piano now.)

Posture is not that important if you're just the occasional rocker, play a few hours a week. If you get into practicing seriously, I'm talking over an hour a day, you gotta watch your posture. If you take up more instruments also. If you don't watch your posture now, you might end up with wrist problems, that'll have you finding the right posture to play anyway, and probably they might even have you playing no more than an hour a day IN THE RIGHT POSTURE.

If you're serious about playing, don't mess with it. There's nothing worse than not being able to play. I tend to get quite emotional and angry when discussing wrist issues. There's a reason for that. That I have a pianoexam next tuesday, and that I have to take painkillers in advance to get there is just a part of it. (I don't take 'em to kill the pain, they keep down the inflamation.)

Finding the right posture is easy; put your hand in a relaxed position, wirst straight, and elbow in a 90° angle. Then put your guitar in your hand. That's the best position to play. No more tension in your wrist than necessary.

It's also depending on what you play. If you're playing a half hour set of powerchords, your position might even be better, causing less cramps. But if your doing some serious chordwork, soloing that involves more than the pentatonic bluesscale and the occasional bend, fingerpicking (which is actually pretty much the same as serious chord work...), then you should look for the right posture. And make sure you don't stretch any muscle that you don't have to stretch. Effective laziness. No more tension than necessary. Really. You don't wanna end up like me. :(
 
oh, btw, there are techniques that involve fretting strings with your thumb. They are not wrong, and you can't use them with your guitar in a too high position. It really depends on what style you're playing. But no more tension than necessary is a golden rule.

On a classical guitar you cannot fret strings with your thumb since the neck is too broad for that.
 
I should mention (and sorry to hear about your hands, Roel)...it helps to be double jointed! It sure has made flexability a plus for my not so big bass playing hands.

Maybe that is why I have never had any problems with my unconventional ways.
 
YA! DAT IT IS!!!! DAT IT IS!!!

punkin, you know what a resonator is? ;)
 
I put a bullet through my left index finger years ago, so don't even ask me these kinds of questions...or I'll kill you!!!
 
Very cool Firebird and retro...ahead of it's time...pontiac didn't show until 67. That's why the question.

Resonator...not like on a bling bling honda exhaust pipe...resonator guitars sound SOOOO smooth! Little bit of that back home mountain blues. Love it!

Just wish I could afford one.
 
Yo Elvis...thought about learning to switch hit? Be cool and remember...guns don't shoot fingers...people shoot fingers.

sjl
 
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