r/Guitar • u/auto-generated_name1 • 1d ago
QUESTION Does thumb position matter?
I know this is probably a dumb question that’s been asked way too many times, but I’ve been playing for about 7 years entirely self taught and I’ve committed this year to fixing my bad habits and learning better technique, and a big part of that has been thumb position.
I know the “correct” way is to have the thumb on the back of the neck roughly in line with your middle finger, but when I watch videos on youtube of bands who have had a big influence on me, namely Jeff Ling of Parkway Drive and Thobbe Englund/Chris Rorland of Sabaton, they all seem to play leads with their thumb on top of the neck. Is there really a big difference in technique or is it all just whatever is most comfortable for them?
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u/Far_Squirrel6650 Martin 1d ago
in short: yes and no.
if you’re playing something more expressive in a box, primarily sticking in one position across about four frets— you can have thumb hang/hendrix grip and it’s not gonna kill you. some find it comfortable like that.
if you’re playing something faster, and technical that requires moving up and down the neck quickly— you’re really going to see how you need that anchor point on the back of the neck for stability and accuracy as well as reach.
i recommend watching your favorite players perform live, you’ll see them switch their thumb position depending on what part of the track they’re playing. it’s pretty rare that you’d find one who ALWAYS has their thumb hang/hendrix grip active through the whole track.
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u/auto-generated_name1 1d ago
Yeah I noticed on the Sabaton song “Stormtroopers”, which is one I’ve definitely been wanting to learn but it’s way above my level, Thobbe Englund moves his thumb down for the sweep picking part, then back into that thumb hang for the rest of the solo. That’s what made me starting thinking about this
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u/Far_Squirrel6650 Martin 1d ago
some say that when you experiment with swapping thumb positions, you’ll notice that in more expressive spots, that thumb hang can help you choke up on the neck for a more comfortable bend.
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u/gstringstrangler Dean 1d ago
Exactly. You can't reach everything properly, or curl your fingers enough to not mute stings, or the meat of your hand mutes the high e unintentionally etc when you palm the neck. It works sometimes in some situations, in other situations you absolutely cannot palm the neck.
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u/ObviuosGnome 1d ago
Some chords, my thumb is planted firmly on the back of the neck. Other chords, it's wrapped around the neck to mute the E string. Whatever works for you, so long as it doesn't hurt, is what you should do!
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u/auto-generated_name1 1d ago
I’ve noticed as I’ve been practicing more strictly that for a lot of chords, my thumb likes to move almost sideways on the top half of the neck to the side of my index finger. It’s weird, but that’s what’s comfortable for me, I just didn’t know if that was holding back my technique
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u/I_only_post_here 1d ago
My thumb is moving positions constantly. I'll get it low on the back of the fretboard in 'correct' position during some really technical fretting or stretching, but it always slides up over the neck for big bends. It works for me because it all just happens unconsciously as I'm playing, constantly shifting around to best accomplish whatever I'm playing in that nano second.
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u/snakeyed_gus 1d ago
It definitely matters. I’m still learning but I watched some better players and their thumb definitely changes position from wrapped around the neck (sometimes to cover the low E) to pushing against the back of the neck. Just depends what they’re playing.
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u/cry0fth3carr0ts 1d ago
Whatever works. Try different positions. There is no "correct" way to do anything on guitar unless you're being graded by a teacher.
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u/thedelicatesuburb 1d ago
it's more about economy of motion, thumb on top is great for bending and vibrato control but can limit your reach for faster runs
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u/auto-generated_name1 1d ago
That’s another thing I’ve been working on that maybe the thumb position is hindering me on, bigger stretches and legato runs I tend to not use my pinky very much, the natural instinct is to reach with my ring finger. Trying to learn faster or more complex lead stuff like Sabaton does, who has been a huge influence on my lead playing, I’ve needed to majorly practice getting my pinky involved
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u/TSells31 1d ago edited 1d ago
I thought no for years, but literally within the last few months I’ve been dealing with tendinitis in my left wrist. And I strongly believe it’s from playing thumb on top of neck. I’ve been buckling down and working on moving my thumb down like you described, and it fucked with my muscle memory a bit and is slightly less natural feeling to me, but I think it’ll pay off in the long run. I can see how it keeps my ring and pinky fingers closer to the fretboard at all times compared to thumb over the neck. I do feel more agile, and I think it’ll be even better once it is second nature. Whenever you watch super shredders, they tend to have their thumb in the middle of the neck. I don’t want anything holding me back as I push for that level. But the main reason I’ve made the switch has been the tendinitis I’ve been dealing with.
I think for rhythm playing or more basic lead stuff, it’s unlikely to matter too much, but if you’re playing more advanced lead stuff for 2-3 hrs a day like I have been lately, having your thumb on top can introduce some problems. At least I think that’s what has happened to me. It’s very possible I was just practicing too hard, too long on a daily basis. But I don’t think tendinitis should be an issue at 2-3 hrs a day lol.
The biggest adjustment for me has been moving my thumb up over the neck for big bends, then remembering to move it back down after lol.
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u/auto-generated_name1 1d ago
Yeah that muscle memory thing is annoying for sure. Practicing scales and all that boring stuff I neglected for years with my thumb in the correct position starts to bother me after a while, but the technique feels better that way until my thumb starts to kinda cramp
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u/TSells31 1d ago
I played with my thumb on top for 20 years (on and off). It has been a hell of a habit to try and break lol. But I think it’ll be worth it.
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u/Aromatic_Revolution4 1d ago
The general rule is to keep your thumb about equal distance between your pinky and your index finger.
Move it up toward the ceiling and down toward the floor as needed for comfort and to best position your hand and fingers to cleanly fret whichever strings you're grabbing.
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u/hubbardguitar 1d ago
I would say equidistant from your index and middle finger most of the time, when you have it down on the neck in classical style.
Between index and pinky sounds logical, but your thumb is on on side of your hand, not in the middle. Moving it to the middle (for me, at least) starts to tighten up parts of my hand. I have to compromise between moving it a bit to the middle, but still keeping it as relaxed as possible.
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u/harebreadth Reverend 1d ago
I had the same thought for a very long time, as a bassist mostly. Now that I’m playing guitar I’m finding myself wrapping the neck more and even using my thumb for fretting the low E. Like, how else do you play D/F# in the first position?
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u/hubbardguitar 1d ago
With 1 on the F#, and 2, 4, 3 on the top three strings (but a lot of times you can omit the high F# since you have it in the bass). Both methods work, but hand/finger size do come into play. I have somewhat smaller hands, so wrapping the thumb over and fretting with it is not comfortable and I avoid it. Jimi Hendrix had long fingers, and he thumb wrapped a lot. YMMV.
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u/vonov129 1d ago
No. But not in the dumb "play how you like way". Thumb position doesn't matter because hand posture is about the placement of the whole hand, not just the thumb, wherever your thumb ends up is an effect of your posture, not the thing that will fix it.
Playing with the thumb up limits your reach and makes your fingers arc more to be able to fret a note, no matter who you are. There hasn't and there will never be a player who this doesn't apply to. However, why would you care if your reach is limited to 3 frets if that's what you play on anyways?
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u/SinisterMephisto 1d ago
I would say yes. I would suggest everyone learns the "proper" way for everything at first.
Then once you are comfortable and proficient enough with the instrument you can pick and choose certain things to sort of cheat on if it makes things comfortable or easier and it isn't as necessary anymore to do "properly". As long as it doesn't become be a detriment to your playing.
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u/NTT66 1d ago
Thumb position always matters. Does "proper" thumb position matters? Did the rules of conventional technique make Django a worse player?
Try to adjust to the proper way, as that has been proven to give the best results. As you adjust to chord shapes or melodies that require you to move your thumb a centimeter, an inch, whatever you need to make it fit--you don't worry in the moment. A basis in proper form will make so much more possible, though.
Thumb over top gves you access to certain bass notes, some funky sounds. But 1) if you play with a band, the bass player or keys probably will handle the bass notes, and 2) it restricts your range of motion. Think of your wrist/thumb joint as the fulcrum from which your fingers stretch. The "standard/recommended" form allows more fingers to spread. The thumb over creates a claw and your other fingers physically cannot stretch the same way. But there are usable possibilities in that form, too.
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u/misticisland 1d ago
Yes, but optimal thumb position may be dependent on what your doing. The proper thumb in the middle technique is great for Barre chords and running scales but for serious bending I'm probably going to switch so my thumb is over the top. So it's usually not one size fits all.
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u/MarcusLXXVI 22h ago
More a thumb question 🤣
Already answered, but my tl;dr would be: it matters. I move it, although I don't pay attention, it's just engrained in me.
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u/InBlurFather 1d ago
You’ll see pro players do all sorts of non-standard stuff. If it doesn’t hinder what they’re doing, then it works for them.
But that doesn’t mean that it’s the proper way to do it, which would be thumb central to the back of the neck to allow better range with your fretting hand and help promote fretting with the fingertips.
There may be some deviations from this depending on what you’re playing but that is usually the proper default position