Does Anyone use their thumb to fret notes?

[The Mock Turtle Regulator]

Originally posted by Angus
Just curious Mock, why the 1-5-8-10?! Sure you dont mean b11?

I'm not too sure about chord names and theory, but the chord I mean in say, G, would be G,D,G and either B for major or A# for minor.
Billy Sheehan used this chord shape to tap over in his NV43345 (or whatever the number was) solo.
I've come to understand that the top note would be a major or minor tenth (3rd up an octave), and I suppose a major tenth would be the same as a b11.

Andy Rourke (The Smiths) used the tenth interval as a double stop on the E and G strings a lot in "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable now"-also Simon Gallup of the Cure in "Mint Car".

I'm not really sure about the exact scale note names, so I welcome any corrections to what I've said.

[Bruce Lindfield]

Chords are bult in 3rds so you don't get, 10s etc. But ratrher 9,11 13 etc.

[The Mock Turtle Regulator]

the chord would be simply Gmajor or minor - I mention the tenth as it's used in the chord shape instead of the 3rd, so the fifth and octave can be played too on the four string format.

or are you saying that this chord shape doesn't work on bass? - it sounds good to me!

[Bruce Lindfield]

Just saying that you don't use 10s in naming chords - I would guess this is a slash chord - probably "C/G" - but it's difficult to judge without hearing it function in a sequence.

[The Mock Turtle Regulator]

revisiting this old thread,
to add an example of using the thumb to fret-
from the acoustic bass mp3 thread-
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/attach...&postid=902885

(yeah, timing is a bit wobbly) I held the low F#'s with my thumb- this is pretty natural to me, whereas holding the note with a finger instead while playing notes on the other strings is awkward- and uncomfortable- even when playing sitting down.

[The Mock Turtle Regulator]

another clip, on electric- first fretting E string roots with slides using the thumb, then another riff (substituting for a rhythm guitar riff during a guitar solo) in which the A note is fretted with the thumb.

it's possible to do these using fingers only, but i find it a lot easier incorporating the thumb.

[Wrong Robot]

I used to, and I'm sure I still do from time to time, but generally speraking(at least 90% of the time) I keep my thumb behind my middle finger pointing straight up.

[BehindTheMoon]

bending the wrist of your fretting (or fingering) hand will put strain on the carpal tunnel, causing inflamation of the tendons that run through the wrists, potentially resulting in CTS.

I think the point of the thumb-fretters out there is that using that technique on a low-slung instrument causes less wrist-bending than the alternative "classical" more cello-like technique.

Look at Hendrix in that Woodstock video - his wrist is barely bent at all! The reason for this is because his entire approach to the guitar is built around a hand position where the palm rather than the thumb is centered on the back of the neck. He never bent his wrist to get to notes because he had other ways of getting there - position changes, slides, prebends and so on. Bassists which use that hand position might have inferior stretching ability, but they shouldn't suffer from CTS.

Whether it's musically preferable to do that is questionable, but I don't think it's correct to equate thumb-on-top with CTS when the problem is considered by experts to be caused by a bent wrist.

[The Mock Turtle Regulator]

Originally posted by BehindTheMoon

I think the point of the thumb-fretters out there is that using that technique on a low-slung instrument causes less wrist-bending than the alternative "classical" more cello-like technique.

that, but also use of the thumb as an extra fretting digit in certain applications, whatever the strap length - I find it easier even sitting down to incorporate the thumb in both clips I posted.
if the thumb holds a root, the other 4 fingers are all free to play a scale phrase, which would be impeded if a finger was used instead to hold the root.

[moptoptony]

I never use it to fret, but if I'm playing the E-string, I'll find myself strumming with my thumb.

[The Mock Turtle Regulator]

revisiting this thread once more-

Rose Morris in Denmark st. are clearing out their instructional VHS vids cheap, and I've picked up a few-

in the Chris Squire and Victor Wooten/Carter Beauford ones they both make use of their thumbs to fret-

CS to hold down a root-fifth-octave-tenth chord shape exactly how I sometimes do (as said on the first page of this thread), and VW to hold a root on the E string while playing a melody on the D and G.