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Proper Thumb placement

G

G2K

Guest
Jul 21, 2008
153
0
Simcoe County, ON. CA.
#1
Been back at it for 18 months and still have a heck of a time keeping my right thumb planted firmly in the middle portion (of the back of the neck) My thumb seems to set itself parellel to the neck. At this time it feels OK and I seem to fret most notes properly, but am I risking potential injury? Not sure if this is worth noting, I use a jazz type neck profile 1.500" nut, fairly thin neck thickness. I would consider my hands to be average in length maybe a little wider than average. Am I overthinking this or do I need to work harder at it?
Thanks in advance
 
#2
As far as I know, you don't really risk potential injury, so whatever floats your boat.

I did the same too in the first few months of playing, but I found it to be kinda limiting.

Needs a bit of work, but it will eventually feel natural to you to keep your thumb 'on the proper position'.
 
#4
Just to make sure, you're left-handed, right?

If you want to really be proper...make sure your thumb is slanted at about a 45 degree angle across the back of the neck. The very tip of the thumb shouldn't be above the middle portion of the neck. The thumb itself should be very loose; you should be able to glide your whole hand up and down the fretboard without any problems.
 
#7
G2K said:
Been back at it for 18 months and still have a heck of a time keeping my right thumb planted firmly in the middle portion (of the back of the neck) My thumb seems to set itself parellel to the neck. At this time it feels OK and I seem to fret most notes properly, but am I risking potential injury? Not sure if this is worth noting, I use a jazz type neck profile 1.500" nut, fairly thin neck thickness. I would consider my hands to be average in length maybe a little wider than average. Am I overthinking this or do I need to work harder at it?
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

You are either a lefty or you are not talking about your fretting hand!

Get that thumb generally under those fingers up there on the finger board.

I was struggling a bit when I got my Warwick Corvette $$ 5 string withe its so-called Louisville slugger neck. I found my thumb "wanging" up the neck toward the headstock. Then, the guy who always suspected carpal tunnel syndrome was B****hit, started having pains in my hands, my wrist and my forearm. A Berklee guy at work said, "What the heck are you doing? Get that thumb under your fretting fingers!!!"

I then took a little break, played my 4 banger Dean acoustic the proper way as I always had, then went back to the Wick and stayed under-thumbed.:bassist:

Have not had an issue (other than getting certain fingers on certain 5 string positions) with pain at all since.

I'd say my hands were of the medium persuasion.

When you are doing scales on the circle of fourths, your thumb will sneak back up the neck like a bad puppy at first. Scold it and send it back home!
 
#8
Rudreax said:
Just to make sure, you're left-handed, right?

If you want to really be proper...make sure your thumb is slanted at about a 45 degree angle across the back of the neck. The very tip of the thumb shouldn't be above the middle portion of the neck. The thumb itself should be very loose; you should be able to glide your whole hand up and down the fretboard without any problems.
Click to expand...

Sorry for the mix up, I meant to say left thumb in the right positon. I am right handed. I seem to have good movement. It's just as mentioned by one other, my thumb seems to float towards the top of the neck. To keep it centered I end up with my thumb almost perpendicular to the rest of my hand. When I use my pinkie to fret a note on the E string, my thumb is essentially pointing towards the center top half of my headstock. Maybe I am not bending my wrist properly? I do appreciate all the feedback from you all, thanks
Gerry
 
#9
G2K said:
When I use my pinkie to fret a note on the E string, my thumb is essentially pointing towards the center top half of my headstock.
Click to expand...


Seems correct to me. Your thumb won't always stay in the same position, kind of depends which string your fretting at the moment. Forcing your hand to maintain a certain position regardless of what you're doing on the fretboard sounds like it has a lot more potential for damage than letting it go naturally where it wants to.
 
#10
Earthday said:
As long as you aren't squeezing the fretboard you should be fine. As long as you don't rely on your thumb pressing against the back of the fretboard for the force you need to fret the notes, put it wherever feels best.
Click to expand...

Then what counters the force of your fingers fretting the notes?

You don't have to press very hard to get a note to ring clear, but you do have to apply some pressure, and if your thumb isn't counteracting it, it's going to have to be something else.
 

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