# where does your thumb fit in to all of this?



## Tricket (Jan 3, 2008)

hey folks, just picked up a guitar book, and in all the illustrations it looks like the player's thumb is vertical along the neck of the guitar, and while playing the other day i noticed my was horizontal.

so my question is this: Is my thumb supposed to be vertical or is it a choice the player has to make?

thanks for the help :rockon:


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## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

Nah! Don't sweat it. Take some lessons though and it'll al straighten itself out.
Not sure exactly what you mean by horizontal and vettical in this case--For classical guitar, your thumb really should make contact with the neck only really at the tip, the hand bending around to give the fingers plenty of room to move. Almost no-one (OK, no-one I can think of) plays rock or folk guitar this way -- partly because the neck is so much thinner it's not necessary and you can get away with it, partly because the playing position is different.
Rock/Folk players often throw their thumb over the top too, which is "wrong" but it works fine. 
Best thing if you're starting out really is to take some lessons. It will save you a lot of time and energy in the long run.


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## violation (Aug 20, 2006)

I always keep my thumb vertical... helps balance out my hand and helps with strength when bending or playing legato. Occasionally my thumb will go horizontal for wide stretches but rarely. I just move the thumb closer to the bottom on the neck and then there's no need for the horizontal thumb. 

Look how your favorite players move/use their thumb and mimic it, that's what I did (thank you Paul Gilbert).


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

my thumb travels a lot, sometimes its hanging over the top of the fretboard, fretting bass notes, other times its used to provide support at the back of the neck. i think of it as a fretting finger though, and use it a lot.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

A lot of it depends on what you're playing--and what you're used to--I started my lessons learning classical--so I use my thumb more "Traditionally" But when I switched to electric the neck was narrower--so my thumb hung over. But I learned to get it back on the neck vertically. That really helps with barre chords, power chords and string bending. Still sometimes my thumb angle changes--and I have used my thumb to mute the 6th string--but I don't like using it to fret the 6th string. There are a lot of people who do that though. I'd suggest trying to keep the thumb vertical to start, but then if it works better--do it differently. 
Unless you're doing an exam or competition where your technique is scored, you have lots of leeway.


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## Lester B. Flat (Feb 21, 2006)

That's one of those aspects of technique that I wouldn't tell you to do one way or the other. Do what allows you to _play and sound_ the best. I use, or don't use, my thumb accordingly, for fretting, muting, or support.


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## Mike R (Apr 9, 2008)

I find that if I want to have my fingers hitting the strings vertically, I need to have my thumb along the back of the neck, vertical. It's uncomfortable as hell, but it's the only way I can hit anything.


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## sysexguy (Mar 5, 2006)

I am so grateful my early teachers dealt with my thumb.....no piano teacher slap with a ruler but close.

So the thumb is a pivot and allows one to quickly "crawl" up OR down the neck at any time. It is also the balance that controls pressure on the strings. Optimally, the thumb should be behind the middle finger and it should be possible to stick your RH index finger between the bottom of the neck and the base of the thumb.

So I thought I knew everything and then a friend bought me "Hendrix at Woodstock"....time to rethink the thumb....

anyway, watch great players, they rarely commit the thumb in one direction unless they know they're immediately going back in that direction....and yes, you are asking a muscle to do something foreign initially...and everything that goes with that, including care not to overexert yourself.

Andy


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## dwagar (Mar 6, 2006)

I can't picture how you'd play with your thumb horizontal, that's gotta be putting way too much pressure on the palm of your hand. And much harder, I'd think, on the finger and hand muscles.

As sysexguy said above, you're making a clamp to press on the string. The neck side of the clamp should be some part of the thumb.

Vertical behind the neck or thumb wrapped over the top. It's all about a relaxed wrist position and comfort.

And how you hold the guitar, be it sitting or standing, makes a difference in how you hold it for comfort.


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## Tricket (Jan 3, 2008)

thanks everybody, i'm going to ask the guitar teacher tuesday what he'd reccomend and go from there. see when i started playing accoustic my thumb went along the neck naturally and when i heard you were supposed to have your thumb vertical i changed but my thumb immediately complained. the guy at the guitar store in town and he said that he "cheats" when he plays meaning that he doesn't always have it vertical.

also i have another question i'm very slow changing from chord to chord, i know this is probably normal for beginners but i was wondering if anyone has any tips or exercises on how to speed up chord swapping.

anyway thanks again more imput is always welcome.

:rockon:


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## Lester B. Flat (Feb 21, 2006)

Tricket said:


> also i have another question i'm very slow changing from chord to chord, i know this is probably normal for beginners but i was wondering if anyone has any tips or exercises on how to speed up chord swapping.
> 
> 
> 
> :rockon:


Do it, do it, do it. Again and again and again.


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## sysexguy (Mar 5, 2006)

Chord Swapping: learn to minimize movement ie. don't peel all the fingers off to change chords. Try moving the same shape to differnet strings or chords where one finger slides up or down a fret. Hopefully your teacher can give you some good exercises to start. 

Practicing stuff like Dsus4 and Asus4 (Summer of '69) or C to F (the bastard) is a good start. If you go: Cmaj7 to Fmaj7 which sounds hard but is way easier than c to F you'll get the idea. To do that, play C but remove the first finger so the b string is open and then play F but instead of barring the e and b, just play the b string first fret and let the e ring open. Try that without moving the fingers too far from the fretboard between chords.

Andy


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## Coustfan'01 (Sep 27, 2006)

I have play with my thumb vertical while sitting down , it really does play better. But I don't think you can play that way while standing up unless your guitar is in your face or you curve you wrist a lot ( It hurts when I try to do that , and I think it's a good way to get tendinitis or cts).
But if I remember correctly , Vai plays that way with his guitar pretty low? Some people probably are more flexible than others.


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## Tricket (Jan 3, 2008)

alright finally tracked down the guitar teacher at my school and asked him and he said that your thumb should be vertical on the neck when doing bar chords and anything else your thumb should be somewhere comfortable.

also the chord swapping seems to be a little easier after i pay attention to what my fingers are doing.

thanks for all your help

:rockon:


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

I forgot to mention earlier--one thing I do with my thumb when playing power chords or simple blues patterns and I'm moving between 2 or 3 frets, is that I use my thumb as a pivot to swing my left hand to the new fret, as opposed to moving the whole hand--it's quicker. If I stay at the new fret for more than 4 beats I move my thumb after the rest of my hand.--Again--it's faster.


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