Thumb over the top

[Lev]

Just curious, how many of you guys use the thumb of your fretting hand to play bass notes ?

This is a technique I've always struggled with. When I was younger I took lessons from a classically trained guitarist who always tried to get me to keep my thumb on the back of the neck rather than over the top to allow easier access for long stretches. I guess this is the reason I'm now struggling to master the thumb over the top technique.

I noticed John Mayer uses the thumb over the top technique to great effect, he can even do slides with it without changing the position of his fretting fingers.

[tot_Ou_tard]

I'm a beginner, but I try to do both. Thumb over the neck for fretting & maybe bends. Thumb on the back for everything else.

I find that having the thumb low helps open up the hand & so I get cleaner fretting: straight down on the strings with the tips of the fingers.

The thumb fretting is very cool & allows one to voice certain chords more easily.

[ShortBuSX]

As a kid Id noticed Jimmy Page, Hendrix, SRV, Clapton...almost everybody does the thumb over the top, even if they arent using it for the bass notes. Ive heard this referred to as "chopping chords". I tried to emulate this but never had any luck with it, and Ive got long fingers, I usually just pivot off my thumb on the back of the neck and this way Im able to get more reach or span.
But when playing stuff like Hendrix or like Clapton's Key To The Highway, there are some parts youve just gotta use your thumb...but then theres other times when its just easier,less goofy(for me) to use the full chord.

But I have seen people, like my buddy, who are able to do the thumb over the top thing, and they usually have a pretty good mastery with the bass lines...at times I think he could totally get away without a bass player, doing both parts himself.

[Jimi75]

Well, some people say it is easier to bend strings with the thumb over the top.
At some point when starting to play Hendrix and SRV stuff I automatically started playing thump on top, but I wouldn't say it's necessary.

[Tone2TheBone]

Funny you mention this Lev. Lately I've been training my hands and my brain to grasp chords with my thumb over the top instead of playing the traditional barre chords. It's gonna take what is it...26 days or 28 days to get rid of a habit or learn a new one? Anyway yeah I'm working on it more so.

[Spudman]

I struggle with it myself. Doing Mayer tunes I've been attempting it more often but it still doesn't feel natural to me yet. I think John and Jimi have big hands and it might make it easier to do thumb over. Mine aren't that large so that might be part of my struggle. I do use my thumb over the top a lot but not usually to flesh out chords.

[evenkeel]

Sometimes my thumb is wrapped around, other times braced on the back of the neck. Depends on what I'm doing and what's next.

For some of the open tuning stuff my thumb is all I'm using.

[sunvalleylaw]

A kid I was playing with a little on vacation was teaching me some "Hendrix Chords" to use in Little Wing. He was showing me the thumb over version, and I could play them, but I had to sit there and make my fingers go into position so the notes would ring properly. A real struggle, but so were straight barred chords not too long ago. I look forward to making it one of my tools sometime in the next year or so. I am sure with work, it will become doable.

Lev, you know my interest in playing Mayer stuff, so I am going to have to get it down.

[ShortBuSX]

Makes me wonder whats wrong with playing the full bare chord?
Of the Hendrix songs I know, thats what I do, the full bare and it works fine *shrug*
I also see blues tabs, where theyre playing a 7th bare chord and they skip the A string, seems somewhat similar to the Hendrix chord chopping, but once again I just play the full 7th chord and it sounds just fine.

Whats with skipping the 5th (A)string anyways???

[Tone2TheBone]

I dunno about skipping the A but I do know that I've gotten used to doing the thumb over chords but not fretting the last string E. I play all the notes off the standard barre chords cept the last note/string.....so what's up with that too? ;)

[TS808]

I've watched videos of Hendrix playing and he had some monster hands...his fingers and thumb were HUGE. The neck must have felt like a toothpick to him, and if I recall correctly, he used pretty thin strings too (9's).

I've tried the thumb over the top and just can't do it...my hands are too small for one, and I was also trained by my instructors to keep the thumb on the back of the neck. I do however, put the thumb slightly over the top for bends.

[Jimi75]

I've watched videos of Hendrix playing and he had some monster hands...his fingers and thumb were HUGE. The neck must have felt like a toothpick to him, and if I recall correctly, he used pretty thin strings too (9's).


How true this is.....just watch the Spanish chord solo improvisation he played at Woodstock and watch what he does with his thumb, playing complete basslines while staying with his fingers on one chord. :master:

[Lev]

I guess where it comes in useful is where you're mixing lead lines with chords, for example you need to hit the bass note A on the top string before you launch into a bend on the G string and you don't have time to adjust your hand to a bare chord position and back.

There's also the economy of movement factor for chord changes. For anyone who has the John Mayer 'Where the Light is' DVD check out Neon and watch his thumb work. I had originally learned that song without using the thumb and it involved some major streaches and hence I could never get fluid with it.

He makes a complicated chord change sequence look effortless by using his thumb over the top - very impressive.

[markb]

I used to use that technique a lot more when I played fiddle to add an A drone when playing in D or A. It really messed with trained violinists' heads ;)

[tot_Ou_tard]

Makes me wonder whats wrong with playing the full bare chord?

You can more easily do some inversions near the nut that way as well.

I've come across it playing blues finger style. There key thing in that style is that you only have to fret those notes that you are going to play. There are alot of 3-4 string chords that one plays either arpeggiated in some fashion our plucked with the thumb & fingers all at the same time.

The thumb over the top make some voicings much easier to play.

[ShortBuSX]

You can more easily do some inversions near the nut that way as well.

I've come across it playing blues finger style....plucked with the thumb & fingers all at the same time.

The thumb over the top make some voicings much easier to play.

That makes sense to me...I dunno why I didnt figure that one out.:thwap:

[thearabianmage]

Thumb over the top - thumb in the centre of the neck - Steve Vai, and others, sometimes play with their thumb not touching the neck at all.

What feels best for what you are playing? What feels natural? Are there any dis/advantages in using different positions?

Take each riff and lick as it comes - don't cage yourself within certain techniques.

I hope that helps! :AOK:

Joe

[Carlström]

I got rather long fingers so having the thumb sticking out is the way for me to have a natural position so yes i use the thumb every now and then to fret bassnotes when needed. A long long time ago, in a galax....no wait that's not right, a long time ago when i took lessons for a classical guitarists he took one look at my hands and told me to forget "proper" classical technique with thumb locked on the back of the neck. So basicaly just keep the hands comfortable, if you feel that it stretches or it feels forced then change.

[Rocket]

There is NO proper or improper way to play a guitar. All humans are physically different. Fret the strings with your toes if that's what works for you... use your hose if you want (and it reaches!) Tune to fretted-E and use a stick, use a bow... use a cat... bicycle pump...
It's YOUR art... be human and make it YOUR way.

[warren0728]

Fret the strings with your toes if that's what works for you...
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[Lev]

he plays with a lot of soul.......
....sorry terrible joke

[ShootTheGlass]

When I first picked up a guitar, without guidance, I thought it made sense to put my thumb in the middle of the back of the neck. It kinda stuck, and thats the way I play now. I have fairly short fingers though, so playing with my thumb over the neck would make it very difficult for me to play some parts on, say, the D string.

As above, I dont think theres a right or wrong way - some styles may have their advantages, but if it works for me, im happy :)