Blog - A Rule of Thumb

Traditionally from a Classical and orthodox perspective keeping your thumb behind the guitar neck is paramount…but why?

The concept of keeping your thumb behind the guitar neck allows you to focus on the One Finger Per Fret Technique therefore increasing your ability to move your fingers and fretting hand around the Fretboard, also helping you to visualise where your fingers are in relation to notes on the fret board.

Personally I believe that the position of your fingers on your fretting hand is more important than the position of your thumb whether it is behind or over the neck is simply a matter of preference....as long as your thumb is adding pressure, supporting your fretting hand and feels comfortable you can then begin to focus your attention on finger placement.

Jimi Hendrix is a great example of a guitarist who hardly ever placed his hand behind the guitar neck in an orthodox position….it all comes down to the old rule ‘if you're comfortable and it sounds good then it is good!’

As I have stated in my previous blog 'Picking and Fretting Hand Posture' having a correct posture builds a better technique….food for thought.