My high school guitar teacher wasn’t really a guitar player so much as a music teacher, but I remember how he stressed the proper sitting position and mentioned that the thumb should always be placed behind the neck (classical approach). To those of us who wanted to play rock guitar, this sounded like a stupid idea. How are you supposed to do this with your electric guitar slung low? Was Jimmy Hendrix doing it all wrong? Why did he have the audacity to play notes with his thumb? Well this subject usually gets presented in a way that makes it seem like rock guitarists just don’t know better, but there are very good reasons for the different thumb positions that only seem to get emphasized for classical guitar players. It’s like an etiquette thing, where certain people look at you as ignorant if you don’t set the table properly. What people may forget is that customs vary, and form follows function. Here’s my two cents…
Thumb behind the neck
While learning how to play classical guitar, I’ve noticed that the thumb behind the neck approach really works better for classical pieces. Once you start “grabbing” the neck by wrapping your thumb around it, you lose reach and mobility. I also discovered that I sometimes had difficulty, having played with my thumb over the neck for years, forming simple chords (particularly the C chord) with my thumb behind the neck. I think this is because of muscle memory and the fact that my index finger falls easily into place on the second string C note when I put my thumb over the neck. I cannot disagree that keeping your thumb almost exclusively behind the neck is probably the most efficient way to play while sitting and not bending strings or using your thumb to fret notes.
Thumb over the neck
Rock guitarists tend to put their thumbs over the neck more frequently, and there are some excellent reasons why…
- They bend the strings, and the thumb is the pivot point for most players. It also provides stability while bending or using vibrato.
- They fret notes with the thumb ala Jimmy Hendrix. This can actually make some chords like the F barre chord easier to play, and the thumb can even fret a string while muting another, which is harder to do with a barre.
- They move around while they play, and using the thumb can help keep the guitar neck in place while running around the stage.
- They usually play while they are standing up, which can make keeping your thumb behind the neck near impossible if you want to look cool by slinging your guitar low.
Takeaways
The thumb behind the neck approach makes the most sense ergonomically if you are playing while sitting with your guitar neck propped up at an angle in the classical position and not bending strings. I would argue that if you try to keep your thumb behind the neck while standing it might actually hurt you more if it involves bending your wrist too much. In cases like this, you should keep your guitar slung high (no Ramones stuff).
There is no “proper” placement of the thumb in general, and placement will vary with style and sitting/standing position. The best mobility is usually achieved with the thumb behind the neck, but this is not always feasible. Try bending steel strings using wide vibrato without the thumb’s help. I suppose there are probably people who can do it just fine, but it feels like torture to me. I’m not trying to say that ergonomics are not important, but we should do away with the myth that it isn’t proper to play with the thumb over the neck. As for me, I’m going to try to play classical music in the classical position, but I will continue to use my thumb to bend and fret notes. I really like the mobility of keeping my thumb behind the neck, so I’ll do that where feasible.
Just DON’T HURT YOURSELF! If it hurts to play, you probably need to make adjustments.