My left hands thumb...

[Kinases]

What it is... I've been playing guitar for about a year and a half now and I'm beginning to notice more and more flaws in my technique. When I'm make little eighth or sixteenth note runs up a scale and come back down, the note I hit with my pinky sounds dead. I practiced going slow but no matter what I did ot how much I practiced I couldn't exceed certain speeds without getting that dead note. Before I say anything else, I would like to mention (though it may seem obvious) that I'm interested in playing metal. Anyway, after I did the slow to fast thing, (note that my thumb was in the "wraparound" position) I put my thumb in the "classical" position. It was slow at first but I eventually picked up speed. This was sort of a wake up call to me. So here I am. Personally, I find the "wraparound" position more comfortable and I don't know if that's due to the fact that I started playing like that or what. The classical position, however, clearly has its advantages in the style of music I am interested in. Also, I know some guys that can straight shred and not one of 'em uses the wraparound position. So I can either practice what I've been practicing for a good year now or reform. I know a lot of you guys have been tearin' it up for a while now so any advice would be appreciated. Thanks! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Newc]

Re: My left hands thumb...

Classical thumb position is best for speed. I too am stuck with "Jimmy Page Thumb" because I started out on a Les Paul type with the fat round neck.

Anyhoo, it takes a while to teach an old dog new tricks, so just start paying more attention to your thumb.

[thetroy]

Re: My left hands thumb...

I play a combination of both, though I started with the classical position first. They each have their advantages

[Kinases]

Re: My left hands thumb...

Thanks dudes. I'll get to workin' on my classical position.

[skorb]

Re: My left hands thumb...

yeah I find I don't really think about this much when playing, I really concentrate on the fretboard more and my thumb just seems to go back and forth as necessary.

[Ace]

Re: My left hands thumb...

My thumb goes back and forth between positions. I sometimes try out harder riffs and runs in both positions and see which works best for me.

[Kinases]

Re: My left hands thumb...

I can safely say I know my way around the wraparound position. I just think that learning the classical position may give me an edge in playing metal.

[jjw]

Re: My left hands thumb...

agree with wise words above.Most of the time my thumb is wrapped around for chord work/bluesy licks(at speed)but when it gets techy the classical postition has to shaped for correct hand placement and ease of moveage across the fretboard.