Does anybody have any information on the subject?

I want to shred on the guitar, and I feel like I've hit a wall. I can tremolo pick very well but it takes me a bit of practice to get good at even a 3-4 note shred on the same string. When you mix it up with other strings, slides/fret position changes, and stretched fingers for far notes with the pinky... I get very inconsistent results.

I was looking at videos of guitarists and it seems like a lot of people keep their thumb pretty much touching the low E string. They tend to move the thumb to the middle of the back of the neck ONLY when they have to stretch their fingers or hit the lower strings. I thought to myself why? Comfort? That's such a simple answer though. I have pretty much kept my thumb in the very middle of the back of the neck at all times. Things I've noticed as a consequence of this are that when I'm holding down strings, I often mute higher strings with those fingers. Generally, I think this is because when u practically grip the neck your fingers are forced further out from the strings. Also, I noticed that it seemed easier to bend strings when I had my thumb wrapped around the guitar.

Sad thing is it doesn't really feel comfortable since I've never really done it, and I know it will come with practice. Still, I just wanted to see what people know about this.

hmm i have noticed the issue with the thumb that you are describing, but i dont see any advantage in doing so. Typically people with longer fingers do that.

I thing what happened is that since the more you fretting fingers curve, the more precise your fretting turns out, rings out more clearly, and sounds cleaner. It takes a conscious effort to curl your fingers this way, but having your thumb up really high forces your fingers to curl a little.

So as these players were learning they raised their thumbs without thinking about it and when they noticed clearer notes, they kept doing it. I wouldnt recommend forcing this to happen with your thumb though








_________________
Current Setup: Stratocaster -> Tuner -> Wah -> Delay -> Vox AC30CC2 -> Your Ears

While looking at some guitar vids I think I realize why I should do it. Basically, when I kept my thumb in the back of the guitar, obviously it made stretching my pointer and pinky further from eachother. That's an advantage. But when I slide a finger (with the thumb rested middle of the neck) I often don't move my whole hand with it.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=RkcM3NJ9Xuc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ0iww5u6_I

However... I looked at this guy Theodore Ziras... and he seems to keep his thumb in the back of the guitar and he can play 280->300 bpm. So I donno.
http://www.theodoreziras.com/free_lessons.htm
He wasn't doing any crazy slides in the vids I saw tho.

i've always been a thumb on the middle of the neck type of guy as that leads to the least movement while playing. but sometimes it's just a natural feeling that you learn yourself and you adapt to whatever way you play

Never mind what you see in the videos, those guys have been playing from habit forever. For them, that position is comfortable. PROPER technique is with your thumb roughly in the center of the neck. If you do the wrap around that so many "stars" do, you won't be playing very long as you will injure your hands and wrists before long... The key, is to have the lightest touch possible and still sound every note cleanly. Do that and you can move all over the fretboard very quickly as it becomes a fluid motion for you. The best players do this the newbies don't.

what i do is have my thumb up but not touchhing the low e string, id probly do that, but i have small fingers. But ceratain stuff like arounde the fithth fret when i play stuff my thumb is in the center. I probly have bad technique so its problky wrong.








_________________
Galio becam famous for what every drunk man new, the earth was round!

like Robertlee said have a light touch and you will be able to slide it easier. Try taking the thumb off the neck and doing some of the slides and solos or what every you are trying to do and see how much more easier it is to play it. The weight of your arm is all you need. this will also loosing up the grip of the thumb will have on the back of the neck.

i tend to have a very light grip on the neck.
at times my thumb isnt really doing anything , but it is usually near the center of the neck.

with your guitar properly set up ,a light touch is all you need.
work on cutting out unessessary finger movements and not pressing harder than required.
the less distance your fingers move,and the lighter your grip... the faster they will be.
i guess more efficient is the better term.

maximize the gifts you have.








_________________
"That is not dead which can eternal lie
.... Yet with strange aeons even death may die"


proud member of G.A.U.P , and C.G.A.A