Members GAS Man Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 So I get out my Hendrix tab book last night And there it is again, thumb fretting [video=youtube;kE3FAY-NOiU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE3FAY-NOiU I've been plunking on guitars now for near 30 years, but I've avoided thumb fretting because the feel just gives me the heebie jeebies. So I was trying again last night and I'm still total phail at it. It just seems so awkward and when I try it pulls the rest of my hand chording position out of position. ' It's so frustrating it reminds me of the anguish of just trying to learn chords like where I was at in the '80s. It don't feel natural! Would Andres Segovia approve anyway? I don't know. Thoughts? Advise. Your pain your gain? Or just forgettaboutit and play variations of his chords? I might as well just go and shoot my thumb down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hecticone Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 Just do it it will will feel natural afer a while. A lot of stuff is darn near impossibe without that technique. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Angry Tele Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 i use it all the time. Its pretty much a necessity playing brit rock. You'll get used to it. First few songs I learned were The Jimi and back then I didnt know you werent supposed to use so it always feel right for me.I dont know who andrea segovia is but screw her and her techniqiue. jimi>everyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GreatDane Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 i use it all the time. i don't even think about it anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members benzem Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 I hear ya. I can do the thumb fretting pretty well, and for some of his stuff it's necessary to do it just the same. You could always get a short scale thin neck like a mustang? or? to get close to what jimi's hands could cover on a 251/2 scale. I have seen some players do really well w/o it though. You kinda have to decide how close you need to get. Even players who can do the 6th string thumb fret pretty well cannot do 5th string thumbed notes/chords as jimi did!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members butterguitar Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 You must have monster hands like Hendrix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted August 1, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 Now see, you're all making me look like a wuss. No other thumb phails in the crowd? Come on, fess-up. Mediocrity loves company. I've just been too busy trying to break myself of the cowboy chord grip and get that thumb rotated back more towards center of the back of the neck, so the rotation of the hand up and around just feels awkward now. But I'll keep plugging away at the chord structures for HJ and see if I can at least earn a bronze on this hurdle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted August 1, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 You must have monster hands like Hendrix. Yeah, that does seem apparent with him. He looks like he'd have a hard time keeping his thumb off of the low E. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted August 1, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 I hear ya. I can do the thumb fretting pretty well, and for some of his stuff it's necessary to do it just the same. You could always get a short scale thin neck like a mustang? or? to get close to what jimi's hands could cover on a 251/2 scale.I have seen some players do really well w/o it though. You kinda have to decide how close you need to get.Even players who can do the 6th string thumb fret pretty well cannot do 5th string thumbed notes/chords as jimi did!!! Thanks, I have some short scale gits in the house. I'll give that a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mav64 Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 Most of the thumb fretting I do is on classical, finger-picked pieces like Bouree in Em for example. I rarely use it when playing electric rock unless it's a Blackmore riff... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wagdog Posted August 2, 2012 Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 I dead-thumb it sometimes... [video=youtube;k_NV-vq0SxQ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted August 2, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 Cool vid I've relied on barre chords to get across, but it does seem like freeing up the index fanger is a worthwhile pursuit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nuke_diver Posted August 2, 2012 Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 Now see, you're all making me look like a wuss. No other thumb phails in the crowd? Come on, fess-up. Mediocrity loves company. I've just been too busy trying to break myself of the cowboy chord grip and get that thumb rotated back more towards center of the back of the neck, so the rotation of the hand up and around just feels awkward now. But I'll keep plugging away at the chord structures for HJ and see if I can at least earn a bronze on this hurdle. I'm with you Gas Man. I rarely do it, never liked it and it never felt right. Maybe if I started playing that way 30 years ago when I was more flexible I might have learned but I didn't. Makes some chords harder...so I just find another way to make it sound ...ok (rarely do I sound good anyways) or find another song to play Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarman3001 Posted August 2, 2012 Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 I can do it but I don't like to. It's very uncomfortable. My hands are too small. Same reason I can't/won't play a lot of van halen stuff. The long reaches he does are painful for me to play and are simply no fun. I play to enjoy myself and if what I'm playing becomes too much like work, I won't do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bsman Posted August 2, 2012 Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 I do both, depending on the chord. For example, I used my thumb a LOT on "/" chords. I also barre with my index fingers across all six strings where that makes more sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hubert Stumblin Posted August 2, 2012 Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 You mean people fret the low E with some other finger? Seriously, I do it all the time. For over 20 years. Just keep trying. It'll become natural after a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hubert Stumblin Posted August 2, 2012 Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 I do both, depending on the chord. For example, I used it a LOT on / chords. I also barre with my index fingers across all six strings where that makes more sense. Of course. You do what makes the most sense for what you're trying to play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members benzem Posted August 2, 2012 Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 A couple Hendrix tunes where I learned to thumb it were, Wind Cries Mary Purple Haze All Along the Watchtower All these show the advantage of the thumb fretting by allowing your other digits to fret the top of the chord, yet still be able to add notes(usually with the 4th finger). And btw, if you wanna see some amazing rhythm guitar, check out the tab for "Watchtower"!!!!! He changes it up all over the verses and don't forget he is singing at the same time! Clearly a genius! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted August 2, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 ^^ Yeah, Jimi's command of the instrument was truly the most amazing thing about his playing. I know it sounds trite, but it's like most great players play the guitar, he became the guitar (as an extension of himself). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor49 Posted August 2, 2012 Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 Now see, you're all making me look like a wuss. No other thumb phails in the crowd? Come on, fess-up. Mediocrity loves company. I've just been too busy trying to break myself of the cowboy chord grip and get that thumb rotated back more towards center of the back of the neck, so the rotation of the hand up and around just feels awkward now. But I'll keep plugging away at the chord structures for HJ and see if I can at least earn a bronze on this hurdle. there is no right and wrong, no should, no must. do it however you feel comfortable. Some people can stretch further than others, some use their pinky, some don't. Hendrix did what was comfotable to him bearing in mind his hand size. Try other ways of getting the same notes and don't get fooled into thinking that you cannot do it any other way. A lot of tabs are plain wrong when it comes to sorting out which finger on which string is the easy way to play stuff. I got a tab for Steely Dans FM that said it is impossible to play the piano bass lines and the Em7 together on guitar. It isn't. Fiddle round with Hendrix and see what you can do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted August 2, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 ^^ Yeah, that was sort of a subtle aspect of my thread. I don't know whether I should work on retraining myself for thumb fretting, or just work on alternate fingerings that will at least get me close enough on the chords. Like on Hey Joe, they're mostly just basic chords but they're written to suggest avoiding any voicing of the A string. So as long as I barre the chord and lay off the A string, I'd be there for that song, I just wonder if I should start working on the technique. But I can see the advantage of developing the skill so as to free up the index finger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billythegoat Posted August 2, 2012 Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 I will plop my thumb over onto the E in certain situations. I find it's a nice position to be in to get set up for soloing or just some inbetween noodling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Angry Tele Posted August 2, 2012 Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 try playing some rev gary davis. he broke his thumb and it healed wrong making for some crazy thumb jobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Angry Tele Posted August 2, 2012 Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 'Ol Pagey does both here, during the verse he thumbs the A chord while during the chorus he cant because he has to hit the top of the A7 chord and B...kind of tricky to play that chorus part cleanly. [video=youtube;L5etcNNOCVk] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kellanium Posted August 2, 2012 Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 Quite frequently, especially on my strat, which i lately have tuned CGDGBD (really fun tuning, there) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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