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Classical Position
Classical Position
Do you use strictly the classical position of holding the guitar?
The thumb behind the neck? Or is it OK to move the thumb around a
little bit? I've read/seen both methods; the baseball bat method of
holding the guitar and the classical method. From what I've read, the
classical method is superior, but I have trouble keeping it 100%
classical. My thumb likes to move up somewhat. It also causes me
trouble when I'm practicing the 5th fret and upwards. My thumb behind
the neck wants to turn on an angle. etc...
Do you use strictly the classical position of holding the guitar?
The thumb behind the neck? Or is it OK to move the thumb around a
little bit? I've read/seen both methods; the baseball bat method of
holding the guitar and the classical method. From what I've read, the
classical method is superior, but I have trouble keeping it 100%
classical. My thumb likes to move up somewhat. It also causes me
trouble when I'm practicing the 5th fret and upwards. My thumb behind
the neck wants to turn on an angle. etc...
Re: Classical Position
donny wrote:
> ... is it OK to move the thumb around a
> little bit?...
My thumb is an expert at knowing where it
needs to be. I don't try and tell it what to do.
Lumpy
In Your Ears for 40 Years
w w w .LumpyMusic . com
donny wrote:
> ... is it OK to move the thumb around a
> little bit?...
My thumb is an expert at knowing where it
needs to be. I don't try and tell it what to do.
Lumpy
In Your Ears for 40 Years
w w w .LumpyMusic . com
Re: Classical Position
On 01 May 2008, donny <x.smiling_tiger@yahoo . com > wrote in
alt.guitar.beginner:
> Do you use strictly the classical position of holding the guitar?
> The thumb behind the neck? Or is it OK to move the thumb around a
> little bit?
Unless you have a classical guitar teacher around to whack your thumb
with a ruler, let it roam to wherever it's needed to provide the best
leverage.
On 01 May 2008, donny <x.smiling_tiger@yahoo . com > wrote in
alt.guitar.beginner:
> Do you use strictly the classical position of holding the guitar?
> The thumb behind the neck? Or is it OK to move the thumb around a
> little bit?
Unless you have a classical guitar teacher around to whack your thumb
with a ruler, let it roam to wherever it's needed to provide the best
leverage.
Re: Classical Position
"Nil" <rednoise+news@REMOVETHIScomcast . net > wrote in message
news:Xns9A91D5042B0F8nilch1@216.196.97.136...
> On 01 May 2008, donny <x.smiling_tiger@yahoo . com > wrote in
> alt.guitar.beginner:
>
>> Do you use strictly the classical position of holding the guitar?
>> The thumb behind the neck? Or is it OK to move the thumb around a
>> little bit?
>
> Unless you have a classical guitar teacher around to whack your thumb
> with a ruler, let it roam to wherever it's needed to provide the best
> leverage.
I'm so relieved to hear that is the consensus of the posters (including the
pros) here. Every book I'd read stated emphatically that the thumb HAS to
be, no question about it, directly opposed to the center of where your hand
is placed on the fretboard. In most cases that just didn't seem comfortable
to me and slowed me down. I would try, thinking that I could never be any
more then a novice unless I did. But my thumb would wander away from that
positioning as soon as I stopped concentrating on it. I feel a lot better
knowing that it is not an "etched in stone" rule.
--
-Don
Ever had one of those days where you just felt like:
* cosmoslair . com /BadDay.html ?
(Eating the elephant outside the box, one paradigm at a time)
"Nil" <rednoise+news@REMOVETHIScomcast . net > wrote in message
news:Xns9A91D5042B0F8nilch1@216.196.97.136...
> On 01 May 2008, donny <x.smiling_tiger@yahoo . com > wrote in
> alt.guitar.beginner:
>
>> Do you use strictly the classical position of holding the guitar?
>> The thumb behind the neck? Or is it OK to move the thumb around a
>> little bit?
>
> Unless you have a classical guitar teacher around to whack your thumb
> with a ruler, let it roam to wherever it's needed to provide the best
> leverage.
I'm so relieved to hear that is the consensus of the posters (including the
pros) here. Every book I'd read stated emphatically that the thumb HAS to
be, no question about it, directly opposed to the center of where your hand
is placed on the fretboard. In most cases that just didn't seem comfortable
to me and slowed me down. I would try, thinking that I could never be any
more then a novice unless I did. But my thumb would wander away from that
positioning as soon as I stopped concentrating on it. I feel a lot better
knowing that it is not an "etched in stone" rule.
--
-Don
Ever had one of those days where you just felt like:
* cosmoslair . com /BadDay.html ?
(Eating the elephant outside the box, one paradigm at a time)
Re: Classical Position
On Thu, 01 May 2008 15:17:46 -0700, donny wrote:
> Do you use strictly the classical position of holding the guitar? The
> thumb behind the neck? Or is it OK to move the thumb around a little
> bit? I've read/seen both methods; the baseball bat method of holding
> the guitar and the classical method. From what I've read, the classical
> method is superior, but I have trouble keeping it 100% classical. My
> thumb likes to move up somewhat. It also causes me trouble when I'm
> practicing the 5th fret and upwards. My thumb behind the neck wants to
> turn on an angle. etc...
Practice DGT, especially the chords and arpeggios. Start slow or you'll
hurt yourself. That will correct everything in hand position.
I remember seeing Bucky Pizzarelli fail keep up with
Stephane Grappelli entirely because he used his
thumb as a lever. How could he live so long and still be doing that? The
thumb is across the neck, never along it. It's for speed, not for
"classical".
Watch any first class string player. The thumb has more angle, but
it is opposite the center of pressure of the fingers, the same as
guitar should be. The hand position is quite different, because
slurs or bars are very rare on bowed strings, but the thumb opposes
the fingers in exactly the same way. I knew Bucky was in over his
head the second he started playing with his thumb jumping around on
the back of the neck, while Grappelli and the bass player, who was super,
did right. daveA
--
email: darnold4@cox . net (put "poisonal" anywhere in subject)
DGT: The very best technical exercises for all guitarists:
* w w w .openguitar . com /dynamic.html. Original easy solos at:
* w w w .openguitar . com . :::=={_o) David Raleigh Arnold
On Thu, 01 May 2008 15:17:46 -0700, donny wrote:
> Do you use strictly the classical position of holding the guitar? The
> thumb behind the neck? Or is it OK to move the thumb around a little
> bit? I've read/seen both methods; the baseball bat method of holding
> the guitar and the classical method. From what I've read, the classical
> method is superior, but I have trouble keeping it 100% classical. My
> thumb likes to move up somewhat. It also causes me trouble when I'm
> practicing the 5th fret and upwards. My thumb behind the neck wants to
> turn on an angle. etc...
Practice DGT, especially the chords and arpeggios. Start slow or you'll
hurt yourself. That will correct everything in hand position.
I remember seeing Bucky Pizzarelli fail keep up with
Stephane Grappelli entirely because he used his
thumb as a lever. How could he live so long and still be doing that? The
thumb is across the neck, never along it. It's for speed, not for
"classical".
Watch any first class string player. The thumb has more angle, but
it is opposite the center of pressure of the fingers, the same as
guitar should be. The hand position is quite different, because
slurs or bars are very rare on bowed strings, but the thumb opposes
the fingers in exactly the same way. I knew Bucky was in over his
head the second he started playing with his thumb jumping around on
the back of the neck, while Grappelli and the bass player, who was super,
did right. daveA
--
email: darnold4@cox . net (put "poisonal" anywhere in subject)
DGT: The very best technical exercises for all guitarists:
* w w w .openguitar . com /dynamic.html. Original easy solos at:
* w w w .openguitar . com . :::=={_o) David Raleigh Arnold
Re: Classical Position
On Fri, 02 May 2008 10:28:24 GMT, David Raleigh Arnold <darnold4@cox . net > wrote:
> How could he live so long and still be doing that?
Just like me - maybe he started as a kid on a cheap guitar and got in the habit
of needing his thumb for leverage. Bad habits die hard.
On Fri, 02 May 2008 10:28:24 GMT, David Raleigh Arnold <darnold4@cox . net > wrote:
> How could he live so long and still be doing that?
Just like me - maybe he started as a kid on a cheap guitar and got in the habit
of needing his thumb for leverage. Bad habits die hard.
