Honestly, I just fel a little bit overwhelmed by the RU-vid landscape these days. Videos are perfectly edited with lots of visual and sound effects, and keeping up with RU-vid trends is super exhausting. It's enough. I recorded and edited this video just the way I wanted to. There are many little things in this video I normally would trim or delete, but I felt that they give personality to my videos, and I think it's better to show you that I'm a real person if I want to teach something as personal and meaningful as music is. What do you think? As always, please consider supporting me on patreon, and don't forget to check the description for extra links and helpful infos!
This video was perfect! As musicians/artists we're always self conscious of our mistakes and flaws but our audience never picks up on those things. It's only in our head. I've played guitar for 35 years and if asked if I'm any good I say, not really, or not as good as I should be. When I play for people they're usually impressed, but I can always say, well I didn't bend that note high enough, or get that harmonic just right. Keep letting your soul shine through, you re beautiful! (That goes for anyone that reads this too)
Hi, Your video as presented brings life to the instructions. That makes it a delight to listen to as you bring out the thumbs life on the back of the fretboard. Excellent! Andy
I love the unedited version!!! It's easier for you, and it highlights your humor and personality. I still kept my ADHD attention, and it even felt more like a personal lesson at times. You have great tips, and I'm grateful for the awesome content. 💖
Hi beatrix, the video Wad ok and no problem for the editing but I found it a bit tool long so I Humbly suggest to be more sinthetic. Thanks anyway, I follow you 😊
This is a very important video. Not only for proper technique but health and longevity. After years of playing overstressing my thumb I developed severe pain and is limiting my growth as player. Thank you for this information.
I was laughing this whole video. It's super informative and your way about talking through things is absolutely adorable. It's great to have such a great source without the standard snobbery that comes unfortunately from the classical community. Thank you and keep it up!
It's not a snobbery. You simply cannot play the music properly if your LH position is wrong, especially with the wide-neck classical guitar. Although you can with the narrow-neck steel-string guitars.
@@josku5 Some people do take good advice in a negative way due to their own shortcomings and inferiority complex. But labelling it as "standard snobbery that comes from classical community" is simply inappropriate. As far as I know, classical guitarists are the most down-to-earth instrumentalists.
Just want to add a compliment. I've been concentrating on the left thumb for a couple of days now and have noticed much more relaxation in my shoulder and back. My thumb has always been in some tension because I've held it out from the hand without realizing it. Thinking of it as an extension of the arm is helping to relax the whole arm and back. I'm very grateful for this thoughtful video!
I just have to say this is amazing and thank you!!! As a self-taught acoustic guitarist that transitioned into more of a classical guitarist, I relied a lot on books and videos and still sometimes had excess strain on my thumb that I was not able to figure out. After watching this video I feel like a new path has opened for my playing. Definitely loved this video and I am now subscribed for more!
This is a good topic to talk about for sure, for the reasons you said. I've been playing (off and on) for 20 years and I have only really started paying attention to my thumb very recently. Now that I've started paying attention I can see that it's by far the biggest source of problems for my left hand and severely limits how accurately I can play. It's hard to retrain it but it's worth it. The hardest part for me is actually just letting my thumb move with the rest of my hand. In my self-taught way I always used the thumb as the anchor for chord/position changes and all the muscle memory is based on that. I'm trying to learn to anchor more with my fingers.
At around 4:39 you say, that you like thinking of pulling down the strings, more than pressing them down. I think exactly the same and teach the same to my students. I made the experience though, that using the thumb as a counterpart to the rest of your fingers to press/hold against the neck should only be used when needed and organically float with the movement of your hand, anticipating where you move next. For a "relaxed" hand position, almost without any energy needed, i like to hug the neck with my hand, to avoid tension/pain/injury to my hand/palm at the thumb area. You can test this, hold you arm elbow down and just make a relaxed holding fist with your hand -> there is no tension. Now try the same but with the fingers in position but the thumb as a counterweight -> there is tension in you wrist and the palm area of your thumb. Because of this i am very critical of a "hold your hand always in this position" statement. Do what fits your need the most and what is comfortable for you.
Extremely happy to have found your channel. RU-vid is full of well-edited videos with high production costs, but excessive content on the same subject to the point of mental fatigue. On your channel, I found sincerity and peace of mind to start learning the guitar, even though I'm already 46 years old. Thank you for this beautiful work! May your life be prosperous, full of achievements and joy!
Thank you for the tips, I'm going to try them, because my left thumb has been hurting a bit lately. "I really don't want to have a real job"🤣🤣🤣🤣 I love your humor ! 😘
Hi there. Thanks for you video, which is helping me to explore better ways of holding my guitar and my thumb position. I play accoustic and electric guitar and not Classical, but I have recently developed a pain in my wrist, which I have been trying to overcome. I believe my thumb and wrist position are the causes of my issues, and strangely when I stand up to play I have less issues. I think this is because I naturally tilt the neck to more of an angle similar to classical. Since this video is about thumbs, i had to give it a thumbs up on YT. I wish you well for your future and thanks again for your suggestions which may help me further.
I agree that the zooming in and out was a little distracting, but you were so hillarious in this one. I love what you did with the sturdy cellophane (You called it foil, but you can’t see through foil.)
Many people look at guitar instructional demonstrations for electrical guitars of some steel string acoustical guitars and see the thumb over the bass e string. What the don't realize is that the fret boards are often curved on a radius and the boards themselves are also often narrower.
It's become a bad habit, and many guitar necks are made for this playing style. Rock and blues and stuff, smaller chord voicings and shorter stretches. I have a modern electric style neck on my steel string acoustic, and playing with a more classical position, it's been like finding a needle in a haystack for my fingers. I don't like playing with my thumb over the neck though, it's always given me pain and cramps in my fingers
Fantastic lesson. It's nice to see more of your sense of humor. I am lucky enough to be studying with a very significant member of the guitar community, and he is always reminding me to maintain the "C" shape in my left hand. My particular habit is squeezing too hard. It's annoyingly difficult for me to stop but, as with everything on this damned difficult instrument, I am making progress. Every bit of information people absorb is something that may help them in unexpected ways. Keep doing what you are doing. I think you are a fantastic teacher, and you present valuable information and concepts in your lessons. 🙂
Hi Beatrix. You are absolutely right about keeping it real and you make wonderful instructional videos. I never realized previously there was no instructional videos pertaining to the thumb and good for you for your concise, calculated, clever ( clear guitar neck ) and enjoyable instruction. Thank You 🙏 Very Much!!
I am a beginner classical guitarist in training. Luckily, there is a picture and explanation about where to put the thumb in The Christopher Parkening Guitar Method book. Still, it is a single still picture and small paragraph. Thank you for expanding on it. I can say when I was struggling hard with left hand fret work, specifically on the upper part of the next while on the 6th string, my thumb was hanging out all over. Once I focused on tucking it firmly in the back of the neck, bam, wow, that made it so much easier. Specifically, it gave me a more firm neck to finger, but moreso put my fingers naturally in a more curled position, which reduced how many errant touches of the neighbouring strings. Also, the horizontal guitar position is a style thing people pick up due to it being so prevalent in rock and country, from Johnny Cash to most heavy metal rockers. Funny enough though, rockers and metal guitarists with solo capability often hold their guitar in all kinds of ways as a form of showmanship. Think Jimi Hendrix in a live performance of Hey Joe, where he played the guitar while placing the guitar on the back of his neck. Incidentally, he also played the guitar with his front teeth...lol So yes, performance and style matters a LOT in those genres. But it is showmanship. Classical guitarists seem to value technique.
I teach my students from the very first left hand lesson that their thumb is the most important finger because it does so many things 'in the shadows' in order to help all the other fingers on the fretboard. It's like a puppeteer or like the goalkeeper who doesn't 'score' but commands the entire 'defence 4' from behind. I don't move my thumb for the thumb itself, rather I use it to move my wrist ahead and bakwards as well as when switcing between 'finger-to-finger' and 'finger-over-finger' positions (something like what you show here).
The horizontal position gives certain options for the right Hand though. The Use of Gravitation opens up plenty of options. It is a battle of choice. But The classical position is easier on the whole body
slap it on! your new sticker idea :) Seriously though, left thumb pain has kept me from advancing in guitar since the 90s. I look forward to trying these techniques and hopefully taking a leap forward in my playing. Thank You.
I have often seen Keith Richards in videos holding the guitar neck at at least 45o. In recent videos, Rick Beato indicates he's started to use it, and neither are playing classical!
I appreciate being reminded that holding the guitar higher is the better way. I've seen a picture of Eddie Van Halen practicing sitting down where he's holding his electric guitar "upright" in the classical guitar position. Worth keeping in mind if you're a metal head!
“I’m a lady person” learning a lot AND I enjoy the way you talk. Do you have video that gives a mini bio of yourself. Oh and I’m 65 guitar is my retirement plan, falling in love with classical. Thx for the vids
I tell my students - mostly beginners - that the thumb must always be helping the fingers, otherwise they are just pressing into the palm which can't really press back and therefore the fingers are working twice as hard as they need to.
Great Teaching Miss Beatrix! If you had gone into even more detail I would have continued to be very much attentive and thankful. I respectfully believe this teaching should be within the first lessons involving the physical mechanics of playing a classical or acoustic guitar. I enjoy both types of guitars and I have migrated classical style form to acoustic for the reason you stated. Thank You again for the enlightenment.
I’ve played for a long time … the fretting hand has always been my struggle (it took some time to figure out that my thumb was causing me problems … I think my teacher even told me). anyway, you have my attention
What a breathe of fresh air. Compared to most all other youtube guitar instruction videos, this one is over the top great. You have a gift, thank you for sharing it. I wish you all the best.
Super underrated video thank-you, also what is that stand thing you use to prop your guitar up I have very long arms and think it would help to have the guitar positioned classically, that stand looks comfy
Thanks for the video! About the layed guitar horizontal positioning, Paco de Lucia played like that, so is it not natural? What about that getting to use all that relaxation feeling using steel strings?
Heyyy thank you! Please please answer my Q: I play both classic and electric guitar. I apply the healthy position of holding the guitar on my classical but somehow when I pickup my electric guitar the whole position is different for the left hand( thumb is alot higher and the wrist is diffrent. I wish you could give a short explanation for the healthy position both hands in the electric guitar
I would say to practice everyday is enough. the time isn't important you have to love that you play. the breaks are important that your brain and Body works together... And to master a guitar shouldn't be the aim. enjoy your New Hobby it will be a life-time-study this is not a bicycle😉
The placement of the left hand thumb is really a headache, if not a show stopper, to me, because I have been informed that "the correct placement is no one in front of you can see your thumb." I suspect the only justification is "to be good looking!" Anyway, i am still struggling.
I don't even play guitar. I play bass guitar. the left hand technique for bass isn't entirely the same, but there were still some helpful things here that I wil definately remember.
Glad someone is finally covering this. My thumb is always getting dragged behind and ends up way behind the index finger in a very suboptimal position. Thanks for creating this video.
I mean, I had a guitar lesson (classical) just 2 days ago and my teacher and i discussed how i need to pay attention to my p so I found this very timely. Thank you!
👍Very, very good explanation. I completely agree. I'm not a beginner but what you say corresponds to my own experience and view. I want to add one thing, which concerns more the wrist than the thumb, to prevent problems with the nerves and tendons. In addition to avoiding an angle between your hand and forearm, don't rotate your hand either. Compare: if you sit in front of a table and you rest your hand on it with the palm down, there is rotation. If it rests with the outer edge: OK. I know, all this may not always be possible (guitar playing is not a 100% ergonomic activity), but keep it in mind.
Thank you Beatrix. I'm just an intermediate guitar player but I have a very good teacher and she could/would have said the same. Unfortunately, I found that most RU-vidrs don't even think about body positions and not at all about positioning the thumb in the best/right way. You gave a very thoughtful explanation about using the thumb! If you play for a long time and you press your thumb too much it can lead to a severe illness...(rhitzarthritis). Every aspect of using the thumb was well thought of and mentioned. I'm very thankful and pleased about your explanation and recommondations! Go on playing such fine music and producing so helpful video lessons😊A.P. from Germany
It's good that you make this video. I would to see one dealing with RH positioning. It's all too often to seeing people, even the accomplished ones, play with RH not curving enough at the wrist and also not (almost) perpendicular to the strings, as the standard technique prescribed by Tarrega and followed by the greats such as Segivia, Williams, Yepes, etc.
My left thumb is funky.... I call it funky thumb. During Covid my thumb was infected by Omicron affect the base of the joint as well as the higher joint causing pain and paralysis. My thumb was once hyper mobile bending backwards to 90 degrees. I now only goes back to 0. This caused my thumbnail to gouge into the back of the neck and the covid infection got into the wood of my guitar neck discoloring it like bleach was injected into the gouges. Good thing it was not my best guitar but still Omicron long haul funky thumb still plagues me 3 years later. I adapt but the nerve damage from Omicron still impedes every movement of my left hand. I also get carpel tunnel syndrome whenever my left hand is higher than my heart so I must hold the guitar lower so I use a strap and often play standing up. I was watching Jeff Beck videos after his sad death and observed his right hand technique, a flambouyant expressive style.I admire to emulate.
Perfect presentation and editing. No need to change to keep up with trends. Trends dumb down. As regards position of guitar I was was taught in the 1970's as you teach for classical method, but now I play hybrid Paco de Lucia posture. He of course had the skeletal ability for this posture and became the foremost player having dexterity and musicality. Both Segovia and Paco studied how the limbs perform/function. My body doesn't allow his posture and I think we are all different, but can & should learn from the professionals. If we learn the fundamentals of how our limbs work optimally, we can protect ourselves make better progress and perhaps produce a better tone and performance & reduce injuries. I enjoys your topic of becoming a better musician in 10 minutes, by the way.
I discovered your channel a few days ago and love it. I have been playing guitar for 67 years and started with Merle Travis and the thumb over the top of the neck fretting the 6th string and sometimes even the 5th. For the past 10 years I have been primarily playing a classical guitar and trying to teach my thumb to stay on the back of the neck, not over the top. For me, the position of the left thumb is the most interesting and complex change in my technique. Playing at my best, my thumb constantly dances to different positions depending on the support my fingers need to fret the notes. My thumb controls my left hand. I have never seen another video on the left hand thumb in classical technique, but it is definitely the key element in my improvement. By the way, the American pronunciation of the word "sterile" is with a short "i". I love your accent, it reminds me of listening to Paola Hermosin with her Andalusian accented Spanish. Two wonderfully relaxed and positive people who are also delightful guitarists.
Beatrix, I have been a serious hobbyist for 15 years with 10 years of that study with a teacher and you are the first one I've seen talk about this. I think you have just helped me discover the main problem with my technique, thanks!
I noticed something about your guitar while you were showing the thumb position. Your fretboard has dots on the side and not the front like a regular acoustic. I’m so new to this I don’t know much of anything about the dots. Maybe that would be an idea for a future video. Great video by the way. Your the best!
Thank you so much for this video! I have the bad habit of letting my left thumb hang out to the left, along the neck, and I think this will help me fix that bad habit. Also had bad habit of using my thumb to fret notes before going to classical guitar. 😂
I spent a lot of time following Beatrix here thinking she was American. Because she speaks English fluently without any accent that I noticed. In this video there were some clues that she is Hungarian. :)
Hi Beatrix, I'm not surprised to see you doing a good video on this neglected topic! Thumb up for this! 👍 17:06 Exactly! From a physics perspective, the fingers on the front side of the neck apply anyway a force on it (even if not very strongly) and this generates a lever arm between where each of them pressing perpendicularly to the neck on the front side and their distance to the support position on the back side which corresponds to the thumb position. Its place must be roughly where all the lever arms together cancel. In mathematics this place is called the barycenter 🤓 (this is basically just an extension of the concept of middle point) and the farther the thumb would be from it, the more tension would be built in the fingers of the left hand (what could disturb the playing). We can observe it perfectly at 13:45 where your 4 front fingers are aligned and the thumb is... laying right in the middle on the other side (wonderful idea this transparent foil 👏). Anyway this is why this finger is so damn important from my point of view while almost none speaks properly about this just telling front finger positions for chords!... It's important to understand that particularly for chords like C or G and even more with bar chords yes. 7:18 Yes it does but I would say this position still accepts the same because the same physical effects are applying and therefore the thumb still should remain close to the barycenter of the front fingers to limit tension in the hand as detailed above but yes this wouldn't avoid other tensions this position generates. 7:29 hahaha! Very funny! 😂Here, please take it, some love for you to craft a powerful armor against these ennemies! 💪😃🛡
