Since changing my thumb technique, I now have a lot more energy, my back pain is gone, I always wake up feeling refreshed, colors are more vibrant, and I even last longer in bed.
This should be the first video beginners should watch. I would also point out holding the guitar at that angle makes it easier for your fretting hand for most people.
Ian, you rock the body that rocks the party. Seriously, you have taught me so much about the basics of guitar that I don't think I can repay you. Headed over to your Patreon site just to throw money at you so you will continue to put out this great content.
This is an excellent lesson. So many teachers are doing online lessons & aren’t watching students play & hence can’t point out bad habits & teach good ones.
My first guitar book was in 1967 and was a Mel Bay book. It was strict that you kept your thumb in the middle of the back of the neck, and I simply could not do it. I went rogue, lol and never looked back. Great video, Cheers.
My thumb NEVER wraps around the neck like in your video. Must be from my classical technique. I play more on the finger tips the majority of the time. You are absolutely correct the thumb must move with the shifts in positions up and down the neck.
weird, when i do things similar to the pentatonic scale you started with my thumb slides down rather than up when i play the "thinner" strings ... edit - the three points of contact explains why you do it your way. Nice. Edit2: this was a way better lesson than I first realised. Now that I am moving my thumb more dynamically around the neck I am also more dynamic and accurate up and down the neck. Thank you
Stitch another great lesson my problem is my hand gets cramped up playing Barr chores Ex Bertha I am not able to play Barr chords through out the whole song without my thumb cramping? Really enjoy your lessons you are such a fantastic communicator! You don’t know it but have been having coffee together on Sunday mornings for a few months Learning the never lost lesson has changed the entire way I think about the guitar! these words... You have to know what intervals you are playing you just have to! I now am beginning to have a map in my head of the guitar neck and actually playing chord tones over chords Thank you Joe
Strap length adjustment (when standing) can affect how far around your thumb can/will naturally travel. Do you ever play standing up with a strap? Can you give pointers on the best adjustment?
I do like this concept and lesson very much Ian! I found you through Sean Daniels. One issue I have with your points of contact to the fretboard is the fleshy part of the palm next to the index finger. I find whenever it gets too close to the fret ends though, is that it can sometimes mute the high E string. I also agree with the thumb being dynamic but I find that if my thumb drops too low when playing strings 4, 5 and 6 then I don't have enough leverage to press against the frets enough...especially with my ring finger and pinky. Love your content and teaching style! Subscribed :)
Ian, I've worked with a LOT of guitarists (including many well-known PROs), and I spent several minutes showing/demonstrating the LACK of needing to do a "death grip" with the fretting hand, especially the thumb.... I simply held my thumb AWAY from the back of the guitar neck and played a series of chords and notes, using only my fingers on the fret board. That gives the artist confidence and the FREEDOM to loosen the fretting hand grip, so it's much "free-er" to slide up or down the neck (quickly). The thumb is just a positioning tool, heavy grip not at all necessary for clean noting/chording. In a way the LOOSER the fretting hand is, the better...takes care of fret-hand fatigue, too. You might do a video on this one, Stich.... Doug (aka "Crossbow", pro musician & songwriter....occasional instructor).
Yep, I got that, Ian..You can tell in the video your not puttin' dents in the back of the guitar neck with your thumb...I could still see normal color in your thumb, too (with reverse camera angle)...I would have screamed your way if you squeezed so hard your thumb went bright white (no blood flowing)...then I'd dial 911.... (grinning). Take care, bro...always good videos/explanations. Crossbow
Cool, I never considered the thumb, this makes good sense! Ian, have you ever considered using your shoulder and trapezoid muscles to pull your hand into the fretboard? I am getting older and always looking for ways to avoid injuring my hand, I find that using the bigger muscles in the back helps me get a better tone and reduces the strain on my hand.
Ian, nice thumbnail. Geez does this cure E.D. too? LOL. Great video. it took me years to realize that my thumb was moveable and another decade to realize that I should think about it when fumbling with techniques. I used to only look at my fingers.
Would love to see you discuss how people with small hands can better get a good grip on the neck. Short fingers don't always have to mean limited reach, do they?
Ok connecting right hand picking fingers to left hand melodic notes of cords and riffs Etc. Getting the melody to pop out of cords in a song. While keeping time and base movement. I don’t see it in Master classes either. Help.
Stich! Great lesson as always, although my thumb is where it's supposed to be. My fail factor seems to come in when I'm doing scales / solos horozontally for me sadly, there's always a pause unless I hide it and do a slide lol!
I could say something smart like "How do you explain Jimi." He used his thumb as part of his chord shapes. Hands like a spider. Course a Strat neck is made for playin'. But you have some great advice, like your lessons.
Hi Ian, How are you doing? Please, I would like to ask what are you teaching in the following Patreon lessons: “Dr. Stich's Diagnosis And Treatment”, “Fretting Hand "Rhythm" Practice #1 - A Song That Trains The Fretting Hand“; “Fretting Hand "Rhythm" Practice #2 - Thick To Thin Practice” and ”Fretting Hand "Rhythm" Practice #3 - Thin To Thick Practice”? Are these lessons related to the question I asked you previously? I asked you how can I improve the speed and the mental / muscular control of my fretting fingers when playing 8th and 16th notes in the context of phrases, melodies, licks, etc., not scales, when I am improvising or not? I‘d like my fretting fingers to play faster and I wish to control them better, being able in a conscious manner to select and to fret these notes quickly, and not relying only on muscle memory. My goal is not shredding. Cheers, John
Those lessons are related to my guitar fundamentals video a few weeks back about your fretting hand and learning how to play chords and riffs from thick to thin, thin to thick and straight down. Those practice sessions you refer to are the practice pieces for that video. So if you watch that video on RU-vid and that is something you like, those are the practice sessions.
John Jr thin to thick = thinnest strings towards the thicker strings, thick to thin = thicker strings towards thinner, straight down = going up frets on the same string
@@StichMethodGuitar Thank you very much for your answer! You mentioned “...if you watch that video on RU-vid and that is something you like, those are the practice sessions...”. Please, what is the link for this video on RU-vid. Cheers, John :-)
Or the Dynamic Thumb! It's morphin' time! Or where on the neck is Carmen Thumb Diego ? (With a stylish little hat). Great lesson points. Got it. No static cling thumb!
Also, I'm getting a buzz from my guitar. I have new strings I haven't installed yet and that's the first thing I'll do. The strings are a good 5 years old. 😲 The string adjustment is good so it's not the frets. Hmmmm.... I'm a little uncertain where to start.
Don't know why just about every guitar teacher teaches beginners the "death grip"... The very first thing a beginner should do is have his/her guitar properly SET UP by a professional (luthier, etc), so it is easy to play. Without that step, many/most guitars simply aren't "PLAYABLE". yet, until a proper setup is done....factories churn them out by the thousands...not quite ready for prime time... Another video, Ian... Crossbow
@@StichMethodGuitar Ian, you teach guitar the RIGHT WAY....it's so many OTHER (less experienced, less professional) guitar instructors that are teaching the WRONG ways ... Crossbow. Keep going, you're doing great, and your videos are invaluable to so many...I learn from you, too !!!!... Crossbow
I think I hear the treble tamed tone difference with more flesh and bone on the neck but am struggling to understand the rationale and analogy with the water. Why is more flesh and thumb on neck helping the sound travel down the neck out the sound hole with more bass/mid and less treble? The neck is now more dense because it’s connected to more stuff and this changes tonal balance? Or is it because it’s getting squeezed and thus more dense? I searched for any other guitar tone articles explaining this but couldn’t find any. If you are the first to talk about this on the internet then you are the Newton of guitar! 🌟
If anybody reads comments ...this video’s companion over on Ian’s Patreon has Thumb video practice #1 which imho in the guitar-verse illustrates Ian at his genius best. 🔥 👏👏👏🙏😎
Brilliant!! I think I’ve finally found “the teacher”. If you only made a course from A-Z start here “finish “ here. I’ve watched 3 videos and picked up such awesome tips I wished I’d learnt when I started 10 years ago, I’ve had a number of teachers too. Good ones hard to find. You my friend are one 👍
Remarkable. I have had a dozen guitar teachers and not one of them taught me this invaluable lesson. You are the best. I love your Patreon channel. The reinforcing practice sessions and additional advice are the highlights of my week.
I don’t play guitar. I play ukes, bass, tenor guitars, and cigar box guitars - and I always find your videos helpful. These videos are good for multiple instruments
Excellent explanation on the thumb and the neck! Funny enough, I also enjoyed the molecule reference since I've been thinking about condensation this afternoon and how the molecules slow down and move closer together to produce a chemical reaction.
@@StichMethodGuitar Haha! Maybe gain 15 pounds of muscle; that would be nice considering I'm already kind of gaunt. However, I've been noticing how cut and strong my arms have been looking--that's appreciated.
Would you have any tips for people with double-jointed thumbs? It flips into a 90° angle at the first knuckle, and I need a fair amount of pressure, particularly for barre chords. If you have any tips, I'd be grateful!
I knew you were gonna say thumb...to lighten my fret pressure (which should allow my thumb to glide better), I have been trying to spend a small amount of time each day playing without it and just hovering it. My picking arm has to counter pressure a bit instead.
Tone is the range between low bass and high treble, you can control your tone on an amp with the bass mid and treble knobs , but on a guitar, more flesh on the neck takes a lot of the tinny sound ( treble range out). Did that make sense?
Great lesson. I find it hard to make the third contact point with first finger when doing a C an open chord. I can only do with heal of the hand? (Guess the 4 regular down thumbs are your competitors?)
StichMethod Guitar yeah it was helpful what’s a struggle is with stuff that not in 4/4 like being able to count and feel Jambi by tool in 9/8 or honey by king gizzard and the wizard lizard in 7/8. Would be nice have a from basics to advanced in a styles that approachable
You know, I am subscribed to your channel all the time and enjoy your teaching, but I don't know your name. I don't want to say hey Stitch cause I'm not sure that's your name. Could you share your name. Love the content.
@@StichMethodGuitar Thanks Ian. Hey, if you get a chance, I sent another message about having a buzz that started in my guitar about two weeks ago. I'm going to change my strings, there about five years old. It's not fret buzz the distance between the neck and frets are good. Could it be the old strings?
Stitch you really opened my eyes! Three points of contact is not what others teach, but having small hands I just couldn't avoid contact point #2. I just could never learn to play with only thumb pad and finger tips touching the guitar. Now I feel OK that what I'm doing is OK. Thanks!
