Notifications
Clear all
Topic starter
11/03/2005 7:53 pm
Hi all,
First post, brand new guitar player. I'm currently going thru the online lessons at Zager Guitar (seems pretty cool). But on some of the easiest "getting started" songs, there are several instances where you are supposed to fret an open-string chord with the fingers, and simultaneously fret the Low E string with the thumb. Two specific examples are D major (2oo232) with thumb fretting the Low E on the second fret, and C major (332o10) with thumb fretting the Low E on the third fret.
I'm having a big problem getting my thumb around the neck enough to cleanly fret the Low E, while also keeping my fingers in place to properly fret the rest of the chord. If I do manage to contort my hand such that I can get the fleshy part of my thumb onto the Low E string, the rest of my fingers are then coming into the neck at such a low angle that they are muting the strings around them, and I can't get the chord to ring cleanly. Plus it hurts like heck, since I have to squeeze the neck so tightly, and bend the joint on my thumb so much to reach the string. I'm a bit worried that I'm going to damage that thumb joint over time....
I'm a 5'11" male with average-size fingers and thumb (I think), so I don't think size is a problem. Is this something that is going to eventually become easier over time once my left hand is has developed much more strength and stretch? Or is this something that you can either do or not do right from the beginning?
I don't know if I should try alternate fingerings that don't involve using the thumb to fret the Low E, or if I should keep working at it. Because right now it seems that it's not anatomically possible for my hand to perform this action, no matter how much stretch I develop...
Is fretting with the thumb a common thing? Are you folks with smaller hands able to do this?
Thanks
11/03/2005 8:22 pm
You'll eventually become better at it - as your calluses develop, it'll take less pressure.
Fretting with the thumb is considered by many to be bad technique. I'm not familiar with the online lessons you mentioned, but I don't teach thumb fretting to any of my students (even though I use it myself at times!). I figure let them develop their bad habits on their own, the way I did, right? :)
Seriously... some players have used the thumb because they had huge hands (Jimi Hendrix). Others because it makes a smoother transition in fingerstyle playing, letting open strings ring cleanly, even if it is very awkward (Eric Clapton comes to mind). It's not a necessary part of guitar playing, and there's no song I use it for that I can't also play without using the thumb - those rare times when I do it, it's more from habit than need.
You should be learning the open D without the thumb as a beginner - that'll teach you control, as you'll have to avoid hitting the sixth string. The thumb fingering for the open C is just plain silly, unless you've got really huge hands... if you really need the G note in the bass, play it with third finger on sixth string, fourth finger on 5th string, second finger on fourth string, and first finger on second string. Most beginners learn that as a five-string chord, without a note on the sixth string (again, control)
Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL
11/03/2005 8:33 pm
Well, first off you can finger both chords just the way you show without using your thumb but that is not typical fingering for those chords either and certainly not for a beginner.
Use the same fingerings you show but forget about the low E string.
Strum the C chord from the 5th string down and the D from the 4th string.
C= X32010
D= XX0232