A lot of people worry about where to place their thumb... but there's no set place. Hear where / when in this lesson!
View the full lesson at Correct Thumb Placement On The Neck | JustinGuitar
1 Like
Hey guys, i am not 100% sure if this is the right place to ask my question, but i do hope so. In case it is not, terribly sorry for that, donāt mean to spam anything out of context.
As Justin talks about thumb placement occasionally and also the technique of the fretting hand, I recognized something in my own playing. My question is not (at least i think so) about the thumb placement only, but about the angle of the fretting hand towards the neck.
I am not sure what angle is regarded as the ācorrectā one (of the palm), if there is any. Basically, what angle should your palm be in relation to the neck of the guitar? Is there a right answer to that?
Also, I tried to learn a couple of songs in which the thumb is used to mute the thickest string. If i do so, the flesh on my fingers mutes, at least, the thinnest string. Does anyone else have this problem. Just as a sidenote, I have pretty small hands in general, and I canāt stretch my fingers a lot as of now.
Would appreciate every tip of you guys, and thanks in advance for reading this 
Sorry again if this is not the correct place to ask this question.
Hi Michael @GimmeLighta , I think the best way to get guidance on this would be to post a few pictures of your fretting hand, describing what your concerns are. Just as there is no single answer to āwhere is the correct thumb placementā, Iām not sure thereās a single answer to your question about where your palm should be in relation to the neck.
Regarding using your thumb to mute the thickest string: I too have smallish hands (regular sized gloves are too big for me). Itās a matter of practice and doing stretching exercises to get to muting the thickest string with your thumb. I even have the trouble you describe sometimes when Iām NOT muting the thickest string! Iāve learned to experiment with micro-adjustments to my fretting hand, and once I find a grip that works, practicing it. Iāll admit it takes a lot of patience. 
1 Like
I can remember Justin suggesting that you should imagine the edge of the fretboard (adjacent to the thinnest string) is red hot. It helped for me (also with small hands).
1 Like
Are you actually fretting something there? Looks like ānoā. That may not be a reasonable example to issue an opinion on. 
Opinion anyway:
- Finger 1 looks too far forward, so will muffle the string it is fretting
- Finger 3 looks too far back from the fret so it will likely buzz and certainly take more pressure to hold.
- Thumb looks ok. Mine is about like that except I cannot press with as much of the flat as you do - your is likely better.
- You might see how comfortable it is to scoot the thumb to be more centered with the fretting fingers. This will give you some additional leverage for the barre you will encounter later.
- I angle my fingers more. Not trying to be along the fret length, but come in at maybe 20-30 degrees. Helps with reach.
1 Like
Much appreciated! Just what I was looking for, more chime in please. That C chord is my max. stretch.
Did you give the angle a try? here is an example. The angle will let your fingers extending act as a part of the stretch. You have a little angle, but a little more eases up the finger separation at the knuckle so you can reach farther with fingers wrapped around the neck.
Not very comfortable with that amount of stretch while trying to mute low E with 3rd finger. Canāt mute with thumb without muting high E with palm.
I have/had the same issue. It has improved with practice. And itās less of a problem on my Taylor GS Mini than on my dreadnought.