Fingerstyle Thumb Position
How to pluck the strings with the thumb
Hey people, today I am going to talk to you about fingerstyle guitar and thumb position.
Any guitar player can develop a good fingerstyle thumb position with practice and patient. I will share a few tips to help you with fingerstyle guitar, plucking thumb, musicality, tone, control, and dynamics.
I honestly think that the thumb is responsible for giving you the correct right-hand position. Learning how to position the thumb correctly will drastically improve your finger’s position.
Let’s get started!
The Right-hand Thumb
The angle
The right-hand thumb is a quite busy finger, and it will usually pluck more than one string. It usually plucks the guitar’s bottom three strings (4th, 5th, and 6th string). His job is to provide bass notes, rhythm, and sometimes strumming.
You must follow three things to position the thumb correctly and improve your plucking, articulation, and volume.
- Assign a string for each finger. The thumb will cover the bottom three strings.
- Keep the thumb in front of the fingers so that it is easy to pluck downward without clashing with the index.
- I suggest you also try to pluck the string with the side of your thumb for a better tone.
Because the thumb will always pluck downward, it is crucial to position it so that it doesn’t clash with the index finger. It will also be essential to keep it in front of the fingers to articulate and give you volume and dynamics.
Check the picture below to learn what I think is the best thumb position for fingerstyle guitar. Remember, though, that you might have to adjust the thumb position considering your fingers and posture.
Take it to step by step and give your fingers time to adjust to the new position.
Thumb and Nails
One of the questions I get asked the most is whether or not your need nails to play guitar using the fingerstyle technique. Most of the time, guitar players are much more concerned about how their hands will look rather than the quality of the sound.
Nails are essential but are not essential, and you can play fingerstyle guitar without them.
I started playing guitar when I was 10 years old, and I’ve always used nails to play, so I can’t really play anything without them, but there are so many examples of fingerstyle guitar players who don’t use nails, and they have a great sound, tone, and volume.
I usually say, try different things!
Start without and then grow just a little bit on your thumb to see if you feel a difference in tone and sound. If you like it and you can get over the fact that you have longer nails on the one hand only, keep it and enjoy the sound.
Down below, we are checking out one of the greatest acoustic guitar players of all time, Tommy Emmanuel. He doesn’t use nails, but he sounds great.
Notice his thumb position, which is in front of the fingers and
Thumb and Fingers
Awesome, so you are getting familiar with the thumb position. The good news is that once your right-hand thumb is positioned correctly, it will also help the fingers to achieve a better plucking angle.
If you check this picture, you will notice that the fingers follow a 45-degree angle perfect for plucking and fluidity.
The 45-degree angle is almost impossible if the thumb is not in the right position.
You will have to find the right balance between thumb and fingers. Considering how long you have been playing, it might be difficult to quickly adjust the finger’s position.
I recommend you practice few fingerstyle exercises that can help you slowly readjusting your right-hand fingers and thumb so that you can get the most out of your technique.
Learn from the Best!
Analyzing Fingerstyle Guitar Players
One thing essential that everyone should do is analyzing fingerstyle guitar players and see how they play.
The awesome thing is about analyzing guitar players. Nowadays, we have access to a ton of videos and different resources that allow you to compare, learn, and finally implement new techniques in your fingerstyle playing.
Let’s get started.
Estas Tonne Thumb Position
Estas Tonne is an awesome fingerstyle guitar player from Ukraine. His style is a combination of Spanish flamenco, Gypsy, Latin and modern music.
Some of his videos have reached millions of views on YouTube, and he’s constantly traveling around the world to promote his music.
If you start analyzing this guitar player, you will notice that his thumb position follows the two rules we learned today. 1) Thumb in front of the fingers. 2) Plucking the strings with the side of his thumb.
John Williams
Few classical guitar players are so devoted to one style of music, and one of these is John Williams.
Williams has been playing guitar since the age of 11 and won a Grammy Award in 1973.
He’s a completely different guitar player than Estas Tonne, but they share the same right-hand thumb position.
Notice how his thumb is positioned in front of the fingers.
John Williams also uses nails, which allows him to have control, volume, and dynamics.
Another awesome example to follow.
Thumb Position to avoid.
Overusing the thumb
Some guitar players tend to use the thumb too much. They start plucking the strings with the thumb and use the fingers only when it’s necessary.
Overusing the thumb is never a good choice. Instead, use the Thumb (p) index (i) middle (m) and ring (a) together since the day you start playing guitar. The fingers must work together!
Thumb Behind the Fingers
Don’t ever position your thumb behind the fingers. This is probably one of the most difficult bad habits to break.
So many beginner guitar players start playing guitar, curling the thumb behind the fingers. Instead, position the thumb towards the fretting hand.
Conclusion
The thumb position is one of the most important aspects you have to focus on when it comes to fingerstyle guitar.
The balance between thumb and fingers must be perfect so that you can pluck with strings with control and confidence. It isn’t easy to develop the correct right-hand position, but with a few exercises and consistency, you should quickly achieve good control.
I have a few exercises that can help you with that.