@gr8bluesgtr I don't (with all respect) want to sound like SRV, I want to sound like me. I naturally play like 1:33, but what I want to know is if this is in any way a barrier to becoming a competent blues guitarist.
its funny, i naturally played with my thumb on the back, and had to learn to put my thumb over many years ago.
Heres my question though, what about at the bottom of the neck, at the joint between my fingers and the rest of my hand, should that be in contact with the neck or not? I see players do both, pros and cons?
It's a nice technique, but I listened to Johnny Winters and cop his sound by hyper-extending the bend up by alternating with the third and fourth fingers to get that extra note from the bend. Just sharp it to a sharp 4 with the pinky and push from there and it sounds like your playing with slinky extra lights. BTW...I do use GHS Boomers and suggest them to all in our pro shop. Just different taste, but I found they held up well on the road and in the studio. Nice job on your vids and keep it up!
He's got the right idea about how to make a study of the way the bluesmen get their sounds. The bluesmen by nature don't play by the rules. They all tend to find their own "home brewed" techniques that work for them. The best way to learn from that is to stucy carefully the erganamics of what they do with their hands. That's not easy... For example, how dir T-Bone Walker get his sound...? You'd have to carefully study how he uses his hands and fingers to find the answer.
@ThomasDeLello you talk of the old blues men not playing by the rules, perhaps the best thing would be not to try and emulate them, but not play by any rules yourself? I'm only a kid, but I figure that's the best way to go about it. A lot of this blues talk gets me all confused and I'm starting to think it best if I stop listening and just find my own style.
i've been playing for 4 years and this is how i've always played. but for me it was out of necessity because my left wrist has been broken twice and it starts to really hurt if i have my thumb behind the neck or if i play barre chords in the regular way
when i first started playn i had tht grip at 1:33. it hurt my wrist and my hand was quickly fatigued kinda fast. so instinctivly switched to this grip after about 6 months of plyn. it just felt better, my tone sounded better, bends sounded better, just made my playn better. overall this is a very good grip, if your hand are not small. long fingers is a big help is you use this grip. it can still be accopmlished with small hands but it will take TIME and PATIENCE. i reallly enjoyed this vid. thnx
I noticed you have a long skinny thumb and it reaches across 3 strings when set at the edge of the guitar at the knuckle joint. I have this short fat thumb that will only catch the low E unless I grip with the edge of guitar at the point where the thumb meets the palm- then I got no finger control. Maybe I need a super skinny neck.-
I've been playing for about 3 and 1/2 years and have always used the 1:33 grip. I wasn't taught this it was just the way i picked it up. I want to change to this grip. Anyone else here changed grips like this? How long did it take to get used to?
It took me a long time, but it's the only grip I learned so I worked at it constantly. If you're serious about adopting this grip, pickup my new lesson called "The Grip" from the Essential Techniques for Blues Guitar series. :-)
@Gibbo1291: It has taken me a year and a half to learn this grip. It may take you less time if you're not firmly stuck on playing in the standard form. This form is soooooo much more comfortable and much more rewarding. If you listen to any hendrix, john mayer, SRV and some Pearl Jam songs, you will wonder how they got that "Sound". Well, I'll tell ya, you can only get it properly with this playing technique. I tried for months to play "Yellow Ledbetter" in the standard form and i couldn't.
@Gibbo1291 well i used to play like that too but i just noticed hendrix, mayer, and SRV would do that. Idk how exactly i started to do that but it came very natural using the thumb. I just felt it was more comfortable and i havent played chords without my thumb since.
This is exactly what kids do instinctively the first time they grab a guitar.
Most academic guitarists would say this is totally wrong. On the other hand: you won't find too many academic guitarists who master the blues convincingly.
I've been playing guitar for about a year or two and I've always held my neck similar to this. I can fret the E string with my thumb (though, I rarely do, but I might start practicing that) and if I stretch far enough I can get it to the A string. But when I'm soloing beyond the D string I tend to take my thumb and place it on the back of the neck to reach for the strings.
As you reach towards the upper strings, this will naturally cause your thumb to rotate behind the neck. This is perfectly alright. Just try to keep enough of your thumb over the top to mute the Low E string.
yes. I find it gibson necks (assuming its a U neck) very comfortable to play this way. Try as hard as you can to reach all the strings. if its not possible, try finding a guitar with a neck that you can play like this on. If i were you I would just fight it out and STRETCH the hands lol.
It is certainly strange if you're not used to it, but if you watch Jimi Hendrix and SRV there's no doubt that they used that thumb not only for opposing force for bending, but also for fretting notes on the bottom string. I find it hard to play some of his stuff without this.
I am thrilled to be able to just finally get some advancement in my blues playing.. instead of boring myself with scales and no progress with riffs and licks.
in my opinion there are alot of other videos that are overrated you should get like 100k views for your vids man because you explain very clearly techniques that other ppl can't really explain and you don't show licks you show the fundamentals behind them so you can go and improvise something afterwards =)
@gr8bluesgtr I don't (with all respect) want to sound like SRV, I want to sound like me. I naturally play like 1:33, but what I want to know is if this is in any way a barrier to becoming a competent blues guitarist.
fragman08 1 month ago
Stevie? JIMI HENDRIX did this first!
hermanshermits124124 4 months ago
what the hell i havent seen any guitarist doesnt hold the guitar like this when playing the higher strings
LosLurvos 9 months ago in playlist Free Blues Guitar Lessons
its funny, i naturally played with my thumb on the back, and had to learn to put my thumb over many years ago.
Heres my question though, what about at the bottom of the neck, at the joint between my fingers and the rest of my hand, should that be in contact with the neck or not? I see players do both, pros and cons?
TobyEllisSongwriter 9 months ago
thanks god i started like this
gibsonacdckid 10 months ago
It's a nice technique, but I listened to Johnny Winters and cop his sound by hyper-extending the bend up by alternating with the third and fourth fingers to get that extra note from the bend. Just sharp it to a sharp 4 with the pinky and push from there and it sounds like your playing with slinky extra lights. BTW...I do use GHS Boomers and suggest them to all in our pro shop. Just different taste, but I found they held up well on the road and in the studio. Nice job on your vids and keep it up!
chazsinger 1 year ago
ur only holdig the E with ur thumb right...
newoaklandlocal 1 year ago
He's got the right idea about how to make a study of the way the bluesmen get their sounds. The bluesmen by nature don't play by the rules. They all tend to find their own "home brewed" techniques that work for them. The best way to learn from that is to stucy carefully the erganamics of what they do with their hands. That's not easy... For example, how dir T-Bone Walker get his sound...? You'd have to carefully study how he uses his hands and fingers to find the answer.
ThomasDeLello 1 year ago
@ThomasDeLello you talk of the old blues men not playing by the rules, perhaps the best thing would be not to try and emulate them, but not play by any rules yourself? I'm only a kid, but I figure that's the best way to go about it. A lot of this blues talk gets me all confused and I'm starting to think it best if I stop listening and just find my own style.
fragman08 1 month ago
i've been playing for 4 years and this is how i've always played. but for me it was out of necessity because my left wrist has been broken twice and it starts to really hurt if i have my thumb behind the neck or if i play barre chords in the regular way
thisnotmyname 1 year ago
At last, somebody explains it! I've been looking for this for years. many thanks!
ad1642 1 year ago
when i first started playn i had tht grip at 1:33. it hurt my wrist and my hand was quickly fatigued kinda fast. so instinctivly switched to this grip after about 6 months of plyn. it just felt better, my tone sounded better, bends sounded better, just made my playn better. overall this is a very good grip, if your hand are not small. long fingers is a big help is you use this grip. it can still be accopmlished with small hands but it will take TIME and PATIENCE. i reallly enjoyed this vid. thnx
ghost6392 1 year ago
I noticed you have a long skinny thumb and it reaches across 3 strings when set at the edge of the guitar at the knuckle joint. I have this short fat thumb that will only catch the low E unless I grip with the edge of guitar at the point where the thumb meets the palm- then I got no finger control. Maybe I need a super skinny neck.-
jojojosmart 1 year ago
Great lessons, awesome!!
giraffous 1 year ago
Very Cool!
AndyBaylor 2 years ago
I've been playing for about 3 and 1/2 years and have always used the 1:33 grip. I wasn't taught this it was just the way i picked it up. I want to change to this grip. Anyone else here changed grips like this? How long did it take to get used to?
Gibbo1291 2 years ago
It took me a long time, but it's the only grip I learned so I worked at it constantly. If you're serious about adopting this grip, pickup my new lesson called "The Grip" from the Essential Techniques for Blues Guitar series. :-)
gr8bluesgtr 2 years ago
@Gibbo1291: It has taken me a year and a half to learn this grip. It may take you less time if you're not firmly stuck on playing in the standard form. This form is soooooo much more comfortable and much more rewarding. If you listen to any hendrix, john mayer, SRV and some Pearl Jam songs, you will wonder how they got that "Sound". Well, I'll tell ya, you can only get it properly with this playing technique. I tried for months to play "Yellow Ledbetter" in the standard form and i couldn't.
Dm
Detman101 1 year ago
@Gibbo1291 well i used to play like that too but i just noticed hendrix, mayer, and SRV would do that. Idk how exactly i started to do that but it came very natural using the thumb. I just felt it was more comfortable and i havent played chords without my thumb since.
Jjjj187 9 months ago
Thanks! Great lesson. I've played guitar for 5 months now, and I'm glad this is how I started playing - with my thumb over.
yorkeysa 2 years ago 3
Nice work. This grip was also essential to helping stevie play with his heavy guage strings.
JayDay111 2 years ago
This is exactly what kids do instinctively the first time they grab a guitar.
Most academic guitarists would say this is totally wrong. On the other hand: you won't find too many academic guitarists who master the blues convincingly.
Fitzliputzli23 2 years ago 8
@Fitzliputzli23 "wrong".
that's a word I think it does not apply to music, or music techniques.
a can list dozens of great names like SRV that hold the guitar like this, or even use the thumb to play the 6th string. then they're all wrong.
I think this is the reason we're missing good young guitarrists.
alxlief 11 months ago 2
@Fitzliputzli23 Blues isn't exactly something that a guitar play would go to school for either
topdog2328 5 months ago
I've been playing guitar for about a year or two and I've always held my neck similar to this. I can fret the E string with my thumb (though, I rarely do, but I might start practicing that) and if I stretch far enough I can get it to the A string. But when I'm soloing beyond the D string I tend to take my thumb and place it on the back of the neck to reach for the strings.
loldecepticonlol 2 years ago
As you reach towards the upper strings, this will naturally cause your thumb to rotate behind the neck. This is perfectly alright. Just try to keep enough of your thumb over the top to mute the Low E string.
gr8bluesgtr 2 years ago
This is interesting. I've always held my guitar like this. (I play a telecaster primarily), and I have large hands.
mogascreeta 3 years ago
Fantastic tone, i know is probably not known but what were your amp settings for this video?
jjbennett123 3 years ago
I have very large hands, and doing this on a Gibson or Epiphone will not work. Fenders are the only guitar I can do this on.
zedek3147 3 years ago
So if you have smaller hands you can use this technique on a gibson?
*confused*
Dm
Detman101 2 years ago
yes. I find it gibson necks (assuming its a U neck) very comfortable to play this way. Try as hard as you can to reach all the strings. if its not possible, try finding a guitar with a neck that you can play like this on. If i were you I would just fight it out and STRETCH the hands lol.
igottafc 2 years ago
Hmm... I've always held the guitar with my thumb up when I play SRV, but never so radically like with a baseball bat... Must feel awkward :P
Someone1348 3 years ago
It is certainly strange if you're not used to it, but if you watch Jimi Hendrix and SRV there's no doubt that they used that thumb not only for opposing force for bending, but also for fretting notes on the bottom string. I find it hard to play some of his stuff without this.
gr8bluesgtr 3 years ago
Yeah, I read that about Hendrix, and since SRV is such a big Hendrix fan it's only logical he'd use it, :P
It might still be hard getting used to play like that, since I'm not... I'll give it a shot though.
By the way, could you do a lesson on voodoo chile (SRV's version of course!)?
Someone1348 3 years ago
what do you have the master,volume,drive,bassmidtreb set to?it's AWESOME sounds!!5 stars!
andrewjeff 3 years ago
I wish I had written that down :)
gr8bluesgtr 3 years ago
dam he's good. this was a Beneficial lesson thank you
rengdang 3 years ago
Another great video....
I am thrilled to be able to just finally get some advancement in my blues playing.. instead of boring myself with scales and no progress with riffs and licks.
kingofiction 4 years ago
Thanks!!! man you are great!!!! Keep doing it!!!
rodridominguez 4 years ago
:) yeah keep goin like this with the teaching it helped me alot
SirFightsalot 4 years ago
in my opinion there are alot of other videos that are overrated you should get like 100k views for your vids man because you explain very clearly techniques that other ppl can't really explain and you don't show licks you show the fundamentals behind them so you can go and improvise something afterwards =)
SirFightsalot 4 years ago
You got me all figured out! I'm all about the little details.
gr8bluesgtr 4 years ago
Nice man. Very helpful.
mcconnellvideo 4 years ago
thank you so much
tiagolascas 4 years ago
Thanks for the lesson....some great stuff your posting!
HoundogHawk 4 years ago