What's the best position for your thumb while playing barre chords? (Poll inside)
Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 10:12 pm
Hi everyone,
I've been focusing on barre chords lately. While I've improved out of sight since joining TG about a year ago now, I'm still not satisfied with the quality of the sound I'm getting. Maybe this is normal, but they almost always sound a bit fuzzy/muffled when compared to open chords and partial chords where you're just using the pad tips rather than the full barre. Sometimes they sound clear, but generally not.
I'm wondering whether I need to place my thumb more or less directly behind the barre finger in order to get enough leverage to play a clean chord. I'm trying it and I think it's better, but it feels very strange and if that's the answer it will take me a little while to get used to it. I'm sure that I need to refine a million other little nuances about how I play barres and need to continue to improve my hand strength in general, but this might just be a big part of the puzzle that I'm currently missing. I must track down Neil's barre tips.
So (after that ramble) my question to you proficient barre chord players is where do you place your thumb in relation to your barre finger when playing barre chords? It is more or less behind the barre? Is it in the middle of the chord shape? It is somewhere between those 2?
Oh... an opportunity for my first poll - now added too.
I'm looking forward to hearing what you all do.
Michele (Barre Nirvana here I come)
I've been focusing on barre chords lately. While I've improved out of sight since joining TG about a year ago now, I'm still not satisfied with the quality of the sound I'm getting. Maybe this is normal, but they almost always sound a bit fuzzy/muffled when compared to open chords and partial chords where you're just using the pad tips rather than the full barre. Sometimes they sound clear, but generally not.
I'm wondering whether I need to place my thumb more or less directly behind the barre finger in order to get enough leverage to play a clean chord. I'm trying it and I think it's better, but it feels very strange and if that's the answer it will take me a little while to get used to it. I'm sure that I need to refine a million other little nuances about how I play barres and need to continue to improve my hand strength in general, but this might just be a big part of the puzzle that I'm currently missing. I must track down Neil's barre tips.
So (after that ramble) my question to you proficient barre chord players is where do you place your thumb in relation to your barre finger when playing barre chords? It is more or less behind the barre? Is it in the middle of the chord shape? It is somewhere between those 2?
Oh... an opportunity for my first poll - now added too.
I'm looking forward to hearing what you all do.
Michele (Barre Nirvana here I come)