Jeff Healey - unique playing style

I bought A Jeff Healey video. HIs solos really kick, like Hendrix only faster and cleaner. What is bizarre is the way he plays- with his guitar on his lap and his left hand playing over the top in a fashion that allows him to hammer on with his left hand thumb for extra stretches. Does anybody know of anyone else who plays this way? Is it worth the hassle of re-learning shapes? Are we guitarists depriving ourselves by not being able to use our left-hand thumbs for more than occasionally hooking the low strings.

Ron THAL sometimes uses this kind of playing.
Viola players use their thumbs on the higher range of their neck, and I've experimented a little with playing chords with my thumb on the neck... I didn't go real far with it.

If i recall right Jeff learnt that style (for a number of reasons) right from when he first picked up a guitar -it just sort of came out of him that way....lucky bleeder!...I think it would be extremely hard to unlearn all the usual ways of playing and start over from scratch....I'm sure you could learn it but you'd have to be very dedicated.

Preston REED uses that kind of playing too, he's an Ovation clinicist.

You can play like that on an acoustic..hot diggetty.


i'll have to have a look at Ovations site.

cheers

The guy's amazing, he plays drums parts while doing guitar parts, all on the same guitar...

I use my thumb extensively in my playing, though I hold my guitar in a standard fashion. I use my thumb a lot in chord melody playing to hold a bass note while I fool around with my other 4 fingers. I play some classical music, and though you're not supposed to, I use my thumb for it. One outstanding example I have would be Bach's Bouree in E Minor. Now the way I play chords and such, I can't think of a way to NOT use my thumb. Check out this chord, which I use often (keep in mind, you can use any note on the 6th string as a root. I'm using A for an example). 5, x, x, 6, 5, 4 = Amaj7
I use this type of chording extensively and it really helps me make some beautiful chords, which I otherwise wouldn't be able to reach.

It's weird that you mentionned Jeff Healey, I'm listening to him right now.

"I'll try, yes I'll try"

His version of While my guitar gently weeps is out of this world, so much emotion.

Has anybody been to Jeff Healey's club in Toronto?

I heard Jeff say once when asked did he develop that style because he was blind. He replied that that was the standard way to play lap slide. Funny thing, I don't think I've ever heard him play 'traditional' slide.

This dink of an interviewer also said, 'Not bad for a blind guy' to which Jeff replied, 'You're not too bad for a funny lookin' fella' Touche!