Thumb Position Frustration.

Going through the begineers courses, you are taught to position the Thumb of fretting hand around the second fret, pointing upwards with the top pad of the thumb just above or around the centre of the neck.....

As soon as the instructor's play if you watch thier fretting hand thumb it always seems to hook over the top of the neck almost muting the e string......

My frustration is what is the ideal thumb position for begineers?

Currently learning open cords and don't want to programme it in wrong, so do I keep top thumb pad at back of neck, around center, just above, or hook over neck even thou not trying to mute anything....

Confusing as you seem to be taught one way only to see everyone doing it another way, any advice greatly appreciated...

Originally Posted by: SteveHey

My frustration is what is the ideal thumb position for begineers?

Your thumb should be placed directly opposite your fingers on the back of the neck. And it can and should move to stay opposite your fingers depending on which strings your fingers are on. Your thumb should provide just enough pressure to keep your hand firmly in place on the neck and opposing pressure to help your fingers hold down any fretted notes.

Sometimes beginners squeeze too hard with their thumb and, or their fingers. Actually, this is sometimes a problem for some skilled guitarists, too! Remember that you want just enough pressure to get the job done. Not enough pressure will result in a poor sounding chord. But too much pressure is wasted effort and can over time hinder your ability to move quickly and effectively to the next chord or hand position.

I demonstrate this in the 3rd lesson of this tutorial:

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=605

Hope this helps! Please ask more if necessary. Keep practicing!