Left hand position for guitar

Left hand position for guitar

"Playing guitar with your left hand should be effortless, or at least approaching effortless. There's no need to strain when you play."

There are four different left hand guitar positions that tend to happen. It's important to your guitar technique that you understand each of these left hand positions when playing guitar.

The four positions

	The Thumb Over This left ahnd guitar position is commonly used in most styles except from classical and flamenco. It's useful when bending strings, but can be helpful also in some chord formations. Try to use as little of your thumb as possible when you reach over to press the string down. This reduces the torquing of the wrist. Try to reach with your thumb as opposed to pushing your wrist up to reach the guitar string. Notice the position of the wrist. Try to keep it as aligned as possible.
	The Vice Grip Ease up there buddy. This is one you want to avoid. This photo shows you what the thumb looks like when you're squeezing too hard. Note the fleshy part of the thumb. Try to make this part of your thumb as soft as possible, the more the tension the harder this muscle is. Notice the shape of the thumb. When your pressing it arches backwards, concave-like.
	The Hitch-hiker I find myself slipping into this left hand guitar position more than any of the others. For me it doesn't hurt my guitar technique because I keep my fingers and wrist in proper alignment. But it may slow me down a little Hand is still relaxed, and reach is still maximum if needing to stretch the pinky and/or index. Wrist is not hyper-extended. It should stay slightly bent as shown. See the space between the palm and the neck.
	The soft touch or the bottle This is the left hand guitar position to shoot for as the reference point while you play. Hand still relaxed, and reach still maximum if needing to stretch the pinky and/or index. Wrist is not hyper-extended. It should stay slightly bent as shown. Thumb lightly touching the center of the back of the neck. Thumb relaxed and not concave like in the vice grip. No unnecessary tension. Without the guitar, your hand should look as if it were holding a bottle.

Possible problems and their causes

1. strings sound muted or buzzing
2. can't articulate the notes
3. hitting too many unwanted notes
4. left wrist is uncomfortable or twisted
5. can't reach the notes that I should be able to
6. left hand keeps cramping
7. joint are sore in my left hand

Wrist Finger issues:

Fingers are not perpendicular to the fretboard, they are either slanted towards the headstock or they are too straight. See left hand mechanics for correct finger position. Palm is raised to the back of the neck too much causing your joint at your fingers and hand to be too close to the fretboard.