[Parkerlazarus]

I just want to hear what everyone here thinks. I tried doing a search and didn't find anything on this, so I apologize if this is an old topic.

What do you believe that the correct fret-hand position should be? I've heard alot about how the thumb should be placed on the back of the neck which allows for greater range of motion and more pressure to be applied tothe strings. But it seems that most of the people I see play with the thumb laying along the back of the neck and just use their thumb for the Low E and A strings. Is it all a matter of comfort, or is there something more to this?

I myself find it hard to play with my thumb anchored to the neck, though it does help for a lot of the chords since my fingers are not that long. Any advice on this? Playing slower until it becomes more natural?

Thanks

[Fretsource]

Thumb behind the neck is the standard classical guitar position. It works well on nylon string guitars with their wider necks, but not so well on narrow necked acoustics or electrics. It's good for classical technique but not so good for non-classical techniques such as string bending. If you check some videos of the world's greatest non classical guitarists, such as, Chet Atkins, Doc Watson, Merle Travis, Joe Pass (a little) and Django Reinhardt you'll often see their thumb sitting proudly above the neck.

[Donovan]

Playing slow and studying in detail the motions your fingers are making is never a bad thing when practicing. Slowing things down so you can order each finger to do exactly what it's supposed to do instead of some random "tries" is better for building muscle memory correctly and of course when things are slow, you can also spot wrong/unneeded movements more easily.

As for the fretting hand position... It's more than just a matter of comfort. Thumb-over and thumb-behind are two different positions used in different situations. There's no universal "correct" position. As you mentioned, thumb-behind is for better range of motion and putting your fingers more straight onto the fretboard (thus making applying pressure easier). Thumb-over is used primarily when bending strings and sometimes also for fretting/muting the bass string(s).

Mind that with thumb-behind you don't necessariy anchor your thumb in one position. Depending on the chords/notes you are playing at that moment, the thumb shifts and twists with the rest of the hand position, so that the thumb keeps the entire hand in balance while the fingers push onto the fretboard. It's like waving your arms around when standing on one foot: the thumb makes sure the hand stays in balance, while the fingers do their thing

[Chaotic Kittie]

Depends. Myself I play nearly exclusively with my thumb over the neck when standing, except for things that require otherwise. Obviously, when playing stuff with lots of barrechords and stretchy things I keep my guitar higher, for power chord bashing and soloing I keep it as low as I can (my right shoulder doesn't like the guitar being at stomach-height or higher). When sitting I vary it, depending on which is more comfortable, but my most common rule is: for open chords, thumb over neck, for anything else, thumb behind neck.

[Justapicker]

Hand position varies according to what you are playing. Behind the neck is the "default" position for most things. It places your hand in the most advantageous position to move around the fretboard fluidly. However, if you are doing a lot of string bending, having the thumb planted behind the neck isn't gonna work out really well. Sometimes you'll want to fret a string with your thumb (that is even true in some classical pieces) and then return to the "default" position.