Guitar Hand Positioning for Beginners

Take a look at this picture of Jimi backing up Wilson Pickett with Cornell Dupree riding shotgun. Jimi has his thumb over the top of the neck. But the left hand is more telling - he has his pinky and ring fingers touching the guitar while the thumb and index fingers hold the pick. Too bad we can't see Cornell Dupree's hands for comparison!

Often, I notice that my beginning guitar students don’t know how to position their hands to get the best sound and technique. It may feel a little awkward at first to make some of the technical adjustments I’m going to suggest below, but it will be easier in the long run to play more fluently. Examine different guitar players’ hand positions. You’ll see many commonalities and little idiosyncratic differences, as well. But the end result is clear: You can improve your sound and technique with proper, efficient positioning. Take a look at the video below.

 

Let’s start with the left hand, where the question is, what are you doing with the left hand thumb? (sorry, lefties, simply reverse, as always ;-) Except for when you’re playing bar chords, the thumb is wrapped around the neck, coming over the top. It’s not fixed – it can move around, going more towards the back of the neck as you fret notes on the low E string.

The reasons for this are 1) You need your thumb to mute the low E string when playing chords such as D major. The thumb acts like a convenient mute on a hinge that you can use to lightly touch the low E and stop it from ringing. This way, you can strum a chord like D, or B7 freely without hitting the dissonant E note down at the bottom and ruining the sound of the chord. 2) The thumb gives you leverage, support and balance when bending strings or using vibrato in the rock/blues style.

Jimmy Page - Left hand thumb over the top of the neck, left hand fingers angled, right hand thumb and index fingers hold the pick while the rest of the fingers touch the face of the guitar in support.

Now, let’s look at the right hand. What’s the most basic thing you can think of in terms of right hand positioning and technique? Of course, how you hold the pick is important but this concept applies even if you’re not using a pick. The answer is, are you touching the guitar and strings (apart from picking) when you play? Or are you floating freely? Let’s look at some of the possibilities.

When they strum chords rapidly, many pickers fold up their right hand middle, ring and pinky into the palm. However, when they play single notes, they touch the guitar face, pickguard, strings, or bridge in some way with their picking hand. This facilitates picking because your thumb and index fingers (which are holding the pick) “know” where they are in relation to another part of the guitar, namely where the other fingers are touching the guitar. It also provides balance and support.

Here St. Vincent has her left hand thumb around the top of the neck with the angled fingers, however the right hand is holding the whammy bar showing how mobility is essential and inevitable - nothing works for everything!

Many guitarists touch the guitar face with the pinky and ring fingers or both at the same time, leaving the middle finger free to pick notes. This gives support and provides the “knowing where you are” factor. When I pick on the low E string, I often touch the high E string as well with the ring and pinky, adding to the support. Additionally, the heel of the right hand can rest on the bridge, bass side, providing support or “palm muting.”

There are players who only rest the heel of the hand on the bridge for support. It leaves the right hand ring finger free for picking notes down on the treble side. I call this the “Nashville Style.” Look at some country pickers. Of course, there will be experienced and virtuosic players who use both styles.

The great John McLaughlin displays the angled left hand fingers positioning that is effective for so many electric guitar techniques.

Another left hand concern is the angle of the fingers. In the rock style, the index, middle, ring and pinky fingers generally slant towards the body of the guitar to some degree. This enables stretching, the index finger vibrato, pull-offs, bends and many other things. Think of a C Chord – your fingers are on an angle. If they’re not, you’re going to have a strain and probably tension. This is a bit more of a subtle technique so don’t worry about it immediately. The left hand thumb and when and how to touch the guitar with your right hand are more important. -Christian Botta

Finally, the Jester displays his lute technique which is irrelevant to our discussion, although he does appear to be supporting his right hand fingers with his pinky. However, he does have a lesson to impart: Always enjoy yourself. And as James Williamson once said, "Look like you come from out of town."

Comments

[Jos]

Hi Chris,

By accident I found your site. And I see that you're offering interesting information. Like this article about left/right hand positioning, with examples of famous players. Very helpful

I do appreciate this and the other content of your site very much.

You have a new follower in me.

Thanks and regards,

Jos

[On Practicing Guitar]

Hi Jos,
Thanks for stopping by. I'm glad there is information here that can benefit your guitar playing. What kind of music do you like? What are you working on? The hand positioning issue is something that all levels of players will think about from time to time. If you let me know what you're working on, I can recommend some other posts.
-Chris