Left hand thumb - behind 2nd finger?

[richh]

I've seen various videos and the rule of thumb (sorry about that) is that the position of the thumb should always be right behind the 2nd finger.

 

But... watching live players, it looks to me that some players have their thumb closer to the nut, nearer the 1st finger.  Anybody have any experience or thoughts please?

 

I understand the logic of this, but I'm curious if everybody actually does this.  It feels more comfortable to me to have the thumb further back.  Thanks for your info on this!

[JoeEvans]

I personally try not to fix the thumb in any one position. The focus for me is on the fingers, working on getting them to land on their tips so that the last joint is standing up on the string, not flat on it. Like that, the thumb isn't squeezing much - it wants to be relaxed and loose, just doing its own thing as it sees fit. Then as you come up the neck, the thumb slides up round the side and in due course hops onto the fingerboard to join the rest of the gang.

[richh]

Thanks, appreciate the feedback, looking forward to hearing how other people do this!

[hubrad]

2 piccies.. 1st position I have my thumb right between 1st and 2nd fingers. When I get to the heel of the neck it's behind the first then comes around to the side of the fingerboard. Working on thumb position.

Not something I've specifically concentrated on, but by far the most comfortable positioning so I can get on with the playing. 

A good teacher may well point out the shortcomings of my thinking!

[PaulWarning]

having my bass low, I spend a lot of time with my thumb rapped around the neck to damp the E string, I don't actually think about where my thumb is

edit, oh yeah I play with a pick

another edit, I just played some songs, my thumb is never behind the neck, always on top

Edited Friday at 11:15 by PaulWarning

[NickA]

On 11/10/2024 at 12:05, PaulWarning said:

edit, oh yeah I play with a pick

Guess that's not a double bass then! 😂.  Tho left hand thumb damping the e string is somewhat unorthodox even on electric!

 

Personally I aspire to thumb behind second finger ( on dB and electric)

 

But that's maybe my cellist upbringing.  With all the forward and backward finger extensions cellists use, it's essential to know where your thumb is as that's what defines your "position". Also from a sustain / tenuto / vibrato perspective finger 2 is usually considered the strongest so having your thumb behind it is handy.

 

On a double bass your position is more defined by where your index finger is placed, so thumb is less important .. and I find that my thumb usually ends up between index and middle finger.  At the neck, having the joy of an Eflat neck (😁) I have two options, but usually go for first finger on D and thumb behind 2nd finger, but can shift to first finger on Eflat and thumb behind first finger before going for thumb positions.

 

However, if you plan on using (Rabbatt) pivots, you need to know where your thumb is!  Exactly where might not be important, but consistency matters.

 

 

 

[PaulWarning]

31 minutes ago, NickA said:

Guess that's not a double bass then! 😂.  Tho left hand thumb damping the e string is somewhat unorthodox even on electric!

 

Personally I aspire to thumb behind second finger ( on dB and electric)

 

But that's maybe my cellist upbringing.  With all the forward and backward finger extensions cellists use, it's essential to know where your thumb is as that's what defines your "position". Also from a sustain / tenuto / vibrato perspective finger 2 is usually considered the strongest so having your thumb behind it is handy.

 

On a double bass your position is more defined by where your index finger is placed, so thumb is less important .. and I find that my thumb usually ends up between index and middle finger.  At the neck, having the joy of an Eflat neck (😁) I have two options, but usually go for first finger on D and thumb behind 2nd finger, but can shift to first finger on Eflat and thumb behind first finger before going for thumb positions.

 

However, if you plan on using (Rabbatt) pivots, you need to know where your thumb is!  Exactly where might not be important, but consistency matters.

 

 

 

opps, silly me, didn't notice it was on the DB forum 😒