richh Posted October 6 Share Posted October 6 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeEvans Posted October 6 Share Posted October 6 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richh Posted October 6 Author Share Posted October 6 Thanks, appreciate the feedback, looking forward to hearing how other people do this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubrad Posted October 11 Share Posted October 11 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! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted October 11 Share Posted October 11 (edited) 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 October 11 by PaulWarning 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickA Posted October 15 Share Posted October 15 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted October 15 Share Posted October 15 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 😒 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilp Posted Saturday at 17:49 Share Posted Saturday at 17:49 In my youth, when I was seriously pursuing a musical career, my thumb lived consistently exactly behind my second finger. In my early 20s I had a car accident and broke the scaphoid in my left hand. Since then the base of my left thumb has been slightly deformed and slightly less mobile, so my thumb has migrated to a comfortable position closer to my first finger. There has to be some flexibility in technique to allow for individual anatomy - my long 2nd and 3rd fingers make thumb position interesting too - but try not to deviate too far from the "ideal", what initially feels good may end up doing you damage! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted Saturday at 21:31 Share Posted Saturday at 21:31 Isn't the thumb the first finger? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloopdad1 Posted 9 hours ago Share Posted 9 hours ago How to get the perfect left hand position.... 1, sit at a table with a standard pint glass in front of you. 2, In a relaxed way pick up the pint with your left hand. 3, look at your hand position around the glass. 4, that's the perfect technique... Simple Relaxed hand, fingers mobile, thumb basically opposite the second finger, slight curve in the thumb joints. On the bass it'll obviously just be the ball of your thumb and finger pads in contact with the neck / strings. (I bet you're all doing the pint thing now 🤣) You're welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnH89 Posted 9 hours ago Share Posted 9 hours ago 12 minutes ago, Bloopdad1 said: How to get the perfect left hand position.... 1, sit at a table with a standard pint glass in front of you. 2, In a relaxed way pick up the pint with your left hand. 3, look at your hand position around the glass. 4, that's the perfect technique... Simple Relaxed hand, fingers mobile, thumb basically opposite the second finger, slight curve in the thumb joints. On the bass it'll obviously just be the ball of your thumb and finger pads in contact with the neck / strings. (I bet you're all doing the pint thing now 🤣) You're welcome. Not quite got the hang of that after 45years . Best I practice with a few more pints until I've nailed it . I love basschat for all these great ideas . 🍺 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubrad Posted 4 hours ago Share Posted 4 hours ago Nice idea, but if the ball of your thumb is in contact with the neck you'll be seriously limiting your finger spread, very noticeably so on double bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickA Posted 2 hours ago Share Posted 2 hours ago 1 hour ago, hubrad said: Nice idea, but if the ball of your thumb is in contact with the neck you'll be seriously limiting your finger spread, very noticeably so on double bass. Explain please. My finger spread is limited by my short fat fingers, don't understand why my thumb is limiting it. Think bloopdad means the thumb pad ( the squishy bit opposite the thumb nail) rather than what is called ( I just learned) the "Thenar Eminence". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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