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The left-hand thumb – sooner or later, every guitarist needs to play with it, so why not practice using the thumb now?!
Have a look at all the features in this weeks piece of music (titled ‘The Outsider’):
extensive use of the left-hand thumb,
playing staccato (separated),
playing legato (connected),
6 awesome chords,
simple percussion,
a hammer-on,
- dead notes.
You can download it by clicking here (search for HG2 – The Outsider).
Print it. Use it. Make notes.
In this video, you can listen to it, you can watch me play it, and I’ll teach you through it:
And here is everything else you need to know. Enjoy!
💪 Action Steps
- Get comfortable playing a single note with your thumb (for example E string, fret 8).
- Play the same note in 4 ways: long and connected without gaps (legato), short and separated with gaps (staccato), muted without pitch (dead notes), as a hammer-on from open string to fretted note.
- Play bar 1 up to the first note of bar 2.
- Work on a good click sound (used in bars 2, 4, 7 & 9 on beat 4 and bar 3 on beats 2 & 4). Therefore, let your right hand loosely fall on the strings without applying pressure. Fingertips and thumb are instantly in position for plucking the strings again.
- Play bars 2-4 slowly without time pressure. Mind the details (legato, staccato, dead notes, percussion).
- Play bars 1-4 slowly in time. Introduce the metronome. 60 bpm (beats per minute) is a good starting point.
- Play bars 6-9 slowly without time pressure. Mind the details (legato, staccato, dead notes, percussion).
- Play bars 6-9 slowly in time. Introduce the metronome. 60 bpm (beats per minute) is a good starting point.
- Put everything together and play through the entire piece.
📈 Difficulty
4/10 (This gives you a rough idea of how difficult it is to play. If you feel it’s actually easier, great. If not, don’t feel bad.)
⏰ Time Estimation
1 week (This is a rough estimation that can vary widely. If you’re faster, great. If not, don’t feel bad.)
✏️ Extra Tips
- Feel the groove right after the top section of your thumb right at the edge of the guitar neck.
- Let your left hand and wrist hang down from there.
- Let the thumb point to your right leg.
- Place every fingertip and the thumb close to the fretwires.
- Use a metronome for accuracy. If you can’t seem to make sense of what you play and the metronome, if it confuses you, switch it off. It’s not the right moment to use it. Try again tomorrow.
🎯 Encouragement
Using the left-hand thumb doesn’t come equally naturally to every guitarist. I know from teaching guitar for over 16 years that some even struggle getting the thumb in position. If that’s you, take your time working on it. Keep your hand relaxed. You’ll get there!
Talk soon,
Florian from Hi Guitar
