fahey and thumb over technique.

["William Walker" <billwalker@baymoon.com>]

Rick wrote

I know it's considered bad technique but I'm loving using my thumb to fret the bass strings on some chords.

It just feels more comfortable to my hand than the typical barre chords that everyone uses.

 

Tell that to Jimi Hendrix, or Richie Havens, or any one of a number of rock and roll icons of that same era, Jimmy Page, David Gilmour, even Slow Hand himself. Sometimes a skinny neck warrants this technique. Late 60’s transitional era strats had pretty skinny necks , so may it was a “necessity is the mother of invention” kind of thing as well. In the case of Hendrix, some of his stuff is damn near impossible to play without using the thumb. I believe in the classical and jazz traditions,  it is considered it bad or unorthodox, but try using thumb over on a classical guitar width neck and its next to impossible unless your hands are huge.

Bill