RH-010-011 • Hendrix Style Rhythm Guitar 1 and 2

[FrançoisSarrand]

Ok. Thank you very much for your quick answers.
Keep rockin'

[thepicnicband]

Hello to all and a special "thank you" to Justin whose few lessons that I've done so far have really inspired. Justin, you explain it all so well and I can tell you are a pretty "centred" and patient soul. So thanks. Greets from a fellow atheist too by the way. If there is one thing that deserves a loud belly laugh it is religion.

I've been trying for quite some time now to use the "thumb over" technique (mainly to get that Fmaj7 with the F bass for "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You") but my thumb just won't comply and it's feeling pretty sore now so I've decided that I've got to find another way of doing it. I'm using an F barre to do it now but still can't do the change into it very smoothly and so often the bass F doesn't ring out as it should but is more of a "thud" than an F. I've watched the Hendrix Rhythm video of course but try as I might, my own thumb just doesn't work that way and I've given up trying to do that. I'm now working on trying to improve the change to a regular barred F.

It seems to me that many have had the same difficulty in using their thumb, judging from the number of posts on the subject and I was wondering if anyone else has been using a normal barred F instead. It seems to be the logical alternative.
If so, then has anyone else had trouble at first making the change but gone on to master it?

Ben.

[Dan77]

I have a question about the thumb-over grip/position. When i try it i cant seem to get a sound at the 1st string, no matter how many changes i make in how i hold the grip/position.

Also another concern is the 5th string, my fingers arent that long so im having trouble getting a sound at the 5th string. I can mute the 5th string easily and get a decent sound at the 6th string. If i where to try to make the 5th string decent in a thumb over grip is causes some discomfort in my fretting hand.

Is this the case or it just happens when im trying it out for the few instances im learning it.

[bjs]

Hi Justin/Everyone,

Thought i would join as i have a question and thought i might be able to get some advice/help hopefully.

I've been playing guitar for around 5/6 years, i've always used the technique of playing the third of the chord way rather than playing a chord with the root note on the A string (basically how it is shown in hendrix rythym guitar 1), however i've never used the thumb as the root note before or to mute the a string whilst playing the root note with the thumb. I've seen people like Hendrix use it before but the past few months i've really been getting into Mayer and saw him live, never realised how much he used this thumb technique and what a difference it can make to the possibilites with chords.

So i have a couple of questions,

1. I've been attempting it recently and i'm finding it hard to do yet i've played for around 5 years, is this normal?
2. Whenever i do seem to get it right, my thumb isn't straight, it's more the left of it is leaning onto the E string and it's just below the fold between the top of the thumb and the middle which is playing the root note, is this the right way to go about it/normal or should i attempt to make my thumb more straight?
3. I'm going to keep practicing it although i'm getting a slight bit of pain in my finger when i do it, is the pain normal? it usually goes around 15 minutes after i stop playing.
4. Could it be that my guitar is affecting how good it sounds or should this not matter? The reason why i ask is because i play a Gibson Les Paul Standard, the neck is quite fat compared to thin fender necks, etc...

If you could help Justin/anyone that would be great!

Thanks!

[komani86]

@bj's: NO PAIN NO GAIN. Just be careful that its normal "exhausting" feeling that takes longer and longer to come after each time you practice this grip. Playing 5 years can make you a good player for sure, but this grip is really difficult! I'm in my first year, much to learn much to do..

I'm trying to get the hang of it for 2 weeks now and I can get the grip down without buzzing any strins, but as soon as I use my pinker for anything else then the 1st string (the 2nd/3rd) my shape gets messed up..
I do it in my daily practice routine for 5 mins, seems to help that I do other stuff next to it

And as many people said, it helps if you have a neck that fits your hand. For the one its a flatter neck the other a rounder neck..
I'm thinking i made a mistake with my new guitar.. the neck is a bit flatter and maybe if the neck was a bit rounder/bigger I could get more pressure.

Oh and dont forget to finger stretch!
I have slightly bigger than avarage hands btw.

[Caribou115]

im practicing this grip for a week now.

And yes, im having troubles with my thumb but also with forming a bar for the e and B string with my index, strangely enough. I guess I should just keep practicing?  I really want to get this chord down, but i wont be done in a jiffy apparently...

[komani86]

@Carbiou15: I got the grip down and can play around with it confidently at the 3rd and 5th fret. The other frets arent that confident (yet). It's really fun to mix it up (like justin said) in your playing.

I think its the same when you first learn barre chords its like "omg how is this possible" but when you keep practicing at one point you'll be like "meh what was so hard about this grip?"

Good luck!

[Caribou115]

yeah i know what you mean. Its already starting to improve, lol. I should just keep practicing instead of whining that things are hard on the forum .

[Nikhil]

Is it advisable to try out the thumb-over grip on an acoustic guitar ? I am yet to buy an electric guitar hence wanted to try it out on the acoustic just to get an idea of it. Is neck width of acoustic guitar too much for this sort of thing ?

When I try to use my thumb to play the sixth string and mute the fifth , I am unable to play the first two strings by my index, just as some other people on this thread.

Should I wait till I get an electric guitar ? Or is there a work around for playing Hendrix style G-chord on acoustic guitar?

[Guitar_noob]

Is it advisable to try out the thumb-over grip on an acoustic guitar ?

I guess it depends on the size of the neck of your acoustic guitar. However, most acoustic guitars have quite big necks so it might be more difficult. I'd wait for the electric but you can give it a try though. Just don't try too hard and hurt yourself.

I also have a question. After a few days of playing using the Hendrix style E shaped barre chord, I'm starting to get it. The low E is buzzing a bit but it's OK. This chord grip opens many doors (Frusciante, here I come !! )

My main problem : hammering on the high E and B string using the pinky (no problem with the above strings). When I play this chord grip, my hand is still very tense (not natural) and hammer ons keep on buzzing, at best. My pinky is having a hard time moving on his own in this position.

I'm quite vague here, but do you have any advice ?

[Guitar_noob]

Is it advisable to try out the thumb-over grip on an acoustic guitar ? I am yet to buy an electric guitar hence wanted to try it out on the acoustic just to get an idea of it. Is neck width of acoustic guitar too much for this sort of thing ?

Here's a good example of this technique used on an acoustic guitar : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O51V1JOty3Q.

[stitch101]

Here's a lesson from Justin on slash chords using the thumb over technique. If your taking the beginner
course and aren't this far yet you may frustrate yourself by trying this to early.
http://www.justinguitar.com/en/BC-191-EasySlash-chord.php

[Guitar_noob]

Another good illustration of the two techniques shown in Justin videos : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVpN7v97URg

It's happening mostly during the outro (from 4:30).

Love that song by the way .

[mike_k_houghton]

Hi,
Could someone please explain the strumming and fingering that happens at around 1:13 to 1:15?



Thanks

Mike

[useDraW]

i wanna stress that if i can do hendrix thumbed barre chords you can too, whoever you are, eventually it gets easier but it's a physically taxing technique like hetfield constant downpicking keep in mind.