Jake Shimabukuro

Jeff Peterson discussing fretting hand positioning. Thumb in the middle of the back of the neck, right behind the middle finger:

https://youtu.be/RLJ2QzL3eq0?t=1714

geetee said:

Jeff Peterson discussing fretting hand positioning. Thumb in the middle of the back of the neck, right behind the middle finger

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This is the position that I’ve been taught by several ukulele instructors as well over the years. Personally for me, I cannot play with my thumb over the neck.

Interestingly, I’ve even seen some ukulele players able to make the D chord shape with just their thumb over the neck of the uke.

Craig Chee and Sarah Maisel also advocate for thumb to the side and neck resting at joint where index finger meet the palm as the default position. But they also say that you have to start adapting with bar chords, etc. I that position is more stable, especially for newbies. But putting the thumb behind the neck opens you up for more hand positions that might be necessary to play the things Jake does.

I teach and I used to go around on this issue. My take on it is that the thumb really is necessary for more advanced chords and working up the neck. But for cowboy chords, do whatever you like. . . and I think it's good to just get beginners up and running.

Captain America said:

I teach and I used to go around on this issue. My take on it is that the thumb really is necessary for more advanced chords and working up the neck. But for cowboy chords, do whatever you like. . . and I think it's good to just get beginners up and running.

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I've never given a thought to where my thumb goes. It winds up naturally where it is most comfortable. I'm not going to change now because an instructor says I should.

Jerryc41 said:

I've never given a thought to where my thumb goes. It winds up naturally where it is most comfortable. I'm not going to change now because an instructor says I should.

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This. Who cares! Log 10,000 hours practice time and then tell me if you’re still micromanaging where your thumb lands. Everyone’s body is different, just do what feels good to you and most importantly just practice. Nothing else matters... the value’s in the application there is literally no other way to get good.

King David said:

This. Who cares! Log 10,000 hours practice time and then tell me if you’re still micromanaging where your thumb lands. Everyone’s body is different, just do what feels good to you and most importantly just practice. Nothing else matters... the value’s in the application there is literally no other way to get good.

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I disagree. I played guitar for about twenty years and, because I ignored proper technique for fretting in favor of doing what felt more comfortable and what I thought looked cool, I ended up severely damaging my wrist where now I can’t play guitar for longer than about fifteen minutes without being in some pretty gnarly pain.

Also, it’s not just 10,000 hours that makes you good. It’s 10,000 hours of actively trying to get good and one of the ways that happens is by not building roadblocks for yourself down the road with bad technique.

Regarding the thumb thing, I usually hang it over the fretboard unless I require more intricate chords where the leverage of my thumb on the neck would help out. You can see something similar in the guitar world: Dimebag from Pantera would play riffs with his thumb over the neck and then solo with it behind the neck for more reach.

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https://learn.masterclass.com/college-student-offer

LukuleleStrings said:

I disagree. I played guitar for about twenty years and, because I ignored proper technique for fretting in favor of doing what felt more comfortable and what I thought looked cool, I ended up severely damaging my wrist where now I can’t play guitar for longer than about fifteen minutes without being in some pretty gnarly pain.

Also, it’s not just 10,000 hours that makes you good. It’s 10,000 hours of actively trying to get good and one of the ways that happens is by not building roadblocks for yourself down the road with bad technique.

Regarding the thumb thing, I usually hang it over the fretboard unless I require more intricate chords where the leverage of my thumb on the neck would help out. You can see something similar in the guitar world: Dimebag from Pantera would play riffs with his thumb over the neck and then solo with it behind the neck for more reach.

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I truly think most people have a little variety in their technique that is unavoidable, but the biggest consistent form discussion I’ve ever seen is where to place one’s thumb. Personally, I play a LOT of thumbover on guitar, leaving the high e string open to “ring” and add a little depth to some of my chords like F and Bm. I also can’t play for 15 mins straight if I play strictly with my thumb on the back of the neck as is recommended by the teachers, and I never have been able to. Not when I was 11 and not now.

With ukulele, the neck is narrow enough that I don’t run into any issues with either technique so I switch as I go, when it feels appropriate. Right now I’m playing a lot of Gm - A - E progressions which push me to alternate thumb-back thumbover and back again, and strangely enough the alternation helps to prevent muscle fatigue and “lock up” where if I’m playing in any one style for too long I get pain in my forearm or palm.

Looking at the videos in the thread it seems like Jake does the same, although he tries to teach the thumb on the back as much as possible. Sometimes your hand does what it needs to in order to play the chord and deliver the right sound. We can try and teach best practices, but a master is going to do what they will to produce the sounds they want and that will inevitably come with variations and unique presentations of technique that just don’t translate easily to instruction because everyone is different. WHEN that’s the case, it’s best to try and teach one method and hope that the student develops their feel as they go — because I’ve never seen someone get more stuck in their development when they try to do something that doesn’t feel natural to them no matter how long they’ve tried it.

experimentjon said:

For those on the edge, $1 for 1 year of masterclass today for college students.

https://learn.masterclass.com/college-student-offer

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"This offer is no longer available."

And the cost of registering for college is way too high. I don't know how long that offer ran, but they should have kept it going. Do they think college students are going to sign up at the regular price?

bynapkinart said:

...the biggest consistent form discussion I’ve ever seen is where to place one’s thumb.

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Funny! I guess that the only downside to humans having an opposable thumb - that and hitting it with a hammer.

I still say that I would sign up for a month or more if I could pay just $15 each month.

bynapkinart said:

...although he tries to teach the thumb on the back as much as possible.

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Can you point to some instances of this, please? It sure sounded like "this or the high way" in his first how to hold a uke video.

Mike $ said:

Jake is so good, I'd have to think twice before taking beginner lessons from him.

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Thanks for this, it is hilarious.

Neil_O said:

Thanks for this, it is hilarious.

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Good one. I wish I had thought of that. That looks like a young Jake.