What if the hand position you were taught is actually the thing holding you back?
In this video, I test thumb behind vs thumb over to see which hand position actually works better for blues and rock guitar. We’ll compare both setups using real musical examples and judge them on the things that matter most: relaxation, tone, muting, bending, vibrato, and overall control.
If your left hand feels tight, your bends feel weak, or your playing sounds too clean, stiff, or lifeless, this may be the real reason. I’ll show you why so many teachers push the thumb-behind classical hand position, why so many great players like Hendrix, Clapton, Page, Santana, SRV, and Slash keep the thumb over the neck, and which one actually makes more sense for rock and blues guitar technique.
We’ll use examples from:
Sweet Child O’ Mine
Voodoo Child
Wonderful Tonight
So if you’ve ever wondered whether your guitar hand position is helping your playing or quietly holding it back, this video will make the answer pretty clear.
If you want me to look at your playing directly, I offer Biomechanical Technique Analysis, where I break down exactly what your hands are doing, what’s holding you back, and what needs to change.
Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:43 The Two Positions 01:24 Relaxation Test 03:50 Tone Test 06:32 Bending Test 09:02 Final Takeaway
Topics covered:
thumb behind vs thumb over, guitar hand position, blues guitar technique, rock guitar technique, left hand guitar technique, guitar biomechanics, bending technique, vibrato technique, muting technique, fretting hand position, classical guitar hand position vs rock hand position
✔️ Get Your Technique Analyzed !
Get biomechanical analysis, feedback and a custom practice routine:
——————————————————————————————————-
————————————————————————————————————–
👉 Want to Fix Your Technique FAST?
✔️ Hand Mechanics Workshop (Biomechanics Deep Dive)
Learn the biomechanics behind clean playing, speed, muting, tendon efficiency, and injury-free technique:
