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Liberation Movement: Learn to Free Your

Thumb
JANUARY 1, 2011

The thumb plays a key supporting role for the ngers of the left hand
 by Laurel Thomsen

The left-hand thumb can be a help or a hindrance. When kept in check, it orients our left hand within a position while
providing a counter-pressure for the nger action upon the strings. When it goes overboard it can cripple the left hand,
leading to issues with nger accuracy and velocity, vibrato, shifting, and playing health. Since the thumb does not play
any notes, it needs to do only what will support the other four ngers and their actions.

(http://i0.wp.com/stringsmagazine.stringlettermusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Play_Thumb.jpg)

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The Problem

The thumb on the left hand isn’t working in tandem with the other four ngers.

The Situation

The left-hand thumb can be a help or a hindrance. When kept in check, it orients our left hand within a position while
providing a counter-pressure for the nger action upon the strings. When it goes overboard it can cripple the left hand,
leading to issues with nger accuracy and velocity, vibrato, shifting, and playing health. Since the thumb does not play
any notes, it needs to do only what will support the other four ngers and their actions.
Here are ways to free your thumb:

The Solution

1. Get comfortable

Without your instrument, try raising and lowering your left hand into playing position several times, keeping your ngers
and hand relaxed.

With your instrument now, bring your left hand up into playing position. Is there any tendency to grip the neck? If so,
you may need to nd a more secure instrument hold. A fear of dropping your instrument will make relaxing your hand
very challenging.

Check and recheck your posture and instrument hold. Each time you bring your hand up to the neck release any tension
or gripping. There is nothing to fear!

2. Add counter-pressure

Since the nger action on the strings is a downward pressure, the thumb needs to provide an upward pressure.
In playing position, notice that your thumb pad gently adheres to the neck of the instrument. It’s really not going
anywhere you don’t tell it to go. Try dropping the second nger onto a string and let your thumb press upward rather
than inward (Fig. 1).

A relaxed thumb will do this naturally, providing the counter-pressure needed for the ngers to depress the strings
without the gripping that makes fast ngers, excellent intonation, and smooth shifting nearly
impossible.

3. Watch the positioning

Place all four ngers in any nger pattern on the A string in rst position. Slide the thumb into a place where all four
ngers feel equally strong and comfortable. Now try another pattern, and another, adjusting your thumb as necessary
each time.

You are discovering the thumb position that supports each nger placement, likely somewhere between the rst and
second ngers of each pattern (Fig. 2). This is home base. However, there is no reason why you can’t make minor thumb
movements while playing to facilitate the placement of your other ngers, especially if your ngers are relatively short.

To practice, as you prepare to place a fourth nger, move your thumb in the direction of the fourth nger for an easier
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reach. When stretching back for a low rst nger, move your thumb slightly toward the scroll. Focus on strong, secure
ngers and thumb adjustments that help. Return to home base after each adjustment.

4. Check your vibrato

A relaxed thumb will aid vibrato while a tense one will sti e it. In a good wrist vibrato the wrist will cause the thumb to
pivot slightly, in opposition to the rocking nger. As your nger rocks back toward the scroll the thumb will rock toward
you and vice versa (Fig. 3). For arm vibrato the thumb will generally rock in the same direction as the nger (Fig. 4).
Practice vibrato slowly at rst as you learn to let your thumb move. Thumb movement will especially help those with a
fast and narrow vibrato to slow and broaden it.

Comments

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Asher Wade · Doctor of Psychology at Psychotherapist, private practice

Have you ever watched Itzhak Perlman's left thumb while he's performing-? ....it's like a golf-flag in a wind
storm, ..thus, I'm sticking with him.
�
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