Left Hand Playing Position

Good left-hand position results in good playing, bad hand position results in bad playing. You play with your fingers, not the palm of your hand...so the palm of your hand shouldn't touch the neck. (There are exceptions to this rule, in special circumstances, but they are rare).

See in the photo on the left how my hand forms a "C" and my palm isn't touching the neck. Notice how my wrist is almost straight, not tilted away from me. When I am playing in this position, my fingers are fretting the notes almost straight up, which results in being able to play one string without muffling the one next to it.

Here's another view. By arching my fingers over the neck, with my hand in a "C" position, I have quick access to all of the strings, and control over my fingering. If I collapse my hand, with palm flat against the back of the neck, my movement is handicapped and clumsy. I'm using a banjo for this photo, but this hand position principle works for all stringed instruments.

My thumb against the neck, as in the picture, acts as a pivot point, or anchor, to my fingering. With this hand position, I am free to move my fingers really quickly and accurately, using my thumb as a point of reference. My thumb keeps my hand steady, but is out of the way. As you can see, I have huge hands...your thumb might actually be behind the neck, not overlapping like mine.

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