jdowning
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All Thumbs? - Traditional Left Hand technique
Many paintings of lutenists of the 16th C - who are playing five or six course lutes - show the thumb of the left hand curling over the fingerboard,
possibly to stop the bass string?
This is a technique used today by some jazz guitar players but not by classical guitar players who place the thumb under the centerline of the neck -
as do most lute players.
What is the traditional technique used by oud players? I note that some oud players allow the thumb of the left hand to extend over the bass side of
the fingerboard but do they also stop the bass string with the thumb?
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jdowning
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... or to put it another way ...
1 - is it standard technique for an oud player to allow the thumb of the left hand to stick out and to 'ride' along the bass side of the fingerboard -
in order to guide the hand while playing?
2 - also, is it standard technique for the thumb of the left hand to be used to stop the bass string on the fingerboard - by curling the thumb over
the fingerboard?
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Benjamin
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I don't know if I have enough experience to be able to speak about what is traditionnal technique but I have been taught by professionnal teachers
that your thumb should be back to the neck and not on the finger board, it has no use to the strings. But I guess this traditionnal would-be practice
is challenged by innovations today. Anyway it is still uncommon to see it, apart with beginners who come from guitar, and some great oud player who
have the "authority" to try such experiments, taking into account their experience and knowledge in traditionnal oud.
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zalzal
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I have also seen the contrary. Oudist that use there thumb not to stop the bass string, but moving up with the nail part of the thumb the last bass
strings and sounding tremendous bass CCCCCCCCCC,
Let's say that in arabic music and medieval music there is no harmony, only melody. Then, let's elucubrate, the thumb finger may have been allways
used in arabic and medieval music to avoid any suspect harmonical sound by stopping bass strings longer vibrations. As a result the position of the
thumb became a traditional technique in both lutes and ouds.
I have heard fm today oud teachers that thumb must just stand on the fingerboard for a good traditional technique .
But in music today there is no "must".
I think it depends on the physionomics of yr thumb finger. And any technique and any use of any finger of any hand any where in the oud is allways
gooooooooooooooooood. All techniques are welcome.
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jdowning
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Thanks for your response Benjamin and zalzal. Very interesting.
I agree that use of any technique - if it works for you, regardless of whether or not it is traditional - is valid. The end justifies the means! I had
not thought of the thumb being used to damp string vibration.
Oddly enough, after decades of looking at pictures of lute players from the 15th and 16th C, I have only just noticed that a significant number
portray the lutenist with left hand thumb projecting above or over the fingerboard - a hand position that I would find difficult to emulate. This is
regardless of whether or not the lutenist is playing monophonic style with a plectrum (like the oud) or polyphonic 'finger style'.
This well known image of an oud player from 12th C "Spain" shows the left hand thumb positioned well clear of the fingerboard
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jdowning
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For information, here are some images taken from the excellent instruction manual "The Art of Ragtime Guitar", Schirmer Books, New York, 1974,
illustrating the left hand technique in question very well. The authors (the staff of Green Note Music Publications) note that fretting with the thumb
- although frowned upon by classical guitarists - is fairly common in other styles of guitar playing adding that a number of chords cannot be formed
except by resorting to this technique.
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Marina
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"thumb of the left hand curling over the fingerboard, possibly to stop the bass string?"
No way. Do not do this. 
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mavrothis
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Why not? My first teacher used his thumb on the 6th string sometimes, usually to hit a note an octave lower than what he just played on the 3rd
string. I used to do it a lot in the beginning too, and still use my thumb every once in a while. I definitely don't think it is necessary, but why
not experiment with it?
It's just a matter of moving your hand back to the more typical position after you've used your thumb that would be helpful, so you are not losing out
on stretchability of your four fingers on the other side of the neck. After all, if you are not using your thumb much, why have it perched over the
6th string when you could rotate the hand a little and have more of your four fingers available to play wherever you want on the fingerboard?
mavrothis
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Benjamin
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The problem in using your thumb to play the bass string isn't the fact that you are using an "untraditionnal technic" only -as you said Zalzal all
techniques are welcome- but the very fact that the new position of your hand don't allow a fluid and efficient play down your fingerboard then (I mean
in the high notes). So it depends again on your style and what you wanna play maybe
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