playing the basics

For my next lesson i again referred back to Hal Leonard's Guitar Method to instruct me on how to better my playing skills when it comes to guitar. After my last accomplishment of learning how to perfect the C chord i moved onto other progressive chords and strumming styles as to reach the frets better, since my fingers aren't very long.
What i lacked the first time was going over the basics of proper guitar playing, i was trying to go to the more complicated playing styles right away without even bothering with the basics Hal Leonard says to place the thumb in the back of the neck roughly opposite of the second finger (pg.6) i had never ever thought of this previously when playing i had always had my thumb away from the back but when i applied this technique it was easier to play the strings and the music was much clearer as seen in the video.The next thing i looked and saw was that Hal says "Strive for finger efficiency and relaxation." (pg.6) before i had thought of this i had just went for it when i was playing but the key is to be one with your guitar. Relax and let your fingers guide you, i hadn't thought of this so i was always rigid and stuff in place making the music muted and stuck sounding, When i relaxed i was able to play more effectively and clearly producing a better sound.
After realizing all of this i was able to better reflect and realize what i was doing wrong in the first place thanks to Leonard and his teachings. I hope next to learn more of the basics such as proper finger placement and arching of the fingers which will hopefully be talked about in my next blog post.


WHAT DO YOU THINK SHOULD YOUR THUMB BE PLACED ON THE GUITARS NECK?

Citation:
Leonard, Hal Complete Addition: Guitar Method Leonard Hal, 1997