Re: Left hand/thumb position/technique
I think the thumb needs to go where it needs when it needs to.
I follow what Mike Marshall says, that the hand position needs to do what it needs to in order to fret a chord properly. It may tend to be closer to a wrap on certain chords, but the general rules should still apply. You don't want the palm collapsed against the neck of the instrument, gripping it like a baseball bat. For melody, you will always want the straight wrist, open palm as that offers you the most range and speed. You want that gap between the thumb and the first finger as you hold it.
My thumb mainly rides along the top edge of the neck, ranging down a bit when I mainly play on the A and E strings. Within the last several months, I have been really working on the left hand position, and I find that keeping your first finger lightly anchored at the nut (moving it up the neck of course as you need to), with your fingers approaching the string at an angle is key. A lighter grip on the neck has allowed my thumb to move around a lot more, and I can see my callous starting to expand a bit towards the pad, instead of building up on the edge of my thumb.
How long have you been playing? I had this same question bugging me for the last couple years now, I am closing in on my 4th year with the instrument.
Girouard Custom Studio A Oval
P.W. Crump OM-III
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