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IrelandScott Paul Johnson gives the fretting thumb room to move
His six-minute technique lesson joins songwriting sessions built around imperfect ideas, dummy lyrics and Mixolydian harmony.
Scott Paul Johnson | Guitar Lessons
Story of Why this story? The channel's weekly summary: what went up this week, what is drawing views now, and where the channel stands among similar channels.
Fix Your Fretting Hand Form in 6 Minutes
Things we can learn from the video
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- 0:00Support the instrument with the right arm so the fretting hand does not have to hold up the neck.
- 0:57Use the thumb for counter-pressure, leaving the palm off the back of the neck.
- 2:19Keep a relaxed hand curve rather than forcing the wrist into a bend.
- 3:24Adjust thumb placement to the chord shape, as Johnson demonstrates with A and C chords.
- 4:41Avoid anchoring the palm or locking the thumb in one position.
- 6:01A view behind the neck shows the air space between the neck and the base of the palm.
Scott Paul Johnson posted 12 uploads, but the most-watched new lesson starts with something more basic than a scale: stop making your fretting hand hold up the guitar neck.
In "Fix Your Fretting Hand Form in 6 Minutes", he shifts that support to the right arm, then brings the camera close to show the thumb providing counter-pressure without turning the hand into a clamp. Its position changes with the chord. Comparing A and C shapes, he demonstrates why the thumb needs to accommodate the fingers rather than stay planted in one supposedly correct spot. Space between the palm and neck is part of the lesson, too.
The video reached roughly 11,000 views. In the comments, self-taught players discuss unlearning habitual hand positions, figuring out where the thumb belongs and finding a comfortable guitar angle. One viewer asks for a follow-up on Hendrix-style thumb positioning.
That practical thread continues in "Master the Feed Forward Method for Faster, Fluid Guitar Scales", which asks players to prepare their fingers before the pick strikes. It currently has the channel's strongest daily momentum, followed by the new Mixolydian writing lesson and a tutorial on holding a pick near its balance point.
There was room for messier creativity as well. "The \"10 Turds\" Method: How to Write Songs Without Overthinking" starts with deliberately imperfect song seeds, while "Writing a Full Song Draft with Dummy Lyrics" uses placeholder words to work out melody, rhythm and structure before polishing the language.
Subscribers held steady, while the catalog collected about 103,000 views over the week; daily viewing is now above its usual pace. Among nearby music-lesson channels, Andrew Piano had a particularly large week, while Sean Daniel's weekly viewing was closer to Johnson's. Here, the fresh lessons connect two useful freedoms: letting the thumb move and letting a song begin unfinished.
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Where next?
What viewers say
as a late self taught learner, the hardest things i faced were
how to angle the guitar against my body,
where to put my thumb on the back of the Neck,
and how to stop the pick from sliding around as i Pinched it..
angle of attack was up there too..🤔@trusarmor4957See it on YouTubeGreat video. Could you give some tips for Hendrix thumb style hand position?
@ProfeAndresXSee it on YouTubeReally helpful video and great timing, I am really trying to get on top of my hand posture and technique this will help a lot
@FishyDave7See it on YouTube
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The videos drawing views on Scott Paul Johnson | Guitar Lessons right now
The "10 Turds" Method: How to Write Songs Without Overthinking8,465 views · 2026-11-03
Writing From Scratch: Secondary Dominants (Borrowing Chords)8,164 views · 2026-10-31
Master the Feed Forward Method for Faster, Fluid Guitar Scales7,790 views · 2026-11-05
Writing a Full Song Draft with Dummy Lyrics4,690 views · 2026-11-04
How to ACTUALLY Write Music with Mixolydian Mode4,522 views · 2026-11-06
How to Hold a Guitar Pick Correctly (Avoid Wrist Strain)1,858 views
- Subscribers
- 492,000
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 103,289
- Videos published this week
- 12
- Video published
- November 1, 2026
- Video views so far
- 10,640
- Views on its first day
- 5,155
The numbers
Here is how the channel's week and its new lessons compare in views and subscribers.
💡 Test your knowledge
What distinguishes Mixolydian from the major scale with the same root?
Mixolydian has the same notes as the parallel major scale except for its lowered seventh degree.