Switching From Anchored/Braced Picking Hand To Free Floating?

[colchar]

Has anyone here switched from anchoring/bracing their picking hand to using a free floating technique? If so, how did you find the transition? Did you basically have to start from scratch again or was it an easy transition? Were there any specific drills you used to familiarize yourself with the new technique? Any pointers for someone who is considering making that switch?

I have carpal tunnel issues in my picking hand (from extensive computer use, rather than guitar playing, but playing definitely aggravates the condition) so am making a concerted effort to go to a rotational wrist movement, rather than the side to side motion that I had been using, as I think that the rotational method is superior from an ergonomic perspective. But in doing so I also want to eliminate as much tension from my picking hand as I possibly can which is leading me to think that, perhaps, I should also go to a free floating technique. At the same time, I will also be changing how I hold the pick so, in many ways, this will be like starting over.

I'd be interested in hearing from those who have made this switch, as well as those who are better and more experienced players than I am.

 

[Stevie 202]

I'm a lefty that plays right. Always had problems with my picking hand but lately I think I'm getting it under control.
One of the things that happened was I started to float instead of anchor.

"rotational wrist movement, rather than the side to side"

Much more control with less effort IMHO. Also, using the small muscles in thumb and forefinger (almost like writing) was something I noticed helps with speed and accuracy. Economy of motion both picking and fretting seems to be the key.

Feels weird at first but it's all muscle memory so all you can do is practice till it works.

And you can mix it up; if you wanna do a few windmills once in a while, thats good too.

 

[Frankg11]

There is hope for this lefty then. I am getting a bit of tendonitis from Anchor and Pick. I am trying to change as well. Practice, Practice and then some more Practice I guess is the answer.

Thanks.

 

[OldBenKenobi]

I used to play with my hand resting on the bridge at all times. I got over that crutch when I switched to acoustic for a year. When I went back to electric I was a floater.

 

[Stevie 202]

Also, RELAX.

It's counter intuitive, but with picking I've noticed that the faster you go the more relaxed your hands and shoulders get.
Don't grip the pick with your hand, hold it with your fingers.

(Not that speed is the goal; it's about precision and control. I ain't got it yet but it's a WIP.)

 

[Stevie 202]

I used to play with my hand resting on the bridge at all times. I got over that crutch when I switched to acoustic for a year. When I went back to electric I was a floater.

I'm getting so I can switch back and forth as needed.

 

[colchar]

Also, RELAX.

It's counter intuitive, but with picking I've noticed that the faster you go the more relaxed your hands and shoulders get.
Don't grip the pick with your hand, hold it with your fingers.

(Not that speed is the goal; it's about precision and control. I ain't got it yet but it's a WIP.)

Speed isn't my thing, especially as I am getting more into the Blues, but I have noticed when trying something out that I don't feel tension in my picking arm. What I tried was this - rest your elbow on your desk/table/whatever and hold your hand straight up in the air. Now rotate as if you were turning a doorknob above your hand...notice how fast you can do that and how little tension there is? Now stop and try moving your hand side to side and it is amazing how much slower, and how much more tense, everything is. Rotation definitely seems to be the way to go.

As for holding the pick - I used to do it between tip of first finger and thumb, or side of first finger and thumb with my first finger along the leading edge of the pick so that the action of putting the thumb down caused the pick to tilt backwards. My other fingers would be extended and loose and would usually rest against the guitar's body (not really bracing or anchoring, just that my fingers and the guitar were occupying the same space so they would rest on the body), the heel of my hand would be anchored on the bridge.

Now I am either holding the pick between the thumb and the top section of the first finger or between the tip of the first finger and the thumb. Usually I am on the side of the first finger. Regardless of which of those grips I use, I have my hand in a very relaxed, loose fist. There is no tension because it is really loose, but the fingers are curled in towards my palm rather than flailing around extended and loose. Basically I am doing it like the guy shows in the first minute of this video:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XT23yafjAN4[/ame]

 

[SteveC]

I don't know about better, or more experienced than you.. but, my .02 is that I spent a lot of years anchoring my hand and only over the last 2-3 years have I been ] making the switch to free flowing and I still find myself, for some songs, passages & out of habit - bracing my hand and/or resting my pinky on the body.

I don't find my fingers curling inwards, like you explained. It's almost like I am making an "OK" gesture, if that makes any sense. Not with the 3 fingers overly extended, but more away from the palm, than facing it. It think that is because that's how they fall naturally, when I'm strumming and I suppose that I just maintain that posture, when I pick single lines, too.

Your description of tension-free is exactly what I feel (or, don't feel) when I play that way. In the past, when I used to anchor almost all the time, it felt like there was a lot of tightness in my wrist and up the outside of my forearm. I would be very tired & sore after extended sessions. That's what prompted me to "let go".

It was hard maintaining accuracy for a long time, but after a while, things started falling into place. I developed a space reference (I know that makes no sense) of where my pick was in relation to the strings, rather than relying on a fixed point, that I got from the fingers touching the body. And, the flow between strumming and picking became much more fluid and easy.

All bets are off for parts where I need to mute with my picking hand or, some complex cord sequence picking. I find my fingers fall back on the top of the guitar subconsciously. And, for that and when they do - I just go with it. Unlearning and relearning that may be more difficult than I want to deal with.

That said, I honestly do think that my playing has improved from making the change. it was like taking one step back, to take two steps forward.

Good luck and I hope that not only your playing improves, but it eases the pain from your CT.

 

[lunchbox]

Sorry, C; no experience with changing styles. I've always used a mix of the two. Whenever I'm picking individual strings for riffs or leads, I anchor my pinky. Whenever I'm strumming, well....(unless I'm trying to accentuate the A,D, and G strings, then I keep the pinky anchored and strum those three for ultimate mid-range bite).

Sorry. That didn't help you at all. lol

 

[colchar]

I'm a lefty that plays right. Always had problems with my picking hand but lately I think I'm getting it under control.

This reminds me of something I once read that said that we should all be picking/strumming with our left hands because the right hemisphere of the brain controls the left side of the body and that hemisphere is the creative side that is responsible for rhythm, etc.

The left hemisphere, which controls the right side of the body, is responsible for words, logic, sequences, etc. which would make the right hand better for fretting.

 

[alstev]

In your guys' opinion is either way better than the other? I've been playing about a year and a half I'd never paid attention to what I do until I read this thread, I don't anchor my picking hand it's kind of all over depending on the sound I want. Should I work on anchoring it too? Or just stick with what I'm doing?

 

[SteveC]

Ironically, I'm sitting here watching Joe Bonamassa's Beacon Theater show on Palladia. Joe pretty much anchors his picking hand to the guitar and he plays pretty good

OTOH, there are countless people, who do not - some of which can play a pretty mean guitar, too.

So, my take? Whatever works best for you. Don't dismiss either one, out of hand (no pun intended).

 

[colchar]

In your guys' opinion is either way better than the other? I've been playing about a year and a half I'd never paid attention to what I do until I read this thread, I don't anchor my picking hand it's kind of all over depending on the sound I want. Should I work on anchoring it too? Or just stick with what I'm doing?

No, there is no one way that is better than the other. You will get as many opinions on this as there are guitarists.

If what you are doing is working, there is no need to change it. I am changing because I have to for medical reasons. Were it not for the carpal tunnel, I probably wouldn't.

But it doesn't have to be a medical issue that precipitates a change. If someone anchors and reaches a speed barrier that they cannot breech then removing the anchor might be worthwhile. Then again, there are some speed demons who pick at hyper speed while anchored.

As I said, if what you are doing is working, there is no need to change. If you find you cannot be as accurate as you'd like then maybe you should consider anchoring. But if you feel any tension while anchoring stop as tension isn't good and can lead to issues with your hands/wrist/etc.

 

[Codeseven]

Ironically, I'm sitting here watching Joe Bonamassa's Beacon Theater show on Palladia. Joe pretty much anchors his picking hand to the guitar and he plays pretty good

OTOH, there are countless people, who do not - some of which can play a pretty mean guitar, too.

So, my take? Whatever works best for you. Don't dismiss either one, out of hand (no pun intended).

Yup, just watched that last night, geez, that guy can play!

I'm less than a year into learning guitar and so far, unless I anchor I can't play half as well. Problem for me is my hand keeps working it's way up onto the bridge and starts to mute the strings. I notice my picking is mimicking the movements of the fingers of my fretting hand. When they move up and down a string so does my pick which sometimes tends to drag the edge of my picking hand, weird.

 

[artis_xe]

This reminds me of something I once read that said that we should all be picking/strumming with our left hands because the right hemisphere of the brain controls the left side of the body and that hemisphere is the creative side that is responsible for rhythm, etc.

The left hemisphere, which controls the right side of the body, is responsible for words, logic, sequences, etc. which would make the right hand better for fretting.

I'm staying with the idea that a person's dominant hand should be used for fretting . consider the possibility that many guitarists are making it harder on themselves __ by trying to train their " weak hand " , that much dexterity . muscle memory can only count for so much movement

 

[colchar]

I'm staying with the idea that a person's dominant hand should be used for fretting . consider the possibility that many guitarists are making it harder on themselves __ by trying to train their " weak hand " , that much dexterity . muscle memory can only count for so much movement

I have wondered about that too.

In my case I should be playing left handed then so that my dominant right hand would be doing the fretting and because, as mentioned above, the side of the brain that controls the left hand is also the side of the brain that deals with rhythm, etc.. so my left hand would be doing the strumming.

My guitar teacher is a lefty, maybe I should ask to borrow one of his guitars for a week to experiment

 

[93LPStudio]

I agree with whatever works. I use a combination of both depending upon what I am doing, but for the most part I anchor. Now I used to use pinky as an anchor, I also had fingers extended to, but eventually I found as colchar states rotating your wrist with other fingers in towards palm works best for me in any situation. In doing so I also switched from using A medium pick to a heavy pick, a 1.5 I think it is maybe thicker. This allowed me to pick or attack strings easier and cleaner and I fret easy handed anyways so for me was best thing I ever did. Now I can't go back to a thinner pick it just doesn't work I've tried. Switching pics and rotating picking hand with fingers tucked in best thing I have done. More precise picking And allows for faster cleaner and more relaxed picking for me.

 

[colchar]

I agree with whatever works. I use a combination of both depending upon what I am doing, but for the most part I anchor. Now I used to use pinky as an anchor, I also had fingers extended to, but eventually I found as colchar states rotating your wrist with other fingers in towards palm works best for me in any situation. In doing so I also switched from using A medium pick to a heavy pick, a 1.5 I think it is maybe thicker. This allowed me to pick or attack strings easier and cleaner and I fret easy handed anyways so for me was best thing I ever did. Now I can't go back to a thinner pick it just doesn't work I've tried. Switching pics and rotating picking hand with fingers tucked in best thing I have done. More precise picking And allows for faster cleaner and more relaxed picking for me.

I am managing to get away from anchoring but have found that I haven't gone to a fully floating right hand. At the moment, the base of my thumb (the ball of the hand just above the wrist) touches the strings. I am not bracing when it touches, it is just that that part of my hand and the strings are trying to occupy the same space so end up touching. Since I am not actually bracing I am not sure if I should work to eliminate this or just accept that it is happening naturally.

My bigger issue is learning to make smaller, more precise picking movements when rotating. I could do that when picking with a side to side movement but am struggling with it when using a rotational movement. Then again, I am still pretty new to this so maybe I shouldn't worry so much about it and should accept that more precision will come with time and experience.

 

[So What]

Have you tried playing without a pick?

I find myself using a pick less these days.

I don't have a structured picking style, but just feel more comfortable using my fingertips, especially for slide and when playing mt Strat.

I do still often anchor either with my palm on the low E side of the bridge, or the tip of my middle or index fingers on the high E side pickguard. But there is little to no tension and no rotation of the wrist.

.

 

[colchar]

Have you tried playing without a pick?

I find myself using a pick less these days.

I don't have a structured picking style, but just feel more comfortable using my fingertips, especially for slide and when playing mt Strat.

I do still often anchor either with my palm on the low E side of the bridge, or the tip of my middle or index fingers on the high E side pickguard. But there is little to no tension and no rotation of the wrist.

.

I would love to learn to play with my fingers, especially as I am taking tentative steps in learning to play slide, but I just suck at using my fingers. Sometimes I wish that I had started with them and not a pick. I don't like the pattern style used in classical guitar, for example, but do like the methods used by guys like Beck (he claims not to have a technique, per se, and simply uses whichever finger is closest or most convenient), Knopfler, and Trucks.

Maybe while I am making the transition being discussed here I should also break out something like Learn & Master Guitar and just start from the early lessons but use my fingers instead of a pick... Once I had developed a bit with the new picking method, and with using only my fingers, I could decide which to stick with. Or maybe I would become more proficient with both.