"anchor" your pinky?

[punkin]

I'm just curious to see how many people play with their picking hand "anchored". I've seen a few top player who keep their pinky nailed down to the guitar body. I've tried this but just can't do this with any comfort and seems to force me into awkward pick angles on the strings. Watching Petrucci do this just makes me nuts.

I remember way back seeing Steve Vai resting the heal of his palm on a contraption which was installed just over the tremelo. It looked sort of like a bridge which straddled the Floyd Rose unit. On his more recent guitars, he seems to have done away with the palm rest.

What are you doing? Have you tried other techniques? Any thoughts on the pros and cons of doing this or not?

 

[monty]

I tend to put my next to little finger under the neck at the end of the neck, or next to the neck pickup on the lower side. Sort of use that finger and my little finger both. When I pick with my fingers I rest my thumb on the top of the neck at the end, or on the pickup. I tend to pick on the neck instead of over the pickup…maybe the wrong way to do it but it sounds better to me…less slap or twang. But yes, I've always got something anchored to the guitar. I was thinking about trying something like that thing Vai was using. I didn't know he did that, but I've seen them on old bass guitars in the past.

I watch Lindsey Buckingham pick with his fingers…I can’t figure out what the fuck he’s doing…can’t ever see it well enough or his fingers are going to fast.

 

[64Firebird]

I don't have any rules. Sometimes I'll fix my hand to the bridge and damp the low strings with the heal of my hand while finger picking the high ones. I feel this gives me more seperation between the low and high strings and that's what I'm looking for when playing that style. Other times I'll swing my arm from the elbow and damp the unwanted notes with my fret hand.

 

[bdbdbuck]

I keep the heel of my hand resting on the back of the bridge so that muting strings is just a matter of kinda rolling my hand toward the neck slightly, plus it gives me more control with the pick having an anchor like you put it.


bd

 

[willovercome]

yeah i'm an anchorer, but i try my best not to be. it looks bad and it limits the range of motion for the hand. for instance the hand can't move up and down or from front to back of the strings as easily. if you have a choice...don't become an anchorer.

 

[Aus10]

I played without my pinky anchored for four years, but it seemed all the people i watch who could really play put theirs down. It took only about a week for it to not feel strange.
I dont think most people use their pinky to pick with, so you might as well steady that hand with it... just place it lightly on the pick gaurd. It keeps the other fingers right where they need to be.

 

[philboyd studge]

I was taught that for 3 fingerstyle in '62 and have later used an anchor for banjo, and dobro/weissenborn/lap steel.

 

[Aaron Cheney]

I anchor my pinky at times as well. Depends on what I'm playing. Generally I do it when I'm picking a lead. It really helps you to keep your place. Sometimes I'll do it when I'm fingerpicking, unless what I'm playing requires my pinky.

Aaron
http://www.voodoovibe.com

 

[punkin]

I've gotten so that I "can" do it but seems to slow me down when playing faster picked lines. The thing that seems most uncomfortable about it is when you work your way down to the bottom string, you've got a finger in the way...sort of cramps or causes the hand to clinch.

When I was younger, my teacher's told me to do what ever felt comfortable. These guys were'nt pros but proficient. Just wondering if there are schools which push the pinky thing and if so, what's the thinking there?

I've never seen a classical player do this but they're picking with all the fingers sometimes.

thanks for the responses!

 

[Kelly5150]

I had to pick up a guitar and play to see exactally what I do....
It seems that when I play chords or strum I anchor my little finger tightly against the high E string, digging in..
Playing lead on the four lowest strings I anchor my little finger and a bit of the next finger to the high E string but not as hard, and playing lead on the two highest strings I anchor the same fingers to the edge of the bridge pickup lightly...
Switching between leads and rhythms and different strings theres lots of variables in between...

More info than you needed, or just confusion?...LOL

 

[HevyD47Ca]

I too am an achorer.
I once got drunk on a Sunday after setting up the pa for a 6 night bar gig. I got in an argument with the wall and ended up punching a stud. I sort of broke the top of the knuckle off me pinky.
Monday night I had to relearn guitar because it felt like a lightning bolt every time the pinky touched down.
It was especially noticable during lead sections.

 

[punkin]

I'm finding this interesting. Thanks for the replys. I just find it curious how people develop different positionings. Generally, all guitars are about the same as far as the string locations with respect to the neck and the body....hands and arms are generally the same with variations in size of course but the things that work for the individual vary wildly.

I was watching a vid with Carlos Santana...he really seems to favor the upstroke when picking with his palm seemingly rotated slightly upwards. I look at this and think how did this happen? Was he trained or did it just come natural.

I read somewhere where Petrucci was instructed to do the anchor, Vai tried it but didn't like it but, every once in awhile I'll see him doing it too.

Good responses guys thanks.

 

[tdukex]

I was a pinky planter for years (fingerstyle), but I when I started trying some classical stuff, the guy schooling me convinced me to let my right hand float free over the strings for better movement--planting the thumb on the 6th or 5th string for certain styles. It took about 4-6 weeks but now this new method feels natural. Which way is better? Hell if I know. He's also making me slide the thumb on my fretting hand back up under (and parallel to) my left index instead of sticking out along (semi-parallel) to the neck like it wants to. Now that feels strange.

Ain't guitar playin/lernin fun?

 

[Cyrokk]

I rest my palm on the bridge, but I don't use my pinky as an anchor. I have always been of the opinion that anchoring limits the movement of the pick hand, which is a bad thing since each string does not get picked the same way due to the angles of the strings and the hand. I find that I have to keep my hand free-floating as much as possible to switch between picking styles such as tremelo, down-stroking, and my dynamic style of digging heavily into the strings for thicker harmonics.

Cy

 

[punkin]

I'm with you Sy...

I seem to have something similar going on. Seems to give me the most movement possibilities for greater flexibility in playing different styles of music.

I can see where the pinky anchor thing might help for those fast shred 1/64th note melodic lines but mixing it up with digs, harmonics or arpeggios just seems to bogg me down.

 

[Chris Tondreau]

I play rock guitar using a hand position like what bdbdbuck described.

However, as a fully-trained classical guitarist, I have learned that the "pinky planting" technique does more harm than good. By extending the pinky down and away from the hand, it puts muscular tension across the back of the hand and in the third and fourth fingers. Muscular tension is the primary ingredient in any repetitive motion injury, tendonitis, etc.

DO NOT PLANT YOUR PINKY!!!

Chris

 

[Richie Woods]

I try not to anchor when playing guitar...but the heel seems to want to navigate that way anyway.

When playing bass with my fingers I tend to anchor with my thumb.

 

[bgavin]

I anchor the pinky consistently when playing 5-string banjo. My primary gig is electric bass, so no anchoring is used. My thumb moves from string to string, acting as a mute. Typically, I will mute the low E or E+A strings to keep them from ringing while playing the higher strings. When playing keyboards, I tend to anchor my left hand in some useless location, away from the keys.

 

[TheGuitarMan]

I anchor sometimes.

 

[mshilarious]

I completely agree with Chris, it's a bad technique. Along with the muscle tension problem, it also requires all of the picking motion to be made with your fingers and none with your wrist or forearm. This is also true with anchoring your wrist on the body above the strings. Instead, lightly rest the side of your hand on lower strings that aren't being played. The key word is lightly--you want to remain relaxed and fluid.

Finally, learn to pick with all of your fingers. There is no reason for your pinky to be weak and flaccid. You can type with it, can't you? Would a typing teacher ever tell you hunt and peck with two index fingers is OK if that is what is most comfortable?