Which style (if any) do you prefer and why? ♫ Timestamps ♫ 0:00- Anchoring = Bad? 1:35- Let's Test It! 3:00- Big Reveal 3:50- Different Grips Rundown, Which Do You Use?
i would classify myself as an intermediate guitarist and it’s such a habit, that when I don’t anchor I hit the wrong string sometimes. I kinda view the anchor as a guide where my hand is so I don’t have to look down. mostly play finger style tho :p
Maybe you can anchor in a bad way, but the way I anchor my pinky seems okay. I don't extend my pinky in an awkward way, but keep my hand in a very natural, relaxed position. Also, I rest my pinky on the guitar gently in a curved position rather than it sticking straight out, which would cause unnecessary tension.
Thank you for this. Around 3 weeks ago I had to stop playing guitar because my picking hand was in so much pain. I went to the doctor and was told that I tore something on the ulnar side of my hand near my pinky area. When I hopefully play again, I was thinking about trying to change my picking style for certain styles such as fast palm muted lines and even strumming since they were the ones that gave me the most pain. I have tried the floating wrist style and yea I agree that it is not my style. It is a little better with sweeping, though obviously need to watch what I do with my picking hand wrist since having it in that position can cause it discomfort. I am more of a anchored pinky player, though obviously maybe that needs to change. I am sad I never recorded myself doing those fast lines that I spoke of earlier. It would have helped me see if I was tensing up or something. Thank you so much for these videos. Not only are they informational, but they are also enjoyable to watch with the little bits of editing used within them 👍
Heyyy, that was some serendipity! This video just popped in my stream (I subbed earlier) while I am practicing an arpeggio run from your App! I clicked on your video, and continued playing the arpeggio and didn't even make the connection for a while! 😆 P.S. I don't anchor my pinky. I did while I was finger picking acoustics for a while as a beginner...but not anymore. Either the contact of my forearm on the forearm cut, or my palm on the bridge serve as an anchor point.
Haha, awesome! There were some pretty intense arpeggio licks in that App, tough but really fun to play! Great point as well, forearm anchoring is a great substitute from the little finger 🤘
I'm lucky that I was able to start playing guitar before RUclips existed. If I had to watch all the RUclips videos trying to teach me how to play the guitar, I probably wouldn't live long enough.
I'm really grateful for it! Although the early days of the internet and forums did instil some bad habits/ideas in my playing. It's more about finding channels that click with you and what you're looking for. Which I must admit is rarer these days with the notorious algorithm and all
Whatever works for you man, I always struggled to play the high e and B string doing that! Paul Gilbert seems to do a partial anchor on the bridge (or looks like it at least!), if you ease up on h amount of pressure you put on the bridge, that might be a neat work around?
@@JbfMusicGuitarthanks for reply! Yeah I did it in a shop on a Strat with floating bridge whilst looking at my tuner…pushed it a few cent off. That’s a variable I’m not comfortable with. Of course could just deck or block the trem. For now I anchor my little finger only. Going to see how I get on with that for a while!
I’ve been playing around 4 years and I’m just transitioning now to a fully floating pick hand. I find that for me because I have tiny hands anchoring slows me down because my pinky needs to be fully extended or I can’t get to all of the strings. So floating for me all day
I think when you try a different technique you are going to struggle with it in the beginning, your arm/shoulder might feel stressed or in pain. it takes time to get used to it. when I started learning guitar, for the first 3 years, I used to rest my palm/wrist on the body of the guitar, sometimes on the strings. one day I noticed something when I recorded myself playing. I wasn't picking from my wrist but from my thumb/index finger. it was sooo bad! that's when I realized why I sound sloppy whenever I try to play something a bit fast. So i decided to change it. wartched a lot of videos about how to pick. and one thing in common was that I should use my wrist and not my elbow or finger/thumb. it felt sooo hard for like a couple of months. it felt unnatural. but I just knew that my 'natural' picking was plain fucking bad and stupid. so I kept going and finally I was out of that bad habit in 5-6 months. Im still not a 'shredder' though. but the kind of music that I play and perform doesn't really requier shredding. so I'm good there :D about the pinky, well I sometimes use my pinky, sometimes it's floating, sometimes I rest my hand on the bridge. depends on what I'm playing.
Awesome, glad you've found what works for you! Not picking with the fingers was a bit of a game changer for me as well, spent years doing that and like you say, when you start recording you really start to notice all that stuff 🤘
Recently, I'm fingerpicking with my pinky lol 😅 idk why it's not more common, because I found many ways to get good tone, volume, and more reach along a string for changing which overtones are emphasized for each string when plucking a chord
Very interesting. I anchor my pinky and keep the other fingers loose = #1. I prefer this because all the others are just uncomfortable... I think Paul Gilbert is using his wrist bone as an anchor, his hands are huge!. EVH also has the floating style, but seems to have the anchor point about 3-4 inch higher compared to Paul. I believe any style that fits you with comfort would be the best, but pinky floating or not, rock guitarists needs an anchor point wherever to keep control of their palm mutes.
as a trained classical guitarist that now predominantly plays country/folk music on acoustic guitar, no pick, fingerstyle picking. I find anchoring restrictive and awkward.. each to there own I guess.
I used to anchor and thought that I was loose and relaxed, but sucking it up and gaining the muscle memory to play floating still greatly increased my speed. My hand feels even more relaxed, and my picking technique as a whole was allowed to mature by taking the training wheels off. The anchor is completely unnecessary: if it feels like you can’t be accurate or play as fast without the anchor, that’s all the more reason to learn it. Not only that, but it’s harder to use your wrist to pick when anchoring, and the fingers might take over instead, which is much slower.
Guthrie Govan anchors his pinky. Same with Michael Romeo and Alex Hutchings. But lot of players don't, like Paul Gilbert, Max Ostro. However, Guthrie being probably the greatest all-around guitarist there is, it can't be all wrong. Personally I'm a floater, playing the lowest 2 things with anchoring is awkward
![[Guitar Picking Tutorial] Picking From Wrist Vs. Elbow](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/8JP5CQKLfkY/mqdefault.jpg)
Which style (if any) do you prefer and why?
♫ Timestamps ♫
0:00- Anchoring = Bad?
1:35- Let's Test It!
3:00- Big Reveal
3:50- Different Grips Rundown, Which Do You Use?
i would classify myself as an intermediate guitarist and it’s such a habit, that when I don’t anchor I hit the wrong string sometimes. I kinda view the anchor as a guide where my hand is so I don’t have to look down. mostly play finger style tho :p
Totally, whatever works and just gets the job done!
Maybe you can anchor in a bad way, but the way I anchor my pinky seems okay. I don't extend my pinky in an awkward way, but keep my hand in a very natural, relaxed position. Also, I rest my pinky on the guitar gently in a curved position rather than it sticking straight out, which would cause unnecessary tension.
Sounds all good to me!
Thank you for this. Around 3 weeks ago I had to stop playing guitar because my picking hand was in so much pain. I went to the doctor and was told that I tore something on the ulnar side of my hand near my pinky area. When I hopefully play again, I was thinking about trying to change my picking style for certain styles such as fast palm muted lines and even strumming since they were the ones that gave me the most pain.
I have tried the floating wrist style and yea I agree that it is not my style. It is a little better with sweeping, though obviously need to watch what I do with my picking hand wrist since having it in that position can cause it discomfort. I am more of a anchored pinky player, though obviously maybe that needs to change. I am sad I never recorded myself doing those fast lines that I spoke of earlier. It would have helped me see if I was tensing up or something.
Thank you so much for these videos. Not only are they informational, but they are also enjoyable to watch with the little bits of editing used within them 👍
Ouch, that sounds incredibly painful! Hope your can adjust your style, the good new is it's doable- technique shift are usually a bit of a hassle!
Heyyy, that was some serendipity! This video just popped in my stream (I subbed earlier) while I am practicing an arpeggio run from your App! I clicked on your video, and continued playing the arpeggio and didn't even make the connection for a while! 😆
P.S. I don't anchor my pinky. I did while I was finger picking acoustics for a while as a beginner...but not anymore. Either the contact of my forearm on the forearm cut, or my palm on the bridge serve as an anchor point.
Haha, awesome! There were some pretty intense arpeggio licks in that App, tough but really fun to play!
Great point as well, forearm anchoring is a great substitute from the little finger 🤘
1. **Yngwie Malmsteen** - Anchors
2. **Michael Angelo Batio** - Floats
3. **Paul Gilbert** - Anchors
4. **Jason Becker** - Anchors
5. **Shawn Lane** - Floats
6. **Buckethead** - Floats
7. **John Petrucci** - Anchors
8. **Steve Vai** - Floats
9. **Eddie Van Halen** - Anchors
10. **Al Di Meola** - Anchors
A real mixed bag, eh? Does MAB anchor his fingers on the scratch plate, have a vague memory of him doing that, an inverted anchor maybe?
The Floating Fist 🤛 🤔
My next band 😁
Nice one!
I'm lucky that I was able to start playing guitar before RUclips existed. If I had to watch all the RUclips videos trying to teach me how to play the guitar, I probably wouldn't live long enough.
I'm really grateful for it! Although the early days of the internet and forums did instil some bad habits/ideas in my playing. It's more about finding channels that click with you and what you're looking for. Which I must admit is rarer these days with the notorious algorithm and all
I’m with you. Makes me more confused watching it. I wrote notes out on paper. Still do today.
Floaty Pinky. And im even getting used to pick with it. Kinda trippy but useful
Nice one!
What about anchoring wrist on bridge? I used to do this and it still feels good but I’m trying to stop because it pushes vibrato bridges out of tune!
Whatever works for you man, I always struggled to play the high e and B string doing that! Paul Gilbert seems to do a partial anchor on the bridge (or looks like it at least!), if you ease up on h amount of pressure you put on the bridge, that might be a neat work around?
@@JbfMusicGuitarthanks for reply! Yeah I did it in a shop on a Strat with floating bridge whilst looking at my tuner…pushed it a few cent off. That’s a variable I’m not comfortable with. Of course could just deck or block the trem. For now I anchor my little finger only. Going to see how I get on with that for a while!
I anchor with the bottom of my wrist at the base of the strings. I’m vry new but I feel like floating has more benefits then anchoring after learned
Six and half a dozen for most stuff I think, the main thing is finding what is smoothest for you!
I’ve been playing around 4 years and I’m just transitioning now to a fully floating pick hand. I find that for me because I have tiny hands anchoring slows me down because my pinky needs to be fully extended or I can’t get to all of the strings. So floating for me all day
Nice one. Alwasy good when you narrow down what works best for you!
I think when you try a different technique you are going to struggle with it in the beginning, your arm/shoulder might feel stressed or in pain. it takes time to get used to it.
when I started learning guitar, for the first 3 years, I used to rest my palm/wrist on the body of the guitar, sometimes on the strings. one day I noticed something when I recorded myself playing. I wasn't picking from my wrist but from my thumb/index finger. it was sooo bad! that's when I realized why I sound sloppy whenever I try to play something a bit fast.
So i decided to change it. wartched a lot of videos about how to pick. and one thing in common was that I should use my wrist and not my elbow or finger/thumb. it felt sooo hard for like a couple of months. it felt unnatural. but I just knew that my 'natural' picking was plain fucking bad and stupid. so I kept going and finally I was out of that bad habit in 5-6 months.
Im still not a 'shredder' though. but the kind of music that I play and perform doesn't really requier shredding. so I'm good there :D about the pinky, well I sometimes use my pinky, sometimes it's floating, sometimes I rest my hand on the bridge. depends on what I'm playing.
Awesome, glad you've found what works for you! Not picking with the fingers was a bit of a game changer for me as well, spent years doing that and like you say, when you start recording you really start to notice all that stuff 🤘
Recently, I'm fingerpicking with my pinky lol 😅 idk why it's not more common, because I found many ways to get good tone, volume, and more reach along a string for changing which overtones are emphasized for each string when plucking a chord
Very cool idea! Mine's a bit too short to be of much use, lol!
Same bro i am also a self thought guitarist I use my pick to pick and my friends who play guitar doesn't use pinky
Very interesting. I anchor my pinky and keep the other fingers loose = #1. I prefer this because all the others are just uncomfortable...
I think Paul Gilbert is using his wrist bone as an anchor, his hands are huge!. EVH also has the floating style, but seems to have the anchor point about 3-4 inch higher compared to Paul. I believe any style that fits you with comfort would be the best, but pinky floating or not, rock guitarists needs an anchor point wherever to keep control of their palm mutes.
Good observation, Paul's mega-hands do seem to use that sort of wrist bone anchor!
as a trained classical guitarist that now predominantly plays country/folk music on acoustic guitar, no pick, fingerstyle picking. I find anchoring restrictive and awkward.. each to there own I guess.
Aw man, there must be a tonne of transferable skills between those styles, country players always blow my mind!
Sick video
Thanks Raymond! Have you got any picking style preference?
@@JbfMusicGuitar I was a pinky anchor for the longest time. While I still hit it every once in a while I’m pretty comfy floating!
@@raymondcortez5184 Nice 🤘
I used to anchor and thought that I was loose and relaxed, but sucking it up and gaining the muscle memory to play floating still greatly increased my speed. My hand feels even more relaxed, and my picking technique as a whole was allowed to mature by taking the training wheels off.
The anchor is completely unnecessary: if it feels like you can’t be accurate or play as fast without the anchor, that’s all the more reason to learn it. Not only that, but it’s harder to use your wrist to pick when anchoring, and the fingers might take over instead, which is much slower.
Interesting! Glad you found what works for you!
Something similar is happening to me lol
Doctor says I should do floating picking
i only anchor my pinkie on acoustic guitar, because i have to freakin hug the big guitar
Good point! Switching to acoustic is more of a change than we often realise!
I prefer anchoring pinky .I love it 😊😊😊
I do like the extra layer of security it provides!
Guthrie Govan anchors his pinky. Same with Michael Romeo and Alex Hutchings. But lot of players don't, like Paul Gilbert, Max Ostro. However, Guthrie being probably the greatest all-around guitarist there is, it can't be all wrong. Personally I'm a floater, playing the lowest 2 things with anchoring is awkward
Yeah, if I anchor too much it gets messy on those lower strings as well. Great points of reference with all those pickers!