anchoring - the great debate

[MattyG]

no, no no no, we MUST all play EXACTLY the same way, or else the universe will implode, or, worse still we might end up sounding different to each other - hang on.......

[Tom Gilroy]

Originally Posted by MattyG

Do you not rest your forearm on the body contour?

No, I don't. Other than the heel of my palm maintaing light contact with the strings to dampen them, no part of my picking arm touches the guitar.

[MattyG]

Interesting - I could never do that as my shoulder would just tense straight up!

[Homebake]

i've found while speed picking, your entire arm needs to be completely relaxed; as tension-free as possible. i mean, you need the right amount of tension in your wrist and so on, but your forearm and biceps need to be relaxed. after a few hours of picking, if you haven't been doing it properly, your (mine...) arm gets tensed up and despite the fact you're warmer than before, you're picking is suffering and the only way to cure it is to stop and come back 30 mins later or so. i'm constantly monitoring the angle, tension and geometry of my picking hand.

not anchoring feels a million times freer and more ergonomic to me.

[mindwalker]

When you guys say anchoring with the picky, do you also touch the pickguard with your ring finger ? Because it feels pretty weird for me to just anchor the pinky.. it's almost like a natural think to anchor both the pinky and the ring finger... maybe because of the shape of my hand. Does everyone else have the same thing ?

I realize though that I can pick faster and more stable if I don't anchor and if I use more of a transational wrist movement.. (and sort of closing my hand while I do it or stretch out both my pinky and ring finger). But then when I have to change strings I totally miss it.. in this case anchoring does help a lot. Also my anchroing suffers if I need to hit the lower strings.. again maybe because I have small fingers... so I eventually end up mixing anchoring with not anchoring. However I am not master whatsoever at guitar... my picking is not very fast, clean or stable so I'm still in the pursuit of the best way to do this... I'm definitely doing something wrong probably!
Like... I can do 3 alternate picks quickly but then I can't keep on doing it at the same speed.. my constant picking is much slower than 3 small pick bursts for the low chunk riffs

[socratys]

Originally Posted by Homebake

i'm constantly monitoring the angle, tension and geometry of my picking hand.

Dude, you are taking technical analysis to a whole new level!!!

Fair play though... I think it is important to try and improve technique where possible, but I would advise that this kind of attention to detail in the long run might damage your creative freedom. Trying to hard to play with perfick technique will produce a very bland sound in my opinion, although my favourite guitarists are the ones who had their own distinct sound, knopfler, hendrix, gilmour etc. I'm not too sure that many of those great guitarists paid too much attention to this kind of thing.
Of course, if you are looking to become a speed-picking demon then maybe this kind of attention to detail is essential?

Like I said though, its always important to try and improve technically, but also you gotta do whats comfortable and feels best to you.

Personally, and just for my input, I anchor my little finger. But my picking hand will also run free of its 'anchor', just depends on the feeling you want to put into the sound.

[Magical Muffin]

I think what he means is that he makes sure he isn't playing with a stiff, awkwardly-angled tree trunk of a wrist :P

Whenever I tremelo pick I tend to stiffen up, but when it's just 1 or less stroke per note my hand is always relaxed and I make sure it's not uncomfortable to play.

As for anchoring with your fingers to the pickguard, when I first heard of it I thought "Why in the world would anyone do that?", I mean, it restricts movement, and (sometimes, depending on the person) it looks really weird.

[SnakeEyes]

I've been playing for almost 20 years. Been to school for music, studied Classical, Jazz, learned all the correct technique, etc. and here's my take:

Unlike Classical guitar, which has been around for literally hundreds of years, pick-style guitar is relatively new, especially in the way we play nowadays with Rock, Metal, Shred, Fusion, etc. There is no traditional, "correct" right hand picking technique for guitarists like there is for Classical guitarists.

When I first started playing, I anchored all the way until my fifth or sixth year of playing. Then, a teacher I started studying Jazz with suggested that I "float" my right hand and told me that it would be faster. So, I switched. I played like that until the end of high school, all the way through college and even taught my students like that and criticized them if they anchored!

Well, all the time I did this, I wondered why my right hand never was as accurate as I wanted it to be. I started watching videos of myself and realized that I had a very wide pick stroke because it was floating. I do use my wrist pretty much exclusively and I DID try to correct the wide picking stroke issue WITHOUT anchoring (still floating), but I just could not do it. Whatever I did, I ALWAYS had a wide pick stroke and therefore the problem still existed.

One day, just for the heck of it, I decided to try the Petrucci-style of anchoring. Not a heavy anchor where the pinky is pressed onto the body as hard as it can, but a light press towards the bottom of the bridge pickup just to give my hand some stability. And, you know what? My playing freaking improved tremendously! Everything was easier, cleaner, more accurate, faster, etc. I don't do it 100% of the time, but I'd say I do it about 75% of the time now and it has worked perfectly.

So, my point is this: don't worry about what's 'correct.' Do what's right for YOU. I do suggest trying both ways, but at some point, you gotta just decide and stick with it.

[Homebake]

Originally Posted by SnakeEyes

I've been playing for almost 20 years. Been to school for music, studied Classical, Jazz, learned all the correct technique, etc. and here's my take:

Unlike Classical guitar, which has been around for literally hundreds of years, pick-style guitar is relatively new, especially in the way we play nowadays with Rock, Metal, Shred, Fusion, etc. There is no traditional, "correct" right hand picking technique for guitarists like there is for Classical guitarists.

When I first started playing, I anchored all the way until my fifth or sixth year of playing. Then, a teacher I started studying Jazz with suggested that I "float" my right hand and told me that it would be faster. So, I switched. I played like that until the end of high school, all the way through college and even taught my students like that and criticized them if they anchored!

Well, all the time I did this, I wondered why my right hand never was as accurate as I wanted it to be. I started watching videos of myself and realized that I had a very wide pick stroke because it was floating. I do use my wrist pretty much exclusively and I DID try to correct the wide picking stroke issue WITHOUT anchoring (still floating), but I just could not do it. Whatever I did, I ALWAYS had a wide pick stroke and therefore the problem still existed.

One day, just for the heck of it, I decided to try the Petrucci-style of anchoring. Not a heavy anchor where the pinky is pressed onto the body as hard as it can, but a light press towards the bottom of the bridge pickup just to give my hand some stability. And, you know what? My playing freaking improved tremendously! Everything was easier, cleaner, more accurate, faster, etc. I don't do it 100% of the time, but I'd say I do it about 75% of the time now and it has worked perfectly.

So, my point is this: don't worry about what's 'correct.' Do what's right for YOU. I do suggest trying both ways, but at some point, you gotta just decide and stick with it.

true.

to the dude who said i analyze my technique too much, well, i need to if i want to play clean.

i'm still keeping my right hand floating. i am still yet to see any disadvantages to it, as in, i can do everything i could do anchored but better. especially if you're playing something over all 6 strings, an anchor is a hindrance as you have to keep your pinky on the guitar as your pick moves up towards the low E.

true, it takes a while to get used to having a bit more freedom and play in your right hand, but it's not hindrance.

on a kind of related note, i've been forcing myself to play ALL fast picking licks i practice on my bridge pickup. it's so much harder getting stuff to sound clean on the bridge pickup with a lot of gain so when you get it "decently" clean on the bridge pickup then switch to the neck pickup, your playing sounds smooth as butter.

[Sickbean]

All I can really add to the debate is that about 3 months ago I trained myself to un-anchor, and whilst it took time to get proficiency back, the net result is that I now sound a bit more like Paul Gilbert, which can only be a good thing.

[socratys]

Originally Posted by Homebake

true.

to the dude who said i analyze my technique too much, well, i need to if i want to play clean.

Well Dude, I can play clean and fast, but I've never been pre-occupied by the angle of my forearm etc..
I was just suggesting that if you want to be a Paul Gilbert etc copycat, then fair enough. But in my opinion you are better off concentrating on your creative expression and leaving the physics on the back bench...

P.S what snake eyes said is spot on. Just find your way..

[Homebake]

Originally Posted by socratys

Well Dude, I can play clean and fast, but I've never been pre-occupied by the angle of my forearm etc..
I was just suggesting that if you want to be a Paul Gilbert etc copycat, then fair enough. But in my opinion you are better off concentrating on your creative expression and leaving the physics on the back bench...

P.S what snake eyes said is spot on. Just find your way..

i'm trying to get very clean and proficient at picking because i love the way it sounds (more so than any other "shred" technique) and because it's also very useful in lot's of genres (eg. jazz).

it's just worth paying some attention to your techniques as you're developing them so that you get the most efficient style you can so as not to cause problems later on down the road.

[socratys]

Of course, like I said in my original response, its always beneficial to try and improve technically.

i just think if you are getting bogged down by the angle of your arm etc, then perhaps you are over analysing stuff.
Natural ability will play a big part in what you are able to do, dont force something that isnt there.

[Sickbean]

Originally Posted by socratys

Of course, like I said in my original response, its always beneficial to try and improve technically.

i just think if you are getting bogged down by the angle of your arm etc, then perhaps you are over analysing stuff.
Natural ability will play a big part in what you are able to do, dont force something that isnt there.

Got to disagree with you there.

If it's a choice between giving up improving and saying 'I don't have the natural ability to do this' and really working hard, analysing and improving on an area of technique that was lacking, I'll take the latter.

For all we know Steve Vai might have been a naturally gifted composer but a complete physical idiot on the instrument, but he used to practise 10 hours per day to make up for it.

10 Hours a day - and he still can't

1. Pick as well as Paul Gilbert

2. Sweep as well as Malsteem

3. Play legato as well as Holdsworth

4. Use the whammy bar as well as Jeff Beck.

5. Do anything as well as Guthrie Govan


However, due to sheer hard work and dilligence to practise he can do everything nearly as well as all these people, to the point where he is as complete a guitarist as anyone in the world (except GG of course, but he's an alien )

[MattyG]

Let's not forget to mention that Steve Vai is easily one of the most influential and original players ever, not just a guy who is 'as complete a guitarist as anyone else'.
He practised super hard, yet developed a voice all his own, and when you hear people play that have been influenced by him you can really hear that influence shine through!