anchoring - the great debate

Homebake · #1 08-16-2009, 10:46 AM

so i just read this whole thread:

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum...8&page=1&pp=20

and i advise you guys do too.

i started getting into fast alternate picking about...9 months ago. my teacher introduced my to the technique of constant up and down strokes and also anchoring your pinky for stability so i learnt that way. obviously i saw players like shawn lane, gilbert and john mclaughlin didn't anchor their pinkies but players like petrucci and steve morse do anchor, so i thought, "well, why change to un-anchored which is more uncomfortable when petrucci can pick like that!"

well, i read that thread, and after a couple of months of anchoring, i' think i'm gonna start un-anchoring. it just makes more sense. it will take a while to get the stability of anchoring with out it, but i think it's really better. it might also help avoid developing RSI and CTS and all those nasty things.

discuss away. i know there is the argument of "if it doesn't hurt, do it" but i've changed my mind.

MarkE · #2 08-16-2009, 10:59 AM

Whatever works for you, IMHO.

Homebake · #3 08-16-2009, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkE

Whatever works for you, IMHO.

that's specifically why i brought up this topic...because anchoring and not anchoring obviously works almost equally for different players, but i think in the long run, anchoring is worse for you.

anchoring works for me, and i haven't really had difficulty with it but i'm changing it.

DEADTUNES666 · #4 08-16-2009, 11:30 AM

Homebake, how often do you play. I mean how many hours do you put in? In the early 90's I had gotten into about 6-8 hours a day just to maintain, as I was continually and actively seeking a deal. If you are going to make a change in something that works, you may want to consult a doctor of some kind to get a second opinion of some medical sort. I don't have an opinion either way, but a lot of what is on the internet, no matter how real it seems is just not true. This may be true, but anchoring a pinky being harmful? I am not trying to convince anyone of anything, but whatever you do make sure it is the right thing for you medically, as well as musically...

MarkE · #5 08-16-2009, 11:33 AM

There's an old Billy Sheehan video (which is worth looking for if only for Wolf Marshall's awesome knitwear) where he says that the first thing he had to do when he started playing his Yamaha BB was to get a Dremel and recreate all of the spots where he had worn through the pickguard on his old Fender bass from anchoring his right hand, to make the Yamaha feel "right" to him.

callen3615 · #6 08-16-2009, 11:37 AM

I started this thread trying to get my picking better.

http://www.jemsite.com/forums/f23/pa...ight=anchoring

Come to find out I was doing everything ok. Maybe you are too. Malmsteen anchors his pinky bad, mustaine whores on it, and petrucii will do it when he goes into killzone mode. LOL

Homebake · #7 08-16-2009, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DEADTUNES666

Homebake, how often do you play. I mean how many hours do you put in? In the early 90's I had gotten into about 6-8 hours a day just to maintain, as I was continually and actively seeking a deal. If you are going to make a change in something that works, you may want to consult a doctor of some kind to get a second opinion of some medical sort. I don't have an opinion either way, but a lot of what is on the internet, no matter how real it seems is just not true. This may be true, but anchoring a pinky being harmful? I am not trying to convince anyone of anything, but whatever you do make sure it is the right thing for you medicalyl, as well as musically...

well, i don't see how not anchoring could be any more harmful than anchoring. anchoring causes you to stretch more muscles and enforce more tension just to get that pinky on the pickguard.

i play on average about 3-6 hours a day, and a lot of that is devoted to picking. it just seems more natural to not anchor it. paul gilbert plays crazier lines than petrucci (although petrucci is faster) and he seems to have no problems. petrucci's picking lines are often straight, uncomplicated dense lines that are not very complex, they're just fast.

MattyG · #8 08-16-2009, 12:06 PM

My opinion is that what works for you is more important than what works for somebody else - the great players all had to figure out the best way for them to achieve their technical ability - I just think that the great players figure it all out sooner than us mere mortals!

Of course we will all look at our idols' technique and try to draw benefits from it - that's what they all do too!

I bet every top player has changed their technique drastically at some point in their playing - this is the thing about guitar (and any instrument) it is a lifelong voyage of discovery, finding new 'tricks' and ways of doing things - when you figure something out you wish you had figured it out sooner, or if somebody had told you it before, you might be further advanced - when we do this we become slightly disillusioned, forgetting the true value in those years spent.

I don't think either way is better, just different, and where 'medical' stuff is concerned I really doubt there are any concerns in this area.

I hope some of that made sense

Timbaline · #9 08-16-2009, 01:17 PM

nvmd I was wrong.

**jono** · #10 08-16-2009, 01:54 PM

That thread on UG shows why the internet can be such a scary place!!!

I'll pefer to get medical advice from a CTS specialist rather than internet forumites, sorry guys

If anyone here IS a wrist surgeon, drop me a PM

MicahC · #11 08-16-2009, 03:41 PM

Yeah, UG gets violent.

I don't anchor because I've heard horror stories about CTS and tendonitis and I did feel a different in playing when I switched and started not anchoring.

**jono** · #12 08-16-2009, 04:20 PM

i anchor but then I'm not one to time my "nps" or, until today, know that this actually was an abreviation!!!

taracatac · #13 08-16-2009, 04:46 PM

I have been anchoring since day 1, which was 23 years ago. Never had a problem.

**jono** · #14 08-16-2009, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by taracatac

I have been anchoring since day 1, which was 23 years ago. Never had a problem.

Maybe we can share stories when we end up in the doctors' waiting room then

DEADTUNES666 · #15 08-16-2009, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Homebake

well, i don't see how not anchoring could be any more harmful than anchoring. anchoring causes you to stretch more muscles and enforce more tension just to get that pinky on the pickguard.

i play on average about 3-6 hours a day, and a lot of that is devoted to picking. it just seems more natural to not anchor it. paul gilbert plays crazier lines than petrucci (although petrucci is faster) and he seems to have no problems. petrucci's picking lines are often straight, uncomplicated dense lines that are not very complex, they're just fast.

I wasn't nitpicking or trying to be an @ss, just adding my 2 cents. You are right though, whatever feels right mentally and physically is what matters most...

Quote:

Originally Posted by DEADTUNES666

medicalyl

What the hell is wrong with my spelling?

Going to change that right now!!!