How Do You Hold Your Picking Hand?

[TSJMajesty]

I.e., fingers out, or tucked in?

I've always used my fingers to help stabilize my hand by resting them on the guitar. My LP even has a wear hole through the paint from doing it so much, and the Majesty is starting to show signs of it around the PU rout.

But lately I've noticed an anomaly with how I'm picking when I go for a fast passage (this all pertains to strict alternate picking) in that as I cross to the next string, I'm developing a bad habit of rotating my hand, with the same motion as turning a doorknob, and sort of "hopping" over the string, as opposed to using pick slanting. Which is definitely the way I want to do it, as every player that I consider to know what they're talking about, claims is the best technique for this purpose.

So I knew I needed to fix that rotating motion, and instead pivot from my wrist, like shaking hands. So I once again tried tucking my fingers under my palm, as I found this ergonomic forces me to use my wrist.

I had tried this a while back after watching some of Bernth's videos, as he insists this is the right way if you want to be able to build speed. (One of my goals is to be able to play the riff in Home by Dream Theater, that comes in the first time at about 4:00. If I can get that, that's as far as I'm trying to go, and I can die a happy guitarist! Lol)

But not everyone agrees this way of holding your picking hand is absolutely necessary (Petrucci for example, doesn't play this way), and I have trouble with my knuckles rubbing against the strings. Plus, it feels awkward after all these years. So that's one reason for the title question.

But..., after trying it again I discovered a few things: One, since it's much easier to control that rotation thing, it more or less forces me to change strings the right way, and get rid of that hopping-over-the-string bad habit. Plus, it's reinforcing my picking motion to use my wrist, which definitely helps my control. Man, when I try to just go for that riff, with my fingers out, and watch my picking hand, it was doing all sorts of weird motions, totally out of control! I think of @DrewJD82 calling out his buddy as a "bitch-picker."

And, I was also not rubbing the strings nearly as much as before. Not sure if I will change, as I've had to go quite a ways backwards in speed, to get my riffs clean, but it's definitely helping me break a bad habit, and I can already, just after a few days, see some good progress. So I'll continue to use it, even if it's only to generate the muscle-memory of pivoting at the wrist.

If any of you guys/gals ever adjusted, or changed, something major like this, even if it meant going backwards for a while, how'd it work out overall?

 

[the-trooper]

Oh, man, we could talk about this for days! And agree and disagree about everything and change our minds several times in the process.

I.e., fingers out, or tucked in?

I never played with fingers out, but i didn't exactly have them tucked in all the way. My hand is closed, but not fist like.

a bad habit of rotating my hand, with the same motion as turning a doorknob

This actually isn't a bad thing, it's two way pickslanting, the holy grail!
It allows you to ditch string hopping by creating an arching movement. Each pick move, either up or down is simultaneously also a pick slant! Watch this from timestamp, look at 13:30!

pivot from my wrist, like shaking hands.

I know this is how Petrucci is doing it, but I could never do anything with that "play just from the wrist" technique. Not before and not now.

If any of you guys/gals ever adjusted, or changed, something major like this, even if it meant going backwards for a while, how'd it work out overall?

I did. And i changed it completely. It's now several years since I started the change, after discovering Troy Gradys channel, watching the videos and completely changing the way I hold the pick, the hand, how I move it. And there isn't necessarily one way to play at all times. When playing rhythm with palm mutes it's one way, when playing slow solos another, when furious shred comes up the third way.
How'd it work out? Amazing! Considering how little I actually practice and how much more I can play now without it being a struggle, and that now I can cleanly play what I previously had to "cheat" with economy picking or pulloffs and hammerons. It's great.

 

[TSJMajesty]

Oh, man, we could talk about this for days! And agree and disagree about everything and change our minds several times in the process.

I'm sure!

This actually isn't a bad thing, it's two way pickslanting, the holy grail!

Oh I know about that. That's not what my hand is/was doing. It's maybe a "form" of it, but it's way too exaggerated to retain any control. It's getting out of hand!!! Oh I couldn't resist!

My palm is coming completely up and off the guitar. Then back down again, over and over.

It allows you to ditch string hopping by creating an arching movement. Each pick move, either up or down is simultaneously also a pick slant! Watch this from timestamp, look at 13:30!

I've watched tons of these. I'm getting the slant thing, when I'm not rotating my wrist. I can tell because I hit the string in question, I have to switch between UPS & DPS during the riff, and I can barely even see myself doing it. (When I'm doing it right.)

And there isn't necessarily one way to play at all times.

Oh hell yeah! I'm still trying various things, like almost completely open-hand when I'm playing 16th note octave riffs, for example. Like strumming an acoustic.

When playing rhythm with palm mutes it's one way, when playing slow solos another, when furious shred comes up the third way.
How'd it work out? Amazing! Considering how little I actually practice and how much more I can play now without it being a struggle, and that now I can cleanly play what I previously had to "cheat" with economy picking or pulloffs and hammerons. It's great.

Cool!

 

[DrewJD82]

Both, I cup my fingers at times and use them to balance my hand with.

But the cupping is only when I’m using my ring finger to get pinch harmonics. I’m maybe 85% accurate when using my thumb for them, but I’m 100% accurate when using my ring finger. It’s because I used to play with my hand cupped all the time, or holding the whammy bar as I played, and I mistakenly kept hitting pinch harmonics, so I eventually developed it into my playing.

Usually when I’m picking fast, my middle finger knuckle raises up and my ring finger/pinky push together at the tips, balancing on the guitar. The majority of my movement is at the wrist and I pivot off those two fingers that stayed anchored to the guitar. Edit- just now I realized I actually push my middle finger into the nail of my forefinger when I’m picking faster; I remember back in the day realizing I was tightening my hand up too much when going for fast stuff, so I let off on the death grip a bit, I probably started reinforcing my forefinger around that time to get the pick steadier while not squeezing the sh*t out of it.

 

[Gearzilla]

Is this the age old floating vs anchored?

 

[Gearzilla]

Or is it fingers curled vs the buckwheat?

 

[Sleezy E]

Tight.. just like my ladies

 

[Sascha Franck]

One thing to keep in mind: All that Troy Grady stuff is recorded and analyzed "after the fact". So, Steve Morse picked that way even if he didn't know of Grady's videos. And that's true for pretty much all the players analyzed. Hence the almost myriads of different techniques - which all seem to work somehow.
Just sayin'...

 

[Badonkey Kong]

Troy Grady's stuff is so fascinating. So many ways to approach things! I wish I had this information way back in the 80's. And it's so logical, I'm irritated that I didn't just figure it out. Like i could never really play the Bark at the Moon riff perfectly (or a lot of faster rhythm parts, actually). Well, it turns out it doesn't work so great when you are naturally a downward escape player, which I am. Yet I could rip on a lot of things, because I'd unknowingly start with an upstroke (like the don't stop believing 2 NPS thing, or really any even number NPS stuff). And I was unknowingly swiping on a lot of stuff, like the descending 4's pattern at the end of the Don't Tell Me You Love Me solo. Descending stuff was somehow easier than ascending. It all made sense after I discovered Troy's stuff.

TSJMajesty - you asked about trying to change your picking hand - I tried to learn an alternate hand position in order to learn upward escape, since I love Yngwie and EJ and even though I could mimic a bunch of things I wanted to "play it right". I worked on it for well over a year, and it never felt natural. At some point I said "F it!" and went back to my natural style and embraced it. I have since worked on the "helper" motion for upward escape on ascending lines and workarounds for whatever licks I wanted to play note for note. I guess I don't really have a point other than give it a go - maybe set a goal with what you are trying to achieve and find a way to measure your progress. In my experience, big changes can take a lot of time; how much you are willing to put into it is up to you. But don't feel bad if you end up playing something "your way". That's what makes guitar so awesome - all these different ways of playing is what makes us each unique.
And I'm still busting my butt on right hand rhythm playing. After hearing some of the Week 1 "Do Anything" submissions I really got motivated again to keep pushing it.

 

[Bruce]

However I’m doing it, do it the other way because I’m pretty bad at it.

 

[norminal]

Like this:

 

[mavrick102000]

Used to be buckwheat nearly all the time.

Now it's more like norminal, particularly on lead/alt picking. Hybrid picking and my fingers are a little more open to allow my middle and ring finger to reach out to do their thing on other strings.

I'm not completely comfortable with palm mutes, gallops with my fingers curled - it's not the only type of music I try to play.

I can't consistently get enough meat at the edge of the bridge. I maybe over slanting my pick attack and need to rotate back slightly.

 

[TSJMajesty]

I can't consistently get enough meat at the edge of the bridge. I maybe over slanting my pick attack and need to rotate back slightly.

This is challenging for me too, especially since I played a Les Paul for so long during my habit-forming years.

 

[la szum]

Tucked and anchored.... unless raking them strings SRV style. I could never do the floating thing.

I have a mark on the face of most of my guitars where my pinky digs in. Is that bad?

 

[la szum]

The one who gets me is George Lynch. His technique is so unique.

His picking hand is soooooo fanned out.

 

[Eagle]

One thing to keep in mind: All that Troy Grady stuff is recorded and analyzed "after the fact". So, Steve Morse picked that way even if he didn't know of Grady's videos. And that's true for pretty much all the players analyzed. Hence the almost myriads of different techniques - which all seem to work somehow.
Just sayin'...

You are only looking at the ones that succeed though which is the stated purpose for the series.

 

[la szum]

Marty Friedman has an odd approach. Looks painful. But it works for him. It's a miracle!

Also notice how he picks over the neck pickup.

 

[Sascha Franck]

Marty Friedman has an odd approach. Looks painful. But it works for him. It's a miracle!

Almost like George Benson (and some gypsy jazz guys). But while I can understand this for cleans, it's indeed a miracle how he's making it work with distorted sounds. I mean, usually, you're using the palm of your hand to mute all strings lower than the played one - but with that "upside down" technique, that's pretty much not possible anymore.

 

[the-trooper]

Also notice how he picks over the neck pickup.

Easy when you have hair that mutes the strings.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

I hold my plectrum between my thumb and middle finger with my ring and little finger resting on the guitar.