Last month I discussed the different variants of how to hold the guitar pick; this month’s post will discuss hand position when picking. No matter how the student holds the pick, their hand position is generally adjusted over time for maximum effectiveness. To clarify, a picking hand position differs from a strumming hand position as the picking position is one the hand assumes when playing things such as individual notes, power chords or palm muting. Whereas, a strumming hand position is one the hand takes when playing multi-string chords such as the open “E” which requires all six strings. A player will need to master each position and easily switch between them depending upon the musical situations.
As an advanced player, my picking hand position leans back onto palm of my hand. The hand is anchored so that it has a stable base from which to play from resulting in an accurate pick attack and clearer, well defined notes. If the hand is not anchored and
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| Anchored Hand Position - best for individual note picking |
floats above the strings when playing, picking will become inaccurate and notes will not sound clearly. Although the floating hand may not be optimal for single picking and the like, it is the hand position of choice for strumming.
For many students anchoring the hand from the palm is not a desirable position when they first start to play; therefore, I have them adopt a modified anchor position. In the modified anchor position the hand is anchored by the “extended” fingers of the
Modified Anchor Position
fan formation (see June post on Pick Basics) as opposed to the palm. Then, over the course of weeks as a student develops picking facility the hand is gradually adjusted to the anchor position. Next, month I’ll be discussing the three basic types of picking that beginning students will need to be familiar with– til’ then!
