Where is your fretting hand supposed to be?(resting on bridge or in air?)

[moomooemu]

Is it supposed to rest on bottom strings while not playing/ on bridge Or should I always have it in air except for palm muting? Also some people use their pinkies to help stabalize their hand? Whats your opinion on this?

[MysweetFracture]

You mean your right hand (picking) hand?

I rest it on the bridge for picking, and let it hover for strumming. Never got into the pinky habit however- i know some people do.

[Ephemeral]

Yeah, I think he means picking hand. I don't really know what I do...

Lemme go check...

It seems that I am a very odd guitarist. Sometimes my pinky just bounces up and down on the body, sometimes its not there at all, and sometimes I use my pinky and ring finger in the same fashion.

[Klown]

I rest it on the bridge for picking, and let it hover for strumming.
That's exactly what I do.

[SpongeB0b]

I rest it on the bridge for picking, and let it hover for strumming. Never got into the pinky habit however- i know some people do.
I do almost as MysweerFracture! I try and concentrate on doing "the pinky thingy" ;) I tend to forget though :upset:

[kirk hammett's D man]

i tend to rest on the strings, i just naturally go to the strings not the bridge...weird, i uesed to do the "pinkie" thing. got out of it though, cuz the playing i wanted to do made me quit. but the "pinkie" thing is not that weird.

[moomooemu]

err, meant picking hand.

[Evil Peavey]

I plant my pinky and ring finger on the body while I play.

[Joel_SS]

I generally rest it on the bridge for most playing. for faster single note soloing I will lift it off becasue at that point I tend to move my whole arm..

[Mother]

I like to palm mute a lot.

[The Elf]

i rest it on the bridge often, but now i have a floyde rose, you have to be really carefull, otherwise it wil change the string pitch just by leaning on it. Its ok if you lean it above the pivot point though

[Trainee_Guitarist]

I keep it in the air for strumming of course, But if Im picking the strings I'll play as if im "palm muting the bridge" for more control.

WTF is "the pinkie thing"??

[bloodseed]

i tend to let mine hover a fair bit part from palm muting, maybe thats why I cant go faster than 16th's at 130?? I do the anchor thing most of the time without knowing it. A quick question, where do you pick the string. Mine tends to land naturally over the back of the neck pick up.

[kirk hammett's D man]

I keep it in the air for strumming of course, But if Im picking the strings I'll play as if im "palm muting the bridge" for more control.

WTF is "the pinkie thing"??

"the pinkie thing" is where you ancor your pinkie on the body just below the strings so you can hover above the strings as you are playing, it is somewhat common..

[kirk hammett's D man]

i tend to let mine hover a fair bit part from palm muting, maybe thats why I cant go faster than 16th's at 130?? I do the anchor thing most of the time without knowing it. A quick question, where do you pick the string. Mine tends to land naturally over the back of the neck pick up.

i think i'm just a little behind you in the picking area. i like it 13/16 of the way in between the pups

[Alive]

Shredders often say to anchor your pinky, but I'm pretty sure someone clever here said that will actually slow you down unless you are very fast.

[KKinsane]

I have a strange way

Bridge just behind strings = Picking
on bridge and 0.5 cm of string = Palm muted
Of body = Strumming
Pick above neck pick = Tremelo picking/Pick up Harmonic solos :P

[king of the losers]

alright, i have a question but im not completly sure how to use this forum. I just set up my acc...what is drop d tuning?

[TheRedDeath19]

I
WTF is "the pinkie thing"??

Yeah i don't get that pinky thing either.

I think i play palm muted too much, i wear out the low C#, E, D by the bridge and it breaks easier. I've broken the same damn string twice in less than 2 months because of that.

I'm pretty sure i leave my hand in the air, except when i'm tremolo picking, or palm muting, or both at the same time.

[MysweetFracture]

alright, i have a question but im not completly sure how to use this forum. I just set up my acc...what is drop d tuning?


When you lower the top string "E" down to the note d. Its so you can play one finger power chords and other stuff.

[Evil Peavey]

Actually, it's the bottom 6th string (E) that is tuned to D. ;)

[El_Capitan]

Drop tuning i where you tunr yor guitar so that the thickest string (E) is duned a whole step (two frets) down. this means that you can play power chords with one finger, useful for playing lots of metal stuff.

I actually touch the high e with my pinky when i'm playing the low strings and anchor it just above the volume knob when i'm playing high strings. I'ts actually a pretty bad thing to do but i find it easier to control my right hand that way. (Didnt i see Malmsteen doing that on the G3 DVD?). I've seen a video of satriani actually walking his fingers over the high strings while playing some crazy fast arpeggio solo, muting each string individually as he goes. ****ing genius.

[El_Capitan]

i just realised how many times i used the word actually in that post. Lol

Actually i tend to 'bounce' my hand up and down while i'm playing. I dont actually know why. i just realised. it must be a bad thing. Anyone else get this? Instead of just picking the notes properly i actually jump up and down with the pick. Wierd.

[MysweetFracture]

Actually, it's the bottom 6th string (E) that is tuned to D. ;)


Its the top if you are looking at the guitar from playing position;)

[Evil Peavey]

I understand what you meant, just correcting you to save anyone from being confused by you using the wrong terms.

It may be physically on top, but it is actually the bottom.

E -- 6th String Bottom
A -- 5th String
D -- 4th String
G -- 3rd String
B -- 2nd String
E -- 1st String Top

The 6th, 5th, and 4th strings are referred to as the bottom strings while the 3rd, 2nd and 1st strings are the top strings.

For instances, Ernie Ball Heavy Bottom/Slinky Top hybrid strings include heavy gauge 6th, 5th, and 4th strings (bottom) and light gauge 3rd, 2nd, 1st strings (top).

[Alive]

i just realised how many times i used the word actually in that post. Lol

Actually i tend to 'bounce' my hand up and down while i'm playing. I dont actually know why. i just realised. it must be a bad thing. Anyone else get this? Instead of just picking the notes properly i actually jump up and down with the pick. Wierd.

You pick from your elbow? That is terrible technique.

[Esp Griffyn]

I rest on the bridge for general picking, I hover for strumming, and for those really really fast bits I anchor, helps me get the speed, ala John Petrucci.

[Quofreak]

You mean your right hand (picking) hand?

I rest it on the bridge for picking, and let it hover for strumming. Never got into the pinky habit however- i know some people do.

Me too

[El_Capitan]

Nah i dont pick from my elbow (although there is some tension in my upper arm which im finding hard to get rid of). what i mean is after i pick the note i kind of lift the pick upwards (away from the guitar) about 2/3 mm using my wrist. i have no idea why. it's gotta be slowing me down but i cant seem to stop. wierd.

[ragingrob]

I do the pinky thing.

[moomooemu]

But would it help me in the long run if I just hovered? Is that the proper technique?

[El_Capitan]

Accorging to reliable sources the proper technique is no have NO PART of your right arm touching the guitar. Not the wrist or the hand or even the forearm. I know, i know, it's pain in the ***. but it does sound better. (by the way i have appalling technique) Most guitarists tend to play with the heel of their hand or the bony bit by the joint touching or very nearly touching the bridge just behind the strings.

You want to make sure that by hovering your not picking from your elbow. it's much harder to build up accurate speed if youre doing that.

http://www.cyberfret.com/classic/right_left_hand_tech_5.htm

That link basically outlines the classic 'good' technique. as you read it you will realise that it is a complete pain in the ***. up to you dude......
All the cyberfret classic lessons are really helpful. check them out.

[Alive]

Accorging to reliable sources the proper technique is no have NO PART of your right arm touching the guitar. Not the wrist or the hand or even the forearm. I know, i know, it's pain in the ***. but it does sound better. (by the way i have appalling technique) Most guitarists tend to play with the heel of their hand or the bony bit by the joint touching or very nearly touching the bridge just behind the strings.

You want to make sure that by hovering your not picking from your elbow. it's much harder to build up accurate speed if youre doing that.

http://www.cyberfret.com/classic/right_left_hand_tech_5.htm

That link basically outlines the classic 'good' technique. as you read it you will realise that it is a complete pain in the ***. up to you dude......
All the cyberfret classic lessons are really helpful. check them out.


Classical has arm rested on top of guitar.

[RNR]

I tend to do a combination of floating, the pinky thing with the 3 and 2 finger in any combination and resting my hand on the strings. It depends on what's most comfortable for what i'm playing :)

[Krabsworth]

I have contour on my strat (obviously), so I rest my forearm on there.

[NARKILL]

My picking hand hovers all the time, unless i'm palm muting.

[Kirk's Puppet]

I always anchor or rest my palm on my strings just before the bridge. I only 'palm mute' the strings I don't play though. Resting the palm on bridge feels weird for me, the tremolo bar is always in the way.