Martin
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Post by Martin on Apr 6, 2013 17:02:36 GMT
Going on from a recent thread where I was reminded of this old chestnut from the past, I thought it best to post again. My own personal thoughts on this have changed. Before, I was a confirmed pinky-anchorer, playing with bare thumb and finger flesh, and getting my own decent, but maybe unreliable sound going. I took comfort in the knowledge that such great players as Stefan Grossman did likewise, but for the past year or so, I've been playing with thumbpick and fingernails, and lifting my right hand off the soundboard when playing. I don't know if this is better or not, but it seems to suit the style just fine, and while it took a bit of getting used to I now find I can play both as an ''anchorer' and a 'floater'. So, which do you do and why??
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leoroberts
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Post by leoroberts on Apr 6, 2013 17:28:38 GMT
I'm a 'floater'... if I was being dishonest I'd say that it was because I reckon if you anchor the pinkie then you must be deadening the soundboard resonance or, at least, restricting its ability to vibrate ... but, truth be told, it's just that I've always played un-anchored
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Apr 6, 2013 18:06:40 GMT
er, both! Keith
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2013 19:55:36 GMT
There's no bloody anchors or pinkies on my guitar!!
Must be a floaterer then.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2013 20:53:37 GMT
Unless I'm free strumming or after a particularly light touch I anchor. I find the pivot point gives me more control, especially in Travis/Atkins styles and flatpicking single-note lines. Playing three finger banjo and dobro it seems all but essential: I just can't get the rhythm, tone and flow without it.
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Post by thecorner on Apr 6, 2013 21:59:02 GMT
Have tried numerous times to be a "floater", but find it really difficult to be accurate enough. So i've just given in and decided that I'm a confirmed anchorer, and it's unlikely that I'll change that. Sometimes I even (horror of horrors) rest my hand on the bridge!!! (usually only if I want to damp the bass strings though) Eric
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brianr2
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Post by brianr2 on Apr 6, 2013 22:21:08 GMT
A floater. My fingers are too stubby to be otherwise: if the pinkie were anchored, the rest of the hand would be marooned.
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Post by jonnymosco on Apr 6, 2013 22:47:15 GMT
'Anchored' suggests that you are actually improving the agility of the fingers, when in actual fact you are limiting their movement - just try it, hold all four fingers on a table, lift off your three fingers (i,m,a) wiggle them with the pinkie still on the table. Then try it with all fingers off the table. Which feels more comfortable, which allows more movement of the fingers?
Anchoring on the strings is another matter and can be very useful, but never anchoring the pinkie (the way the tendons work, it will always restrict your finger movement). So, flamenco players will anchor the thumb on the 6th string when playing a rasguedo or using the index and middle to pick. And when using the thumb for a falseta, lead line, whatever, on the bass strings, the fingers can anchor on the top strings.
The golden rule is to limit stress on the tendons and ligaments of the hand/fingers and to try to work within the limits of what it can comfortably do.
Jonny
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Post by scripsit on Apr 7, 2013 0:43:29 GMT
I learned to fingerpick after a twenty year total abstinence from guitar playing, the original core of which was exclusively electric with a plectrum. In the very early days we used to do some Rory Gallagher covers which involved flat pick and two other fingers, but that was it for the right hand.
I had (and still have) an Ovation Legend acoustic for working out songs and solos away from the amp, which was bought because its neck felt like a Strat. I could never do that repetitive pattern thing which everyone said was the way you learn how to fingerpick, so even when sitting around accompanying people playing Dylan songs or the like I used a flatpick.
When the addiction took hold again, which was the fault of spending an afternoon listening to Bert Jansch's 'Rosemary Lane' after years of baroque and classical listening, I quickly found out about Martin Simpson and Al Petteway, and forced myself to sit down with a thumbpick and some tabs and put myself through about eight weeks of hell until I suddenly 'got it'. I also discovered I could play the equivalent of repetitive patterns with my right hand as long as I actually was playing a piece and not thinking about the pattern.
Fast forward a couple of years, and with some decent acoustic guitars with wider necks and bigger strings I quite enjoy it.
Now when I look at it, my right hand 'floats' at all times, and the only anchoring that happens is palm muting around the bridge when necessary. I think the floating started because both Martin and Al do that middle finger 'whack' thing and I just got used to trying to be ready for it even in pieces that didn't require it.
By the way, I've seen some videos of both of these gentlemen with pinky anchored, although I don't think it's their normal practice.
Kym
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Post by jonnymosco on Apr 7, 2013 7:42:22 GMT
Addendum: if it sounds good, who cares?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2013 7:57:52 GMT
'Anchored' suggests that you are actually improving the agility of the fingers, when in actual fact you are limiting their movement - just try it, hold all four fingers on a table, lift off your three fingers (i,m,a) wiggle them with the pinkie still on the table. Then try it with all fingers off the table. Which feels more comforatble, which allows more movement of the fingers? Anchoring on the strings is another matter and can be very useful, but never anchoring the pinkie (the way the tendons work, it will always restrict your finger movement). So, flamenco players will anchor the thumb on the 6th string when playing a rasguedo or using the index and middle to pick. And when using the thumb for a falseta, lead line, whatever, on the bass strings, the fingers can anchor on the top strings. The golden rule is to limit stress on the tendons and ligaments of the hand/fingers and to try to work within the limits of what it can comfortably do. Jonny True Jonny - for you. But all hands are configured differently and I have long and very rigid fingers which benefit from the pivot point rather than otherwise, plus my fingerpicking style is derived from the Travis and Watson school rather than classical or flamenco stylings that I have no desire to learn. I actually find that the floaty style is uncomfortable, makes my wrist ache and prevents me from getting the particular species of tones I favour. In fact practically every musician that inspires me "touches down," even mandolinists like Sam Bush, and especially bluegrass banjo players like Scruggs and Bill Keith, whose three finger styles are arguably impossible without the anchor. It's not as restrictive as that word "anchor" implies either: the little finger touches very lightly and can float, giving the others opportunity to relax and flex. By the by, your example of placing the pivot on the table is a bit of a cheat, as the horizontal palms-down position automatically puts more stress on the wrist than that experienced on an instrument that's held vertically with the wrist relaxed. One of the the reasons why there's an arch over the strings of a dobro is to take some of that added stress off by giving added support without damping from the heel of the picking hand.
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Wild Violet
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Post by Wild Violet on Apr 7, 2013 15:48:14 GMT
I used to, my fingers are double jointed so my pinky would kind of get stuck there. Took me about 6 months to learn to play without it. Now I'm a floater for flatpicking, but not fingerpicking.
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Phil Taylor
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Post by Phil Taylor on Apr 7, 2013 18:51:40 GMT
I think I am a 60 anchor 40 floater kind of guy. I don't think it affects the sound much if anything at all. Actually, whilst writing, I have just checked my videos and it suggests I anchor all the time Phil
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Post by michaelwatts on Apr 7, 2013 21:10:54 GMT
Sometimes...
more than others...
But it's not something I agonise over...
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Post by mrcrump on Apr 8, 2013 9:22:58 GMT
Most blues/ ragtime players I've watched or had a bit of a lesson from seem to prefer to anchor and I've always felt that I ought to do it too as that's largely the style I play, but anchoring my little finger really hurts my hand and limits my other fingers' movement, so I just can't do it. I'm not sure that my hand floats though - I think it just sort of flaps about feebly, which I'm sure is not good technique!
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