Do you anchor or not? Fingerstyle

dean111music

Hello,

Out of interest, do you anchor your hand (pinky stays on body of guitar) while you are playing fingerstyle?

anyone reason for your choice?

ronnyb

Yes, and if only using thumb index and middle fingers my ring and pinky stay sort of anchored on the high e if i'm not playing it. No particular reason just a style i've adopted. 

Roland

No. My hand moves to and fro as I adjust the picking point, and hence the attack and tone of the note. I also rotate my hand to use more or less flesh to brighten or deaden the note. They might be small differences, but I notice them.

stickyfiddle

Yes. But even after 20 years of playing I had to pick a guitar up to check.

VimFuego

fingerstyle, no. I have disproportionally short pinkies, so if I anchor it creates tension in my picking hand.

dean111music

I have always been a no but I’ve been testing it recently and using a thumb pick. 

Very odd doing both but I can see the benefit. The thumb pick definitely helps bring the bass notes out and separate the other strings.

The anchor has helped me not put as much pressure on my arm around the body of guitar as  anchoring pushes my arm out a bit. 

I’m 5ft 9” and I play a Maton 808 but always found the depth of the guitar body quite deep and my arm goes dead after lots of playing. Tensing up does not help but anchoring might? 

Any other similar experience?

McSwaggerty

Nope.

Kilgore

It depends.

 If it's a repetitive picking pattern that requires precision then usually yes. If it's a loose bluesy piece then usually not.

It's never a conscious choice either way. It's just what happens. I'm not aware of it when playing. 

maltingsaudio

Not my pinkie but yes my palm on the bridge

lincolnblue

No - never have. I've tried out of interest but just find it uncomfortable and restrictive. 

mikew

Generally no. But occasionally I find myself doing it unconsciously. Interesting how Tommy Emmanuel recommends it, yet other instructors the opposite. Just do what works for you. It’s part of the ‘do you play with fingers alone, thumbpick, nails and flesh’ etc. Works for some and not others. No right or wrong but in certain circumstances one may feel or sound better. But that’s again in the ears of the beholder (?!). 

m0rt

No. Always free. I think I made a conscious choice years ago when a teacher recommended not to anchor when learning the Mandolin and I carried it across. Also if doing tremolo picking, I find it more relaxing to be free and rotate the hand a little than to anchor and do it. 

ICBM

No, never. Not on acoustic, electric or bass - I tried once (emulating Mark Knopfler, he was a big early influence) and can't understand how anyone can play properly like that at all... it put my hand and fingers in the wrong position and completely restricted the movements I use.

Gandalph

As above, I’ve tried it but find the movement too restrictive. 

Chuffola

Yep, pinkie anchored on body or pickguard. Always have, always will.

Tannin

mikew said:

Interesting how Tommy Emmanuel recommends it, yet other instructors the opposite. Just do what works for you. 

There are hundreds of famous players who anchor. Brilliant musicians. And there are hundreds, equally brilliant, who don't.  Do what works. There are only two really dumb mistakes you can make - one is to claim that anchoring is bad, the other is to claim that not anchoring is bad.

(Like many here, I do both, switching between methods as the song demands, and usually without needing to be aware of it.) 

TheBigDipper

Not usually, but if it makes sense to me for a specific phrase or piece, sure. Technique is meant to help performance, not hinder it, right? I started as a classical player, so a floating right hand is my default but not my straight jacket. 

ToneControl

TheBigDipper said:

Not usually, but if it makes sense to me for a specific phrase or piece, sure. Technique is meant to help performance, not hinder it, right? I started as a classical player, so a floating right hand is my default but not my straight jacket. 

yep, depends on the piece and the instrument
(and to be frank, the sitting position - sometimes you can't get an ideal place to sit)

JMS96

Yes, always. It moves around a little - sometimes on bottom string, more often on pickguard, bridge, etc. Even when strumming, the pinky is gently stroking the guitar somewhere.

TrevinDevon

I didn't even find out anchoring was a thing until I'd been playing for about 40 years! Since there's such debate, I'd guess it has more to do with how you're taught (if you're taught) or how you feel more comfortable than improving your playing. And since there seem to be an equal number of great guitarists who do and don't anchor, I doubt very much whether changing to anchoring will actually make anyone a better player. My own many flaws are the result of poor technique, not pinky placement, and I've got enough to do working on those, let alone trying to master a different style as well. All that said, I can see that anchoring might be worth considering (for me) for repetitive speed-building exercises, so I might give it a shot for those.

Tannin

I think that there is a case for switching styles if you always use one or the other. It may be that the other style suits you better. Worth checking out, especially if you have a specific issue you think it may help you with.