I've always anchored my pinky on the guitar body. I feel it gives a great stability and reference point for your hand. It's good enough for Tommy Emmanuel... But other great players like Paco don't.
I do it both on electric and acoustic.
Lately however, I've developed "trigger finger" through excessive playing, heavy gardening and truly excessive computer usage at work. I've noticed my pinky definitely feels strained when it's extended and "resting" on the guitar body... Especially on acoustic, I'm wondering if the vibrations through that little finger can cause it damage.
I'm 99% certain the cause of this is due to work. I'm at the end of a project which has seen me working past midnight for months. Hand feels like a vulture's claw. It's not worth damaging your hand if you're a guitarist
Actually while I'm on the subject, I used to do pushups with palms to ground, arms at 90 degrees to the ground. Big mistake. For years now I've never been able to put weight on my right hand. It's time I see a physio about all this. This trigger finger is the worst, though.
So do you anchor your pinky?
Comments
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
You can play around it (ie you get good at what you practice) but it is sub optimal in terms of mechanics.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJqz3aXdN2M
What's interesting for me now about watching that video is that you see me just before the fast picking do a quick change of grip and position to get into that perfect shape for me (23 seconds on the vid). It's not my standard hand shape as I get less articulation with it, sounds a bit deader to me when playing normally, so I don't usually use it and whenever I learn something fast I have to work out what that hand position is again and almost re-learn to pick that fast. I'm currently learning something fast for the first time in about 5 years and I'm having to remember my tenets that I had:
1. rigid ok sign, don't let the circle flatten
2. break at the wrist more than normal
3. do not allow finger flexion
Basically, it's not essential, and I don't personally find it helpful anymore. Some of the great pickers do, some don't, guess it's what works for you.
I'm quite comfortable with fingers lightly curled in (not resting) for picking and often practice that way, but prefer fingers out (flailing about) for funk style rhythm, so that becomes my default.
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It depends on the song. If it's a country blues, Freight Train, something like that or anything with a fairly simple and repetitious picking pattern (Dust in the Wind) I lightly anchor.
Anything that needs greater dynamics or more "feel" I find it restrictive. I don't appear to make a conscious decision about it. Some songs I anchor, some I don't.
The burning question, and what everyone who’s watched that clip wants to know, is...
Did you just eat your breakfast straight from the pan? Or was there a plate and cutlery involved along the way?
The public deserves to know.
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