Right hand technique problem

[dennis]

I have started reworking my technique. I am confused about my right hand.
1.I tried floating. The problem is, how do I mute string while doing legato?? I mean, woudnt I have to go back to the non-floating method
2. My thumb keeps on clipping unwanted strings while picking. For eg, while playing the G string it clips the D.

Thanks

[EricV]

1. Floating does not mean your hand doesnt touch the strings at all. Of course you can use palm-muting, or use parts of your fingers to mute adjacent strings. The idea of floating is to not anchor the hand by putting your fingers onto the surface, or holding on to the pickups.

2. How long have you been working on this? Switching to floating after playing for some time already will mean quite a big change, and when trying to play something at a remotely high speed, stuff like that will happen. PG once said that it took him months to switch to a different picking style.
In this case, you wanna check how much of the pick is used for the actual picking, and also, look at the actual motion to see exactly why this happens. Then try to change that bit. This goes for many other technique-problems as well
Eric

[dennis]

Eric,
Thanks for the response. Your articles have really helped me a lot( rather LOT).
1.Wait, I seem to be a bit confused here, if i use my palm for muting purposes, which i will need 99% of the time, its not floating right?? Because then I will be anchoring with my palm itself.
2. Yup, I am looking at my technique, did that the entire day. I gues I should be more carefull while noodling. Basically I have been playing for almost 4 years, but my technique is sloppy and I wanted to restart, with almost perfect technique. This time I wanna do things the right way.
I basically have a very fat thumb, I hold the pick with my thumb and index finger, the thumb being parallel to the guitar strings,the index perpendicular. Also the pick is at an angle to the strings.

[hairballxavier]

Eric,
Thanks for the response. Your articles have really helped me a lot( rather LOT).
1.Wait, I seem to be a bit confused here, if i use my palm for muting purposes, which i will need 99% of the time, its not floating right?? Because then I will be anchoring with my palm itself.

I think what the term "anchoring" refers to is actually holding onto a specific spot on piece of hardware on the guitar such as the bridge or a pickup cover or even something on the guitar specifically there for that purpose such as a thumb-stop on a bass with your hand or even resting your hand on the guitar body in one certain place as a reference and/or leverage point.

Floating doesn't mean you can't palm mute.

But I guess it is kind of an ambiguous term.

[AndyPollow]

I found somethin really cool - buy a metal fingerpick and a cheap notebook with thin hard plastic, cut a square out of the note book and put double sided tape all over the back of it and tape it on the guitar like where a pickgaurd would be, put the finger pick on your ring or..? finger sideways and bend the tip up a litttle so it slides flat on the plastic. Its easy to balance like ancoring in one place but you can move more freely like free hand. Thin smooth metal might be cool too but I havent found any the right size yet. Not every material works cuz some materials dont allow the metal fingerpick to slide fast enough.

[EricV]

Eric,
1.Wait, I seem to be a bit confused here, if i use my palm for muting purposes, which i will need 99% of the time, its not floating right?? Because then I will be anchoring with my palm itself.

Just like Xavier said (and I have tried to clear this up in several threads), palm-muting does not mean you´re anchoring. Anchoring refers to holding on to the edge of the pickup, or touching the surface of the guitar with one or more fingers for increased stability. That´s what floating is the opposite of.
Of course you still need to palm-mute even when you float the hand, and you can do so, or even graze the bridge with the edge anyway.


I basically have a very fat thumb, I hold the pick with my thumb and index finger, the thumb being parallel to the guitar strings,the index perpendicular. Also the pick is at an angle to the strings.

Sounds about right. What I am trying to say was: if there is unwanted noise, slow it down and speed up again to the point where that noise comes up. Then check where it´s from. What´s causing it? Is it the flesh of your thumb? If so, you should try to move the thumb slightly, or use a bit more of the tip of your pick so you can avoid that. In case that your pick cant be held stiff anymore in that position, you might need to reposition the index finger too.
Figuring out the exact problem is difficult even with your description, and I think what always works best is to look at it closely, slow down to see at what point the problem occurs and then try to pinpoint what causes the problem. Then work on that specific thing.
Hope this helps a bit
Eric