Poll: Picking Style

[Buebo]

I've been wondering what kind of picking style everybody here is using. I myself tried floating for some time but I stopped doing it and went back to my old style, where I rest the side of my hand at the top of my bridge. So what kind of picking style do you have?

[tinsmith]

Finger pickin' with the pinky resting on the body. I know it's a taboo, but if it's good enough for Don Felder, I think I don't have to change for the purists.


With a pick, it's just resting on the bridge .

[Bizarro]

All the above EXCEPT picking from the elbow. It really depends on what I'm trying to do! :)

[Maarten]

I played for about 7 years with one or more fingers on the pickguard, but stopped doing it recently and it solved some problems for me. When playing fast my pick would start to rotate so I had to re-grip it a lot, but that doesn't happen anymore since I started playing with a free-floating hand. It didn't take much of an adjustment for me either.
I also play with my thumb on some pieces, and sometimes use various fingerstyles.
On bass I never use a pic (horrrrrrrible sound) but use the standard fingerstyle.

[Caffeinated Cat]

With my hand resting lightly on the bridge, sliding it up and down depending on if I'm playing on the high strings or the low ones.

[axe_man_oli]

I say floating... by floating does it mean like slightly touching the strings but not putting weight on them..??? because if it means totally off the strings then my playing would be horribly disonant with all the ringing un-muted notes...I don't rest it on the bridge except for some rythm... I don't rest my pinky anymore... and its a very comfortable way to play...

[Vilesilencer]

I personally consider "floating" to have the hand totally off of the strings. I only really use it when I'm playing acoustic and want to fatten up the sound of what I'm playing. Although you can use it on electric easily enough, say if you were picking over the fretboard itself for a really warm/full sound. I'd never bother trying to use it with distortion, it'd be way too dirty.

I'm really suprised such a large chunk of the people picked "floating". We have a lot of closet jazz cats in here or something?

[clanner]

I usually just play finger style on my bass with everything but volume turned down so it sounds really smooth. if I do use a pick I switch between styles and tend to go every where so floating works except in jazz where finger style is the only way to go for me. and yes there probly are a ton of closet jazz players around here. me being a proud jazzbo and metal head (actually it doesn't matter as long as it ain't country, pop, or hip hop/rap.)

[debaser]

I usually just play finger style on my bass with everything but volume turned down so it sounds really smooth. if I do use a pick I switch between styles and tend to go every where so floating works except in jazz where finger style is the only way to go for me. and yes there probly are a ton of closet jazz players around here. me being a proud jazzbo and metal head (actually it doesn't matter as long as it ain't country, pop, or hip hop/rap.)

You use finger style to play bebop tunes?

To answer the question, I generally anchor on the bridge so that I can mute if I need to. The exception to that is when I'm doing hybrid-picking stuff.

[metalprep6969]

All the above EXCEPT picking from the elbow. It really depends on what I'm trying to do! :)
That's about the same with me. For rhythm stuff or moderate tempo leads, I normally rest on the bridge or float for chords and slower arpeggios. For crazy alternate picking (which is crazy for me but prolly easy for a lot of you guys) i anchor my pinkie. I was worried about anchoring for a while, thinking it was a bad technique, but when I found out Petrucci has been doing it for years I figured what the hay. I still might use my elbow a little bit every once in a while, but I'm trying to stop I swear! Oh I float for hybrid picking stuff too.

\m/

[oRg]

I'm a floating picker in the aspect of I just rest my palm when I want to mute strings. That's all I use my palm for other than regular palm muting. Just to make sure I don't get any dissonant and unwanted ringing due to the horrible muting technique that my left-hand has...lol.

[fader198]

I rest my hand on the bridge and place my pinky on the frame of the bridge pickup. I tried floating for awhile but it didn't work out too well. I can pick better this way for some reason.

[debaser]

I just wanted to mention to people who anchor at the bridge, like I always have, that since this poll was posted, I've been practicing most of my technical exercises anchored and floating. I have the impresssion that it's been really helpful - I seem to be gaining some control over my picking motion that I wouldn't have otherwise, because I'm not relying on the bridge pressing against my hand. Having to control the movement when you're floating is more difficult in many ways(from the perspective of someone who's never done it before, anyway), but it also seems to develop a greater degree of muscular control that will apply to anchored picking as well. Check it out for a few days if you have some time.

[se_12121]

I float but used to anchor with finger. When you float it makes accuracy easier consistency and really high speed, as well as good tone, it also helps you produce full sound by picking hard enuff. When i picked anchoring with wrist or sumtimes finger thumb movement i could trem pick fast but when i took off distortion there was no sound cause there was not enuff power. Btw why cant i vote in the picking style poll, doesnt it make it kinda pointless if not everyone can vote.Sean