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Please note this is an archived topic, so it is locked and unable to be replied to. You may, however, start a new topic and refer to this topic with a link: http://www.mandohangout.com/archive/34453
CCRider - Posted - 08/08/2013: 09:56:36
Hi, everybody, I know there are a lot of you on here that use this grip and some of you that have even taken some lessons from Mike Marshall, so I wanted to ask for some help from you all! So my first question is where exactly on the finger does the pick stay. To me it seems like Marshall and Thile in their Homespun video have it on the side as shown in the first picture, but I thought maybe it might be closer to the knuckle instead? It makes me think it's more like the first picture though because Thile says to have the index down almost parallel with the point and thats impossible with it by the knuckle. My second question involves the thumb joint. Mike Marshall says to keep the thumb joint straight, but whenever I hold it against the side like in the first picture, my thumb looks like the second picture. This is how my thumb also looks when my hand is fully open, not holding a pick. This doesn't seem right though as Marshall says to keep the thumb joint straight and Marshall and Thile and almost everyone else I see using this grip has their thumb looking more like the third picture, where the thumb looks ever so slightly arched. Sorry for such a long post, but I wanted to be as detailed as possible, thank you so much for your help!!!
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BluegrassWarehouse - Posted - 08/09/2013: 18:10:28
Picture 1 is correct, however, I hold the pick where the top of the pick sits in the line where the first joint is bent. Finger length and pick size can make this vary from person to person. As for picture 2 and 3, I have "hitch hiker's thumb" like picture 2 and my thumb grip looks like something between picture 2 and 3. I have also seen some pro players where their pick is under the joint of their thumb rather than the pad of their thumb. Play around with the different grips and see which feels and sounds better for your hand, finger, and pick size.
Lance
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