Marvin Crone - Posted - 12/02/2014:  12:25:03

How many of you anchor your right hand?  If so, where do you anchor?

UsuallyPickin - Posted - 12/02/2014:  15:20:23

I used to post my pinky now I float above the strings

Rob Beck - Posted - 12/03/2014:  02:10:05

Not me. I used to rest my hand on the bridge, which did help with accuracy, but like Richard (above), I now float my hand.  It took a lot of practice to get to that point, and now I can't even remember the reason why I started doing it!  (and I'm sure there was one!) :)

Texasbanjo - Posted - 12/03/2014:  05:10:49

I normally have my hand resting on the bridge and don't anchor, but if I'm working on a difficult passage, sometimes I will anchor the pinkie just to stabilize my hand. 

Donnie - Posted - 12/03/2014:  08:40:27

I anchor my pinky and ring finger together just in front of the bridge, for speedier tunes. I tend not to though when I tremolo, it seems easier to "floppy" grip the pick that way. I float, like most has stated, for strumming and chopping.

bradlaird - Posted - 12/03/2014:  18:49:20

I do during 90% of my lead playing. Ring finger touching the sound board. Never during rhythm. Note: I am not saying that anyone else should do that.

I wrote a pretty elaborate blog post on this very topic not long ago... bradleylaird.com/blog-articles...-not.html

Rob Beck - Posted - 12/04/2014:  02:25:24

Having read Brad's blog post, I now recall that my reason for stopping resting my hand on the bridge was because I didn't like the "harsher", "tinnier" sound that was produced, I too wanted to play nearer to the end of the fingerboard, in fact I often play right over it at about the 12th fret to get the tone I am looking for, and as Brad says, you can't do that and anchor your hand on the bridge!  I also really like the sound of the tremolo double stops that Sam Bush does on songs like "Circles Around Me" (at the end of the middle section I think), same problem there, I couldn't emulate it with my hand on the bridge.

However, I also completely agree that you should do what works for you.  You might even invent a new technique that everyone else will want to copy :o)

Ben Venuti - Posted - 12/04/2014:  12:27:02

Some people call them "pick guards" but they are really called "finger rests".

mandoteacher - Posted - 12/05/2014:  07:50:25

quote:

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Originally posted by Marvin Crone

 

How many of you anchor your right hand?  If so, where do you anchor?

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I brace the heel of my right hand slightly behind the bridge on the strings there

k0k0peli - Posted - 05/24/2015:  06:57:45

I usually have a pinky down near the bridge unless I'm using fingerpicks -- then I'm all over the place.

Philphool - Posted - 11/28/2015:  11:39:10

Don't.

Joe Mangio - Posted - 11/29/2015:  05:41:23

Similar as mandoteacher.

TeachinMandolin444 - Posted - 12/27/2015:  11:41:05

On acoustic,I anchor the heel of my right hand on the bridge. On my mandocaster,I anchor my 3rd finger on the pickguard,abave the pickup. 

Jandante - Posted - 12/29/2015:  12:15:33

Hubby is telling me to anchor, but I haven't got the knack of it yet.

Werbsen - Posted - 01/29/2016:  09:50:47

I normally don't solidly anchor my fingers on the top when I play lead. Instead, I lightly rest my pinky on the top and often lift the pinky off the top too. I don't usually just play in one spot. I usually move my picking hand closer or further away from the bridge depending on what kind of tone I'm looking for right then. I move my hand looking for that "sweet spot." I hope this helps.

Wayne Erbsen