# Opened or closed



## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

What position is your picking hand in and why?


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

Hmm, I had to look a it,
Sometimes open, sometimes closed...


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

zontar said:


> Hmm, I had to look a it,
> Sometimes open, sometimes closed...


How does your playing affect what style you use?


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## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

I pretty much have to keep my hand closed to keep my other fingers close to the strings. I hybrid pick 100% of the time.


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## Guest (Jul 4, 2017)

If I am speed picking using my wrist, I find if I hold my little finger out (like an aristocrat drinking tea) I can go faster and better.

I will pick using the 1st knuckle on my thumb and 1st finger to make a sort of rotating pattern, or rotating the wrist, and rarely the elbow as the fulcrum. Recently I have started to move my wrist up and down (hardly noticeable) like a sewing machine needle which something I saw Eric Johnson explain in an interview. I will also combine these techniques. Open or closed hand is not as important as proper technique to me.

I always use a pick, but am constantly using my other free fingers in conjunction with the pick.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Half way, as relaxed as possible to avoid muscle tension that only slows me down, and to have fingers in position for hybrid picking if necessary.


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## Lord-Humongous (Jun 5, 2014)

Do you mean open palm like an 'A-ok' hand sign? I keep my hand relaxed, but in a loose sort of closed position. I'm learning a little hybrid picking and you kind of have to keeps your fingers in the same area to pluck a string when needed.


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## Guest (Jul 4, 2017)

I have a slight nervous tick that's been with me all my life.
I tend to plant my pinkie on the PG for stability.


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## Guest (Jul 4, 2017)

This lesson I just saw yesterday will definitely help me with my picking:


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

It is very much personal - I mostly use closed palm but some of my favorite guitarists have the "fanned" fingers or pinky resting on the pickguard.

A tip I got that I've been using for the last few years is to angle the wrist in order for the side of the pick to hit the strings (2nd pic). It creates a fatter sound.


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

Player99 said:


> This lesson I just saw yesterday will definitely help me with my picking:


Wow that was very helpful! It's time to see really, how much tension am I using while playing! 

I really try so hard with self speak to reduce the tension in my whole body while playing! I really notice a surge in tension when it's time to play a difficult passage or a solo! It's really mind over matter but sometimes it can be daunting at best.


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## LanceT (Mar 7, 2014)

I think being a more relaxed player overall is a sign of maturity in your playing and abilities. I'm beginning to notice this in my playing lately after being tense and struggling with things for what felt like forever.


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

I watched a video on Ted Nugent and he grinds a big knotch in his guitars so he can plant his pinky. He even did it to a 59 les paul!!


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## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

I have to watch tension, too. My left hand gets strained and I have some arthritis in my left wrist, so I really need to make sure I am applying the least amount of pressure possible. 

For my picking hand, I find it is usually half-open and relaxed. I sometimes plant my pinky under the Les Paul pickup ring or Tele bridge edge.


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

jdto said:


> I have to watch tension, too. My left hand gets strained and I have some arthritis in my left wrist, so I really need to make sure I am applying the least amount of pressure possible.
> 
> For my picking hand, I find it is usually half-open and relaxed. I sometimes plant my pinky under the Les Paul pickup ring or Tele bridge edge.


I can hardly wait to give your LP a go! I will be able to when you come and play!


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## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

Lola said:


> I can hardly wait to give your LP a go! I will be able to when you come and play!


I'll be sure to bring it


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

knight_yyz said:


> I watched a video on Ted Nugent and he grinds a big knotch in his guitars so he can plant his pinky. He even did it to a 59 les paul!!


He literally has $ to burn. What does he care?


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## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

I'm not sure. I wish I wouldn't have thought about it.

I can't seem to put the heel of my palm on the strings without opening the fingers at least a bit.


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

Hammerhands said:


> I'm not sure. I wish I wouldn't have thought about it.
> 
> I can't seem to put the heel of my palm on the strings without opening the fingers at least a bit.



Are you comfortable doing that? Does it impede your playing in any sort of manner? If not, just do it! 

I for one, cannot play with a closed palm because of two previously dislocated fingers! It's uncomfortable. I am doing just fine playing this way. If the style suits you, then like I said, just do it. There is no right or wrong way only what is best for you!


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

I basically make an Ok sign when I pick. Closed fist feels wrong. Pinky plant when necessary.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

I don't play completely open but close.


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

I generally plant the pinky with the pick in the index and thumb OK shape and my other 2 fingers are open. But I change it up when hybrid and/or finger picking. I don't play closed (or floating as some call it) at all. I feel no control over the situation if I do. It feels really weird to me.


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

I'm still trying to figure out what works best for me. I should keep up with the pinky plant though because I find my picking hand wanders up toward the neck very slowly


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## Guest (Jul 6, 2017)

Anyone who wants a custom hole gouged into their guitar I will do it for $80. Les Paul's will be $95.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

Lola said:


> How does your playing affect what style you use?


It's not really a conscious thing--it just happens.


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## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

zontar said:


> It's not really a conscious thing--it just happens.


For me, it certainly dictates how I play. My playing is that of the Brad Paisley, Vince Gill, Brent Mason school of chicken pickin. To play that style I have to hybrid pick (I hate thumb picks), and thus I have to use a certain pick hand shape and position.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

I've never thought about it (had to play and look), but opened, because I hybrid pick all the time.



Player99 said:


> Anyone who wants a custom hole gouged into their guitar I will do it for $80. Les Paul's will be $95.


Good to know. I wouldn't gouge up a new Lester, but if I ever end up with an old beater 60 year old LP, I'll keep you in mind.


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

High/Deaf said:


> I've never thought about it (had to play and look), but opened, because I hybrid pick all the time.


Hybrid picking is difficult at best for me! I hardly ever do it. Ya, I know, practice. I actually dislike cuz my skill set for this technique sucks.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

Lola said:


> Hybrid picking is difficult at best for me! I hardly ever do it. Ya, I know, practice. I actually dislike cuz my skill set for this technique sucks.


I've said it before: "While I was concentrating on getting my left hand to do what I wanted, my right hand, unbeknownst to me, also learned how to play." In other words, it just kind of happened after thousands of hours of playing. 

In retrospect, I wish I would have started with Chet Atkins style finger picking (as George Moody suggested I do), but I could never really get used to a thumbpick, even at that early stage. Still, I get by with hybrid picking.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

High/Deaf said:


> I've never thought about it (had to play and look), but opened, because I hybrid pick all the time.


I did back when I taught & noticed I did both--depending what I was playing...
But it wasn't conscious--it just happens
if I thought about it too much it would probably mess me up.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

zontar said:


> I did back when I taught & noticed I did both--depending what I was playing...
> But it wasn't conscious--it just happens
> if I thought about it too much it would probably mess me up.


I hear ya. Sometimes, on songs I've played for years, if I try to deconstruct it or slow it down to show someone, I can't play it. I have to NOT think about it then it just happens. Muscle memory, I guess. How screwed up is that?


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

High/Deaf said:


> I hear ya. Sometimes, on songs I've played for years, if I try to deconstruct it or slow it down to show someone, I can't play it. I have to NOT think about it then it just happens. Muscle memory, I guess. How screwed up is that?


Par for the course....


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## Guest (Jul 8, 2017)

zontar said:


> Par for the course....


Or pay for the course.


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## NoTalentHack (Jun 17, 2017)

I'm one of the pinky planters. I can pull it off if I'm doing the hybrid picking, but it will naturally go back to its station as soon as I stop.


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## colchar (May 22, 2010)

Alex said:


> It is very much personal - I mostly use closed palm but some of my favorite guitarists have the "fanned" fingers or pinky resting on the pickguard.
> 
> A tip I got that I've been using for the last few years is to angle the wrist in order for the side of the pick to hit the strings (2nd pic). It creates a fatter sound.
> View attachment 101609
> View attachment 101617




You can also angle backwards. Hendrix and others did/do it that way.

And I think most flatpickers keep the pick flat against the strings.


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## colchar (May 22, 2010)

Personally, I am all over the map because of problems with my right wrist (a bone broken when I was a teenager didn't grow properly so the other bone is longer and isn't sitting in the wrist properly and pops in an out, which causes significant pain...and, of course, I am right handed so use that hand for almost everything!).

Sometimes I have my hand open, sometimes closed, sometimes half & half, sometimes planted, and sometimes it is free floating. Sometimes I also ditch the pick and use my fingers - thumb for downstrokes and index finger for upstrokes). Basically, I am trying to find a way to play without pain. I was messing around with some acoustics at L&M today, using my fingers instead of a pick, and had my pinky or ring finger planted. A few minutes after I stopped playing my wrist hurt like hell and is still sore now, which is about two hours after I stopped playing.

When using a pick I have tried rotating my wrist as well as moving it from side to side. Maybe I should try using my fingers to see if I can pick with the majority of the motion coming coming from them rather than from the wrist.

I am hoping to avoid having surgery to fix my wrist (they would have to break the longer bone, cut a piece away, place it back in my wrist, and then use a metal plate to rejoin the two pieces) but, right now, I just cannot settle on a way to play that doesn't hurt. Maybe I need to settle on the one that hurts the least because the constant changing is really making things difficult - one day I can puck reasonably well but the next day when I am using another method I am damned near a beginner again - and is hampering my overall progress as a player. Believe me when I tell you that it is frustrating as all hell!


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## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

I noticed the other day that sometimes I strum without a pick only moving my finger.


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

May be a little off topic, but does anyone else occasionally hold the pick (for acoustic) in such a manner as to allow part of your thumb and just the slight tip of the pick to strum for certain tunes? Might be because I like finger picking a lot, but feeling the flesh at the end of your thumb hit the string at the same time as the pick gives it a certain sound and feel that can be exploited in a warm way.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

Dorian2 said:


> May be a little off topic, but does anyone else occasionally hold the pick (for acoustic) in such a manner as to allow part of your thumb and just the slight tip of the pick to strum for certain tunes? Might be because I like finger picking a lot, but feeling the flesh at the end of your thumb hit the string at the same time as the pick gives it a certain sound and feel that can be exploited in a warm way.


Yes, I do that as well. For electric and acoustic. It is especially helpful for pinch harmonics.

I also use one of the two more rounded shoulders of my pick and not the pointier tip part. Don't know why, that's just what I started doing 40 years ago and it kind of stuck.


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

High/Deaf said:


> Yes, I do that as well. For electric and acoustic. It is especially helpful for pinch harmonics.
> 
> I also use one of the two more rounded shoulders of my pick and not the pointier tip part. Don't know why, that's just what I started doing 40 years ago and it kind of stuck.


Glad you brought up the pinch harmonics High/Deaf....they're a definite part of my style as well, since I rather enjoy heavy riffage and harder rock. That's part of my style. I never really put the 2 together till you mentioned it now. Makes sense.


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

Interesting topic on down/upward pick slanting (around the 6:00 mark)


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