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Hi,
I am trying to work on my right hand claw fingerpicking style (from my Strong Enough video)but wow it feels so strange and I miss the strings. With the "Claw" I am anchoring my hand with my right 5th finger planted on the guitar so I don't get hand movement. It seems like without that anchor, I am floating around in the air and hopefully I will hit the right strings.

Any suggestions?? Can I just move my hand and plant my 5th finger on the bridge? It looks like Lindsey Buckingham does that in the Landslide video.

Thanks
Roberta

nemastetaylor wrote:

Hi,
I am trying to work on my right hand claw fingerpicking style (from my Strong Enough video)but wow it feels so strange and I miss the strings. With the "Claw" I am anchoring my hand with my right 5th finger planted on the guitar so I don't get hand movement. It seems like without that anchor, I am floating around in the air and hopefully I will hit the right strings.

Any suggestions?? Can I just move my hand and plant my 5th finger on the bridge? It looks like Lindsey Buckingham does that in the Landslide video.

Thanks
Roberta

Roberta- Lindsey Buckingham is a great guitarist but he would be the very last guy I would want to emulate!! He's an old banjo player and he has about every bad habit a guitarist can have.

If you want to learn Travis picking, what you call the "Claw", you need to learn to not anchor. Because your fingers are right on the strings you shouldn't need to anchor.

I know that sounds easy and it isn't. I am self taught in Travis picking and I self taught myself the very bad habit of anchoring. Now I get to unlearn it!

That being said, if you do anchor, I wouldn't anchor at the bridge. I suppose you could but I've never seem anyway decent do it. Just seems like a bad plan to me. Most people anchor about an inch or two upstream from the bridge and about an inch below the high E string.

Seriously, now is a great time not to learn the bad habits that so many of have. Neil is a stickler for technique and I am forcing myself to re-learn the guitar correctly.

Cheers! :cheer:

Roberta, it is worth the effort to try and learn your fingerpicking without anchoring that pinkie finger. With your right forearm pressed against the guitar it can help you overcome that feeling of the 'floating hand'.
But you are right about Lindsey and many other great fingerpickers they do anchor that pinkie finger!


....even the great Chet Atkins.......

Don't anchor... Correct postion of the guitar against your body and correct placement of fingers opposed to the correct strings will eventually feel right persevere..

Thank for the input. It just sucks that in the last 2 years of lessons I now have to unlearn it. I will try. I have been doing it but of course hitting the wrong strings. But they definitely ring out better when I hit them right.

Roberta, I couldn't help but laugh, in another thread on this board someone had posted a video of Tommy Emmanuel playing...his right-hand pinkie firmly anchored. At least you are in good company.


Bill

As in all things there are always exceptions to the rule. In some opinion anchor is not a bad thing, same with grabby thumb over the top, angle of guitar body etc. Generally the rules about these things are for more than just playing assistance but also about ergonomics to help reduce strains etc

It is a personal thing sometimes the anchor is not clever due to the actual music as you may need a bit more mobility i.e. change the position over the soundhole move nearer to bridge nearer to neck, if your anchored in these cases it can hamper you. But if you don't need to move hey what the heck.

BUt also it always pays to try other styles and positions, you might just find an answer to another problem , like all of a sudden a particular chord change is so much easier. That is one thing i've noted from Neils instruction , he gives a good reason for positions he uses.