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I have a habit of anchoring my pinky on the pickguard of my guitar all the time. My new guitar teacher has told me i should never anchor it at all and to just use my arm on top of my guitar for balance..Is it better never to anchor your pinky on the guitar?

I can't tell you for sure, but most of the great players I've seen do not anchor their pinky. I use pick and fingers myself and it works for the music I play. Maybe one of the more schooled guys on the forum can give you a better answer. Good Luck........Joe

I saw an acoustic guitar one time that was played by a guy that anchored his pinky. He had actually pushed the pickguard down the body of the guitar a good 1/8quot; or so. I don't guess it hurt anything, but it looked bad.

Joe brought up a good point. If you get used to anchoring your pinkie and want to start learning fingerstyle, you'll have trouble getting your pinkie going. I would suggest you practice not using it. You'll develop some more arm strength before long, and it will be just fine. I would think anchoring your pinkie would also slow you down when doing arpeggios, speedpicking, and such.

whenever i anchor yeah i use my pinky... i dont push on my guitar to hold my hand steady of course, i just leave my hand open kinda resting my pinky on the guitar sometimes because its the right feel for me.

Anchoring is not a bad thing, many of the great players do it. I don't see how it could cause any problems.

We're talking electric here aren't we?

yeah were talking electric, and i dont see any bad things with it either

I agree with the other post though... It's not bad until you need to use it...

It isnt bad per se, but it doesnt contribute to your abilities... It actually slowly adds a crutch.. You get so used to playing that way that you may experience severe dificulties later in life should you decide to try a different style...

I too had bad habits that I was forced to break when I started my post-secondary educational studies. My instructors would hound me about many things, then I noticed my playing was more fluid... At that point, I quit griping and listend to what they said...After all, I was paying them to teach me... We as humans, are resitant to change. Once we develop a method, we will fight til death defending it, instead of realizing that we might actually be better off listenting to those with experience and preventing future complications...

One instance in particular I can cite that will give you troubles is when playing on different areas of the strings... For different timbre, you can move you area of attack towards the neck of the guitar, or closer to the bridge... This is especially useful when playing solos... If you are used to anchoring your pinky, where will you anchor when you move closer to the neck... And even if you do anchor it, isnt that just wasted motion?

To keep you from feeling as though I am attacking you, I will give you my instance... I had a habit of economy picking, instead of alternate picking... There are instances where the shortest distance is to pick down twice, instead of up once and down once... My instructors used to nag the crap outta me, and I would lose points during the performances based on that... So, I conceded and began to practice the alternate picking... It is slightly harder than economy because of the extra motion... However, if you can learn the hardest methods that contribute to your playing abilities, then the easier stuff is, well, easier...

Try to learn to play with the strictest form possible... There are too many obstacles to overcome without having to contribute to them.

Hope this provides and alternate point of view,
Allen

i used to anchor my pinkie when playing but im trying to pick up a style from my fav guitarist and he doesnt anchor his..i could play most of his songs perfect but when i started to play w/o my pinkie it was all very sloppy, after a while it got a little better and i noticed it sounded more and more like him every few times i played it so i guess its all a matter of preferance

if i'm playin metal or rock i just sort of fan my fingers out. if i'm playing flat picking bluegrass ie: tony rice or norman blake style, i usually anchor my pinkie and ring finger. i say learn to play both ways so you're not limited in anything.

Anchoring your pinky will keep you from being learning to control your pick with your wrist and elbow. It will also prevent you from being able to play with fast alternate picking.


Originally Posted by bungalowbillI can't tell you for sure, but most of the great players I've seen do not anchor their pinky. I use pick and fingers myself and it works for the music I play. Maybe one of the more schooled guys on the forum can give you a better answer. Good Luck........Joe

I just wanted to add that it is almost impossible to play funk rythymn properly with your pinky anchored.....Joe