Fingerstyle Right Hand Position?

[DukeX]

For most fingerpicking I let my right hand hover freely over the strings. I agree with the others that this is the best place to start. It doesn't take too long to get proficient with this technique.

[fazool]

Originally Posted by frankhond

...you never want to “anchor”, “rest” etc if that means some part of the hand is stuck to some part of the guitar. ...

Half the players say you must anchor and half say you must not.

Fast-forward to 1:19 to see the "real" answer

[JonPR]

The point is to be able to keep your hand steady. The fingers move but the hand doesn't. If you need to anchor to achieve that, anchor.

Of course, for Tommy's style (and Travis style in general, and most blues fingerstyle), you use the side of the hand to damp strings on the bridge. So that's one positive reason for resting the hand in a specific way. That position also gives you more attack, which I think is Tommy's point.

But there's a reason classical players don't anchor, and that can apply to other kinds of fingerstyle too. (Your right hand is freer to move, to pick in different positions, and you're not inhibiting the vibration of the soundboard.)

[sirwhale]

I agree with John

I'd also add that anchoring really only works ergonomically if you have the guitar (more or less) perpendicular to the floor, which is common for steel string guitar players. As soon as the neck starts to be raised then you'd have to twist your wrist to get your little finger to clear the strings to be able to anchor.

I don't anchor, I did it naturally when I first picked up a string instrument, but I noticed it and taught myself to hover instead. I'm glad I did, because later I discovered that I find it much more comfortable to play the guitar at a (more or less) 45º angle (using a "neck up"). If I had become dependent on anchoring, it would have been a real pain teaching myself not to do it, so that I could raise the neck.

And as John said, I like to move my right hand up and down the strings to get a different sound.

[perttime]

I cannot really call myself a fingerstyle player - but I don't think there is a one-size-fits-all solution here.

When I pick with the fingers, I find myself floating the hand much of the time - but sometimes the edge of the palm goes down on the bridge for either muting, or for different angle and support for more forcefully picked notes.