Anchored vs Floating right hand

[DavidEdenAria]

You are not going to get any abuse from me for resting your thumb on the pick up. It is all the same to me what method you use. There is no "right" or "wrong" method. There is however, a safe method. Unfortunately resting the thumb on the pick up is generally accepted not to be it. With this method the wrist is at a severe angle. When you move your fingers, the tendons have to pass through the carpel tunnel. Having the wrist angled causes a kind of friction between them because the tunnel is narrowed, kind of like cutting a piece of twine by rubbing it backwards and forwards over a sharp edge. After many years using this technique, injury can occur. With the method that your helpful.. .. student gave you, i.e. resting the thumb on the strings, the wrist is straight, therefore minimizing the risk of injury from constant use. IMO the only thing your student is guilty of is the label he attached to your technique. Instead of "wrong"..."potentially unsafe" might have been a better choice.

So the "do what feels right" concept is OK up to a point. Problem is that what feels right now, has the potential to have you visiting the doctor or physiotherapist after prolonged use.

IMO it would have been more admirable if first, you had checked out the validity of your student's suggestion before dissing it...and him.

Fifty years playing or not.....you are never too old to learn something new.

This......and I am a newb to bass from 6 string guitar that mainly plays bass with a pick.

The "thumb on pickup" hurts like crazy for me at 55 years of age and dealing with arthritis.

I mute with the left hand AND right hand palm too.

Anchoring the "thumb on pickup" never made sense to me....but to those who make it their style and it doesn't damage them....that's great!

I feel comfortable holding a pick with index & thumb but also the same index & thumb position but NO pick.

 

[Jughead6]

My teacher taught me to anchor or float whatever was comfortable. Anchor works for me...

Agree with the whatever's comfortable philosophy. I have long fingers, so on a 4 string I can comfortably anchor on the pickup. Jazz-type basses with 2 well spaced pickups are super comfortable. But on a 5 string I tend to "anchor" on the b-string, which is a bit like the "floating" technique (maybe...?) Anyway, no carpal tunnel syndrome yet.

 

[11guitarguy]

Agree with the whatever's comfortable philosophy. I have long fingers, so on a 4 string I can comfortably anchor on the pickup. Jazz-type basses with 2 well spaced pickups are super comfortable. But on a 5 string I tend to "anchor" on the b-string, which is a bit like the "floating" technique (maybe...?) Anyway, no carpal tunnel syndrome yet.

So you "anchor" and "float" .. kinda reminds me of multitasking! Long fingers are a real plus. You are fortunate. My fingers are not that long but my wife thinks I am cute so I got that going for me! I agree with you on the J bass p/u's being comfortable. I tried a P bass but it was not that comfy for me.

Good luck and happy holidays

 

[spanndrew]

At first floating was awful for me, but now that I have it down muting is a breeze, I can switch number of strings without any changes to technique, and my speed on the higher strings has increased due to angles.

 

[fearceol]

You hit the nail on the head about anchoring giving more accuracy.

That's a general statement which perhaps just applies to you. Here is Todd (from the previous clip) in full flight. I dont see any problem with accuracy here.....do you...????





Just to get back to the Floating Anchor (as apart from Thumb) for a second....

Here is a clip on that particular technique. The wrist looks pretty straight to me.

 

[Zooberwerx]

Agree with the whatever's comfortable philosophy. I have long fingers, so on a 4 string I can comfortably anchor on the pickup. Jazz-type basses with 2 well spaced pickups are super comfortable. But on a 5 string I tend to "anchor" on the b-string, which is a bit like the "floating" technique (maybe...?) Anyway, no carpal tunnel syndrome yet.

Same thing here and my thumb tends to rest on its side just barely touching the forward aspect of the bridge pickup. Attempting to anchor on the end of the pickup creates too far of a reach...same holds true for any dedicated thumbrest. On the downside, I have to keep my thumb nail closely trimmed to avoid gouging the wood on an oil / wax finished instrument. Even then, my thumb itself is akin to 150 grit sandpaper and will eventually scar any surface.

Riis

 

[FretNoMore]

I like some kind of anchor point for my thumb, it's a reference point and it's also convenient for dampening the B string. Usually the anchor is a pickup, but not all my basses have a pickup in the right spot, and I don't always want to pluck the string at the same point ether. So, the thumb may rest on a pickup, on a string or on the edge of the fingerboard.

 

[Simon Girouard]

I've always played with my thumb anchored to the pickup. I always felt that this technique gave me the best control.

But, recently my band got a gig to perform as background music for a retirement party. The client wanted us to all play acoustic and the drummer will use congas.

So, I will be playing a 4 string acoustic bass (Ibanez AEB10-BK) and .... Oups ! No thumb rest, no pickup !

Not easy to learn a new technique in one month and be comfortable with it ...

Now I realise the importance of learning and keeping on practicing multiple techniques.

 

[lfmn16]

It just feels right to me and in my experience if it feels and sounds right ... it IS right!

Not really. There are many people whose technique felt right ... up until they developed problems.

Also, it takes time to get comfortable with a new technique. And if you've been playing for 50 years, you are not going to change techniques overnight and feel comfortable. It would likely take months of hard work.

I could hammer in a nail with the butt of a loaded gun and it would work, but it doesn't mean it's the smartest way to do it.

I'm not saying you should change, but this reasoning is flawed.

 

[caligula]

My 2 cents.
I play 5 string 99% of the time and use both - anchored and floating.
If I anchor, I usually use one spot for my thumb and it stays there.
I've been playing for more than 20 years, have a degree in jazz studies, have studied with Gary Willis, Dave Clark (Berklee) and some of the best here in Germany (sorry, don't wanna sound big headed, just some background info. I also teach part-time).
Some of my all time favs anchor - Jeff Andrews, Randy Hope Taylor, Jaco, Rocco Prestia, Eddie Jackson.
My all time fav, Gary Willis, uses a rather different technique.
Whatever works good for me is good.
I seriously hate statements like in the story the OP mentioned "You're doing it wrong .. blah blah".

 

[11guitarguy]

That's a general statement which perhaps just applies to you. Here is Todd (from the previous clip) in full flight. I dont see any problem with accuracy here.....do you...????





Just to get back to the Floating Anchor (as apart from Thumb) for a second....

Here is a clip on that particular technique. The wrist looks pretty straight to me.

Thanks for the videos, especially Adam Nitti's.

I am almost afraid to ask the following question because it may sound stupid to some of you with more technique than myself ... but ... I need help understanding why muting is so critically important.

With respect to hand position and preventing the effects of carpal tunnel, other than that I just don't understand or see the big difference when Nitti plays anchored vs using thumb to mute. I did hear some open string ringing when anchored but to my ears it was minimal.

Maybe in a studio situation where each instrument is given it's own track and subject to close inspection you'd want to mute but when all the instruments are playing in a live situation I would not be able to hear these open strings slightly ringing, The drums, guitar, keyboard and singer are filling up the frequency spectrum and to my ears I hear only the notes being played on the bass with no ringing of other strings. (of course both left and right hands aid in muting just by the fact that they are contacting the strings.

If I can't hear the "ringing" and the rest of the band can't hear it and the audience can't hear it then in my opinion it's not a big enough problem to warrant my changing of technique.

I am not discounting the importance of muting to some players but it has never been an issue to me. I kind of wish it WAS an issue so I could find some justification for changing from anchored to floating. For me, it a case of, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"

I apologize for my "ignorance" but for me the payback is not worth the investment in time and effort to cure a perceived problem that my aging ears just don't hear. Then again, maybe it IS my ears that are the problem and I do not hear what others hear so clearly.

If I did employ this floating technique it would be due to the physical benefits of curtailing carpal tunnel, not to sonically improve my sound.

I hope somebody out there can help me understand what I am not hearing or seeing as a problem. I would really like some help so I can see or hear what so many others seem to hear.

Thanks to anyone who can shed some light on my question

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

I anchor on the pup, a string, or float depending on the situation. It sort of has become natural to me.
My boss, however, frequently tells me where he thinks my thumb is.

 

[Polfuste]

I played anchored for years. One day i saw the above Adam Nitti vidéo. I tried and my first réaction was the same as the OP. Not for me, etc.. Then i tried from time to time, interrested by the more relaxed hand i could have. Six month after i was confortable with, and this technique helped me to improve my playing a lot ! More relax, same smooth attack on all strings, accuracy, adding chords very easily, ... Si to me it's a real step further. Agree with OP: all technics are good.
But this particular technic really deserve to be tried on a long period to be confortable with, and appreciate it without this sensation of losing control.

 

[MrLenny1]

I anchor the thumb most of the time but on a 5 string I have to
float when I play the B string.
Whatever works for you.

 

[11guitarguy]

Not really. There are many people whose technique felt right ... up until they developed problems.

Also, it takes time to get comfortable with a new technique. And if you've been playing for 50 years, you are not going to change techniques overnight and feel comfortable. It would likely take months of hard work.

I'm not saying you should change, but this reasoning is flawed.

Agreed, and thank God it IS flawed. Flawed often is the reason for the differences in people and hence different approaches to playing. One thing that comes to mind is that in my 50 years of playing only the past 6 or 7 years are with the bass. I am a rhythm guitarist / singer and perhaps the sound of my guitar's ringing stings as I strum has an impact on my ability to discern the slight ringing of bass strings that are not muted by the floating thumb technique.

From all the feedback I have gotten I am left to conclude that more players do use muting so there is obviously something I am missing. This thread has been an eye and ear opening experience for me and I thank you and everyone else who responded and gave me the benefit of their experience.

 

[Hopkins]

I didn't read all of the replies, so this may be redundant.

My first bass was a Jazz bass, which for a year or two I would anchor my thumb on the bridge pickup. When I got my first P bass I found anchoring on the pickup to be very uncomfortable, so I made a little wood thumb rest out a piece of wood and double sided tape. which worked just fine, until it fell off in the middle of a jam session, and I couldn't find it. So I kind of switched the the floating thumb technique that night and have never went back. After playing with a floating thumb for just a few hours, anchoring in one spot felt very strange.

 

[Lo-E]

Rather than suggest that a certain approach is "wrong", (which would, in itself, be wrong) I'm going to suggest, instead, that there is more than one technique that is "right".
Like Lee Moses, I anchored exclusively for many years before I started applying other techniques. In my case, it started with using a 5-string where I started anchoring on the low B string instead of the pickup and then floating when I used the B. That then started to mutate into other anchoring positions (end of the fingerboard is nice sometimes) and occasional floating. It all just depends upon which instrument I'm playing and what the material calls for. I think all of those approaches are "right" in context.

 

[Ewo]

When I switched from 4s to 5s I quickly noticed I had to work on right hand muting. That big ol' B string would ring if I didn't keep it muted, so without realizing it I just started evolving toward the floating thumb technique without even knowing it was called that. Eventually I found that a combination of the floating thumb and keeping the palm on the strings when possible was optimal for me, in terms of technique and ergonomics.

As for not noticing unmuted strings ringing in a band mix (a comment earlier in the thread)...well, I figure the cleaner I execute my lines, the better I'm playing. And using both left and right hands to mute (as best suits the line) gets me there.

 

[Jake72]

I typically anchor my thumb to the pickup, but for 4 string work on my 5 string (yeah yeah, grumble...only have one bass something something...), I anchor my thumb on the low B, to mute it, and it puts my hand in a position to better access to the EADG strings....

 

[whaahooo]

Many have said so already but anchoring on the pickup can hurt a lot the wrist and arm. I had a treatment for tendinitis two years ago and the way I was playing was one of the reasons that it happened. This is the main reason I switched to string anchor or floating anchor where I move the thumb on the strings. I also adapted my technique so that I use the thumb in this way to play a few parts.