How do you anchor your picking hand?

[74hc]

On the B string, and edge of the pickups for the 4-string. Reason is the spacing is about the same.

 

[Katoosie]

When using a pick, I still use the floating thumb technique but I kind of change it into a floating palm technique.
The side of the palm rests on the lower strings that are not being played, essentially muting them.

I am not good at pick playing so I still mess up a lot but this method works really well.
Practice, practice, practice.

 

[bassicmike]

I had to go check.

I'm all over the place. Mostly it's forearm resting on bass and the picking hand floats, sometimes I've got the heel of my hand on the pickup (and palm-muting), sometimes it's my ring and pinking anchoring on the pick-guard or pickup at the bottom of the strings.

Sorry, but not much help. I'm a "whatever works to make a pleasing noise' kind of player.

 

[nnnnnn]

When playing fingerstyle I will anchor my thumb one way or another, but with a pick I don't seem to need to anchor my hand at all - though I do have a physical reference point where my arm comes in contact with the top part of the bass body, kind of combined pivot point and anchor.

Do you rest it lightly on the bridge and pick near the bridge?

I may rest the side of my palm on the strings at the saddles in order to get that classic palm muted tone. Without palm muting I wouldn't pick close to the bridge both because I don't like the overly trebly tone and because I find it uncomfortable having my hand that far out to the side for too long. I think the tone is nicer picking over or near the neck pickup, or between the pickups.

Do you rest it lightly on the E string or all of them in some way and mute the strings while playing?

I may have the side of my picking hand palm lightly touching the lower pitched strings to mute them when picking the higher pitched strings - especially on a five-string bass (which is my preferred number of strings) where I can't mute the lowest string by wrapping my fretting hand thumb around like I sometimes do with the low E on a four-string.

If it's feeling weird for you, just try some of the options people have mentioned in this thread, and spend some time practicing whichever option feels least weird.

 

[Thebiggestjerk]

I'm a fingerstyle player. I love playing with my fingers. However, there are some songs where I need a greater attack to the sound and so I'm trying to use a pick for those songs. It's awkward for me. Part of the reason is I just can't seem to find a sweet spot to anchor my right hand so that my picking fingers know where to find the strings reliably and it feels natural. I know that this is like bass-playing 101 for babies, but can sometime please give me some tip for how to find the right way to place my picking hand that doesn't feel all kinds of wrong?

Do you rest it lightly on the bridge and pick near the bridge? Do you rest it lightly on the E string or all of them in some way and mute the strings while playing?

I've bought the Carol Kaye literature and DVDs and even after watching them, it still just doesn't feel right to me. What am I missing??? Is that awkwardness something that I just have to get use to???

My picking hand is a bit of a story of evolution. 31 years playing bass and + 12y of guitar.
Since I regularly play both fairly proficiently, each discipline is an extension of the other. Since I primarily play with a pick on guitar and fingers on bass, my picking hand edge along the pinky side for the most part lays across the strings at the bridge like a mute (although not always muting), and I pick with my thumb and 3 fingers like fingerpicking an acoustic folk tune… very similar to Gary Willis. However if I have to accelerate and play some fast lines, I find my finger anchoring on one of the strings, like maybe on the A if I’m playing on the G and D. In my opinion one needs to be able to freely move the picking and it really should not be anchored as it’s another drumstick of sorts.

 

[HardNHeavy]

fingerstyle only here, but recently started with a pic last cpl yrs and that Bobby Vega technique of his forearm resting against body is how i ended up. Just felt the most comfortable tho i'm still struggling to get use to pics i found it easiest for me anyway

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I'm a fingerstyle player. I love playing with my fingers. However, there are some songs where I need a greater attack to the sound and so I'm trying to use a pick for those songs. It's awkward for me. Part of the reason is I just can't seem to find a sweet spot to anchor my right hand so that my picking fingers know where to find the strings reliably and it feels natural. I know that this is like bass-playing 101 for babies, but can sometime please give me some tip for how to find the right way to place my picking hand that doesn't feel all kinds of wrong?

Do you rest it lightly on the bridge and pick near the bridge? Do you rest it lightly on the E string or all of them in some way and mute the strings while playing?

I've bought the Carol Kaye literature and DVDs and even after watching them, it still just doesn't feel right to me. What am I missing??? Is that awkwardness something that I just have to get use to???

The upper left corner of my thumb on the neck pickup of my PJ hitchhiker style allows me to develop maxim torque. It also comes in handy for muting that pesky B string when playing a 5 string.

 

[Watchootognbout]

It's the floating thumb for me.

 

[LowActionHero]

I started on guitar, so picking is natural to me (tho I rarely play bass with a pick). I don't usually anchor at all. If I'm staying on the same string I sometimes have my palm touching the body, and I sometimes hook my Pinky on a higher string, I don't know if that's normal at all. I probably do that more than I think.

 

[TeeSee]

I've never used a plectrum as a bassist. The thing is I'm totally left handed (not ambi) and when I first took up bass years ago LH basses either didn't exist or were too expensive that they may well not have existed.
I envy those who play with picks the same as I envy those that can slap, I just don't have that motor skill needed in my right arm for the precise 'pluckability' for more than a few seconds, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy playing using only my fingers. I think the secret is to grow your nails a bit on your right hand, but keep them short on your left - I mean I know this is a bit of a left field comment - but it's what you feel comfortable with. Just a thought. Take care.

 

[mdogs]

I think this picture tells my story, I am probably a 50/50 player, it depends on the song. Anchor my thumb on top finger style and my pinky with a pick. I haven’t changed the strings on it for a while and that is the only time they get cleaned, hence the dust.

 

[cataract]

I anchor my thumb & index finger firmly on the sides of my pick

 

[Isaac_James]

If we're specifically talking about pick playing, I tend to rest my wrist against the body. I use an athletic wrist band to ease the friction.

When playing with my fingers, I'll either anchor a thumb against the pickup, or use floating thumb if I'm doing a lot of string crossing. Floating thumb is handy because I can shift positions to be closer or further away from the bridge, though I've noticed that of I'm not careful my hand sometimes drifts on its own to my "neutral" position (between the neck and bridge pickups on a PJ) so the pickup anchor can be handy to keep me in one spot.

 

[Not_Shane]

A lot of people are commenting where they rest their plucking hand when finger style playing, though OP is specifically asking where you rest your hand when using A PICK.
Lost of photos and posts saying "this is where i put my thumb"
That doesnt help with a pick!!

I play mainly with a pick, for where i rest my right hand, i rest the side of the pinky and hand on the bridge, or just before the bridge if i want to mute. If i am going a little faster or all over the place and that is not working, ill move to kind of grab the G string with my pinky of the pick holding hand. This lets me know where the G string is, and my hand is not in the way of the other three strings.

 

[MichelD]

Thumb resting at the edge of the very bottom of the neck.

 

[JimmyM]

I don’t anchor when I use a pick.

 

[red_rhino]

Plectrum/pick playing means anchoring the forearm on the bass and using the side of the palm mostly to mute. Bobby Vega style

I love Bobby Vega's groove and feel, particularly the way he uses a pick. It's what I aspire to for my own pick playing technique, although I tend to use my thumb more often than I do a pick. (Which is to say, I really need to put more time into using a pick and becoming good with it.) Anchoring/muting when using a pick has always been a challenge for me, but I try to remind myself that it's okay to suck at something as long as you're working toward not sucking at it.

 

[Egg250]

When I do play with a pick, I don't tend to anchor. I find the E string as a reference and go for it. With practice, you should get a feel for it.

 

[HelpImaRock]

I'm exclusively a pick player. The best advice I can give you is a combination of George Benson, Jazz Manouche, and Jason Newsted picking techniques. Hold on loosely, use your wrist, and palm mute directly over the saddles. I don't anchor my hand but I definitely have a "zero position" that I return to.

 

[Bighouse]

I'm making progress, I think. I'm floating my hand, but resting my forearm on my bass. Part of the difficulty was in finding the strings properly, which is getting easier as my hand is building confidence in finding the strings with that pick. The other thing that's a bit challenging, but slowly evolving, is the downstroke/upstroke/economy stroke thing. I suspect it's all just a matter of practice, practice, practice and letting my body and ears find my natural role in it all.