[ragser]

As I've been practicing major and pentagonic scales all over the neck I've developed a bad habit of putting my little finger on the pick guard below the strings to make it easier to pick the strings. I assume that this is not a good habit and that it is pretty common for beginners. Where should I rest my picking hand when playing scales etc to get it as accurate and stable as possible?

[eCowboy]

I have the same problem Ragser. I played bass for many years and liked the fact that I had a thumb rest to stabilize my hand. I got into the "bad habit" of resting my pinkie when I switched to acoustic and find myself mutting the first string quite often with my pinkie. I still cannot find a comfortable position that will allow me to stay in contact with the strings without resting that little finger.

[Rockerbob]

I put my hand where my fingers can reach the strings.

[eCowboy]

Originally Posted by Rockerbob

I put my hand where my fingers can reach the strings.

Sometimes the solutions are so simple that I overlook the obvious.

[justinthyme]

The first thing my first guitar teacher in NZ taught me was to rest that pinkie there. Is it really a bad habit? Seems to stabilise the hand and give you a sense of where you are in relation to the strings.

[solidwalnut]

Some guitar gurus will tell you it's a bad habit, but hey. I learned that way and it hasn't stopped me.

[scotty_b]

I discourage my students from doing it - and I rarely employ that position.
Why? It increases the tension in the right hand, limits the tonal options by ensuring you pick in the one position - whereas moving along the length of the strings can offer other tonal possibilities- and also limits the option of employing hybrid or pick-and-finger playing at will.

[justinthyme]

Originally Posted by scotty_b

I discourage my students from doing it - and I rarely employ that position.
Why? It increases the tension in the right hand, limits the tonal options by ensuring you pick in the one position - whereas moving along the length of the strings can offer other tonal possibilities- and also limits the option of employing hybrid or pick-and-finger playing at will.

Scotty - is it worth getting out of the habit once its established?

[chammon]

If resting your picking hand pinkie on the pickguard as an anchor for hand position is a bad habit, then Chet Atkins had the bad habit of doing just that.

[ragser]

Originally Posted by scotty_b

I discourage my students from doing it - and I rarely employ that position.
Why? It increases the tension in the right hand, limits the tonal options by ensuring you pick in the one position - whereas moving along the length of the strings can offer other tonal possibilities- and also limits the option of employing hybrid or pick-and-finger playing at will.

Then where do you rest your hand when playing scales and such. Is it really possible to learn how to pick the strings really fast without resting your hand on anything?

[ragser]

Take a look at this:
YouTube - Guitar Shreddin The ULTIMATE LESSON, Part 1

About 5 minutes in he explains how to put your picking hand when shredding. He says that you should rest in on the bridge. Does that go for both electric and acoustic? Cause on my acoustic it makes me mute my strings.

[scotty_b]

Originally Posted by justinthyme

Scotty - is it worth getting out of the habit once its established?

Hey Ian
it depends on whether or not it is holding you back from something else musically. As I have developed as a player I have been aware of the fact that the music that originally made me want to play the guitar was good, but there is a lot more than that. If a particular approach is going to limit something we may play in the future, then I think it is best to avoid it.
However, some people are very happy being three-finger blues players. That is all the want, and that is all they will be. That is great for them. Their approach means that they will probably not be able to expand to other aspects of playing without relearning a number of things.
This is only my perspective on this issue of course, and if someone can articulate why they have chosen a particular method or approach then I say go for it! There are pros and cons to most aspects of technical development.

[scotty_b]

Originally Posted by chammon

If resting your picking hand pinkie on the pickguard as an anchor for hand position is a bad habit, then Chet Atkins had the bad habit of doing just that.

Yep it is hard to argue with the master - though Chet did not do that exclusively , and Chet did not play with a pick to my knowledge - only a thumbpick.
And my position on the argument that a particular great did something that is perhaps technically incorrect or limiting is this - we are not Chet, Merle Travis, Eric Clapton, BB King, Muddy Waters, insert the name of your choice here.
All wonderful players - and Chet excluded from this as I think his technique was pretty much flawless - all did some things that were not techincally correct. They were able to compensate by other means. I mean , BB is a terrible rhythm player, but does that mean we should follow his example?

[scotty_b]

Originally Posted by ragser

Then where do you rest your hand when playing scales and such. Is it really possible to learn how to pick the strings really fast without resting your hand on anything?

I don't actually rest my hand on anything. I have found that the free-floating position I have adopted allows me to transfer greater energy from the pick - hit the strings harder - by doing so. It also allows me to have greater freedom in string skipping, or hitting non-adjacent strings, which is something I have been working into my playing to try and break up the sounds and get some wider intervallic ideas in a la Eric Johnson.

[scotty_b]

Originally Posted by ragser

Take a look at this:
YouTube - Guitar Shreddin The ULTIMATE LESSON, Part 1

About 5 minutes in he explains how to put your picking hand when shredding. He says that you should rest in on the bridge. Does that go for both electric and acoustic? Cause on my acoustic it makes me mute my strings.

Many players do that to achieve a punchier sound from the muting, or to clean up the playing from all the unwanted noise that comes with distortion.
Check out Al Di Meola for a player who mutes the strings when playing acoustic guitar.
There are varying degrees of pressure we apply when muting the strings. If you wish to achieve these sounds practice in achieving a very light touch, and then slowly increase the pressure from there, exploring all the points on between. Let your ear be the guide, and determine what it is you want to hear.