Power Grip

[Steve Jeter]

After trying to come to grips:) with my thumb moving picking technique, I looked at the post danb had , nice pics and video too. I am wondering do you flex , I guess I mean move your thumb at all during picking or is it just along for the ride locked in place. Im trying to do this ,,, but what flow or whatever seems to be lost. I do notice a stronger tone , a better tone.
I read some use different grips for ITM and Bluegrass . Any thoughts?

Steve Jeter

[Philphool]

I believe that the classic answer is that the thumb should only hold the pick in place and not be used to move the pick across the strings.
But, .... I've read a few threads here where some folks do use the thumb and fingers to pluck the strings, apparently successfully.
Others might wish to comment.

[SGraham]

Hi Steve,
I was having some problems with my right hand technique and took a few lessons with Evan Marshall to see if he could help me clean it up. Turns out I was rolling my thumb around on the pick on the downstroke, and this was causing my hand to perform a side-to-side rotation, almost like turning a key in a lock. He called it sewing. You might want to check if you've got this going on.

Evan gave me a mental picture for the correct pickstroke. Imagine you're holding an egg in your left hand. Now imagine you have a small hammer in your right hand. With your right hand tap the egg with the hammer so as to lightly crack the top. That's the motion your right hand should be making while picking. For me, at least, there's no thumb motion at all in it. The thumb is stationary but not "locked." The grip is pretty light.

Don't know if any of this will help, but good luck in getting your technique down. It's a pretty fun and interesting process.

[Weagle]

My biggest problem with my thumb is I sometimes bring my thumb a little to forward and get the pick at an angle playing the strings and not keeping the tip (point) level with the strings I am playing. I have to concentrate more than I care to on this some days. I wish someone could suggest an easy resolution to my problem. I practice quite often and the habit goes away but always manages to come back especially when playing faster music. Resulting in a loss of volume.

Any assistance is appreciated.

Weagle

[Ivan Kelsall]

When i play,much of the power in my right 'picking' hand comes from my thumb & 1st finger at least as much as my wrist. I don't move my wrist that much at all. After 45 years of playing Banjo,the fingers on my right hand are pretty strong & i can get a heck of a volume from my Mandolin just by using my fingers to make the stroke. Playing 'chop chord's is different though,i do need a proper downstroke & need to use my wrist more. I'm most definitely not of the Sam Bush
school of picking.
As usual,it's all down to what works for each of us as an individual players,
Saska

[Bertram Henze]

It is good to flex the thumb slightly inward like when forming a fist, rather than stretching it straight or even flexing it outward, that stabilizes pick position.

My thumb does not move a lot while playing, but sometimes it is neccessary - not to enhance pick motion, but to adjust the pick if it slips out of position. I have seen a video of Dan Beimborn where he even seems to lift the thumb away from the pick for a split second without losing it - apparently he works with magic or superglue. :grin:

Bertram

[Steve Jeter]

Thanks , this all makes perfect sense. I worked on it last night and feel like I made some progress. I kinda came to a grip thats not quite a Power Grip but almost there. Couldnt get comfy with the finger so far drawn in. I can hear what a BIG difference it makes in tone and volume. I tried my old grip while trying to learn this new one , thinking what the heck I will just stay with the old way ,,, But Mama! Big diff in volume and tomne, which again makes sense. Wrist being much stronger than thumb. So , I working and hoping in a month , I will be comfy with the new gripo. I wonder if it will help with my guitar playing?
Only thing is its great for picking ,,, but seems awfull stiff for strumming,, I mean strumming , not BG chopping, dont mean that offensively.

Thanks Steve

[mando.player]

This is a great verbal explanation. It beats the heck out of my "holding a broom" analogy.

"Evan gave me a mental picture for the correct pickstroke. Imagine you're holding an egg in your left hand. Now imagine you have a small hammer in your right hand. With your right hand tap the egg with the hammer so as to lightly crack the top. That's the motion your right hand should be making while picking. For me, at least, there's no thumb motion at all in it. The thumb is stationary but not "locked." The grip is pretty light."