Picking... how much bouncing?

[danostrowski]

First, I'm a real beginner, only maybe 4 months of practicing in scant spare time when I'm not at work, doing husband stuff or doing dad stuff.

I seem to only be able to pick confidently when I am remembering to "bounce" my right hand a bit. (I have changed my picking from resting the base of the palm on the bridge, to mostly free hand, brushing the strings.)

Here's a really badly lit video of some picking. See what I mean? This looking OK? Any red flags?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enUtIo8swvk

[Phil Goodson]

No red flags to my eye. Good pick grip. Mostly wrist movement. All good.
I'm thinking that the feeling of "bounce" will automatically smooth out over a little more time. Later you'll probable read about 'rest strokes' and how they fit in. But good for now as far as I can see.

[cgvm]

Dan your playing is very good. I didn't notice any bouncing but maybe I was listening and watching with my violin eyes and ears instead of mandolin. ;-)

[danostrowski]

No red flags to my eye. Good pick grip. Mostly wrist movement. All good.
I'm thinking that the feeling of "bounce" will automatically smooth out over a little more time.

Thanks! Good to hear.

Later you'll probable read about 'rest strokes' and how they fit in. But good for now as far as I can see.

Yeah, I wondered about this... I heard Thile mention that a common beginner mistake is to not play through both strings and I can tell a lot of the time I'm not, particularly when playing a real tune like this and not just running scales. I wonder if I should take the time now and make sure I go through both strings even when picking fast-ish? Wouldn't that be easier to adjust now, maybe?

My practice routine right now is learning a new song (currently learning Billy in the Lowground), doing some pinky exercises, running some scales (G, A) and trying to get 3 chord chop/regular chords down.