Right Hand Movement/Wrist

[MoreThanQuinn]

Hey cafe,

I've just gotten my first mandolin last week. I am super excited and want to play it all the time. Come February, I plan to take lessons to insure that I develop proper technique and fundamentals in my playing, but in the meantime I am on my own with the resources I can find here. I would really like to spend the coming 2-3 weeks playing correctly so that I don't start off my mandolin journey with a step in the wrong direction. That said, I am really struggling to know what exactly correct right hand pick movement is, and if I am doing it.

I know the right hand movement is often discussed, I've search a lot on here. Part of the reason I am asking is because I see conflicting information from reputable sources.

I would say the most common advice I've encountered in posts/videos is that the picking motion uses the wrist like casting a fishing rod does, which is to say the hand pivots at the wrist joint to create the up and down motion of the pick, but the wrist does not rotate much.

However, after inquiring about Seattle-area lessons I was pointed consistently to Peter Martin, whose introductory videos say that the picking motion is made by the wrist turning as if opening a doorknob (which is exactly what many of those who hold the above opening say not to do). Peter seems very highly recommended and I am actually hoping to take lessons with him, so I am unsure how to handle the discrepancy between the viewpoints.

Finally, August Watters made the following interesting post in a different thread on this topic.

I think we're talking about three mechanisms here, not two:

1) motion of wrist
2) rotation of forearm
3) bending of elbow.

A lot of people say "wrist" when they mean some combination of wrist and forearm. And "don't move the arm" usually means "don't bend the elbow."

August W

(paraphrasing: it's a combination of 1 and 2, but never 3.)

So... help me cafe? I really want to build strong and correct habits. But whenever I pick up the mandolin I am second guessing if I'm picking correctly.

[MoreThanQuinn]

However, after inquiring about Seattle-area lessons I was pointed consistently to Peter Martin, whose introductory videos say that the picking motion is made by the wrist turning as if opening a doorknob (which is exactly what many of those who hold the above opening say not to do). Peter seems very highly recommended and I am actually hoping to take lessons with him, so I am unsure how to handle the discrepancy between the viewpoints.

I just want to clarify that I'm not at all trying to be critical of Pete's instruction or method. In fact, I have worked through is beginner mandolin video series and they were hugely helpful for me. I suppose I was just trying to make sense of the difference of right hand movement description I am getting from different sources so that I can feel confident in what I am doing.

[Stacey Morris]

Hi MoreThanQuinn.

I am newbie player, but I don't rotate my wrist. I think that would affect your playing at some point because the pick needs to move basically perpendicular to the strings, but Peter Martin would for sure overrule me!

[Mark Wilson]

I worked hard to stop rotating my wrist in my stroke. Having the pick-to-string(s) distance vary during stroke (due to arching) caused me to have to work harder than I wanted. YMMV

The thing I've noticed tho is that one's description of pick/stroke motion can be interpreted wrong. I would wait on Pete's interpretation to be sure

[dhbailey]

If you want to take lessons with someone, don't try to second-guess what they're saying in print. Have your first lesson and see what he has to say in person and how he demonstrates things. Words are so inadequate when trying to describe what we're trying to do when we play an instrument. A picture is truly worth a thousand words and a demonstration is worth a million words. And also realize that there is never one single "correct" way to play an instrument. Someone wouldn't get to where Peter is today by not playing well, so assume he knows what he's talking about. And if after your first lesson you feel that you and he won't work well together, then you can look for another teacher. And don't second guess yourself -- have some lessons and do what the teacher says (really practice!) and play play play.

[MoreThanQuinn]

I appreciate the advice. Just to be clear, I wasn't trying to second guess Pete at all. I have been following his videos to a T, and I plan to take lessons with him. I just won't be able to do so for a few weeks. I was only trying to make sense of conflicting information is all.
Anyways, sounds like the resounding response is, if Pete is who I am going to learn from then I should go with what he says, and I am definitely happy to do that. Looking forward to when my lessons start Thanks everyone!