As I am developing my twps technique I just noticed that it may benefit me to shift my anchor as I descend.
I start with my pinky hooked over the bottom edge of the bridge pickup, but when I get to the D string it seems to help me keep my twps motion to slide my pinky down and over onto the high E string.
Do any of you do this kind of anchor shift successfully?
As an aside, bassists do this kind of thing as they ascend and descend by using different strings to anchor their thumb.
I think there are like 2 basic approaches.
Some guys (Chris Brooks comes to mind) sort of hard anchor and it doesnt really move. They then have to find other ways to āstring trackā like changing wrist angles or finger manipulation
Others just keep a looser āanchorā and let that anchor move more freely. I used to sort of lock more into one place but I realized it was causing me problems so now I definitely move the anchor point more freely.
āAnchorā is probably a terrible word for it lol. Im basically just lightly resting the pinky and ring finger on the guitar body below the strings
Some of your approach might also depends on what type of lick you are playing etc. If you are just going to wail on 2 strings for example, u might sort of lock into one basic āanchorā position and then use other manipulations to track the strings etc. On the other hand if you are going to do 5 string arpeggios or fast pentatonic scales then you are probably going to have to be ready to move that anchor position quickly
Peace, JJ
When I anchor my pinky it is a loose resting of the fingers on the body of the guitar and it slides as my hand/wrist also moves; this not only allows for right hand muting but also allows a smooth continuation of a picking motion as the hand is always centered over the String youāre playing on.
Anchoring with the fingers does prevent hybrid picking though, so sometimes I keep my fingers curled in my palm and anchor with the thumb and pinky heel of the palm; basically hand flat on the guitar with the forearm touching the body.