Picking: at the wrist or arm?

[ajent__smith]

Hay you guys!

I was wondering which way your "supposed" to pick. i have heard from some people that your supposed to pick with wrist movements alone, while others say your supposed to move from the elbow. i know that when your doing stuff like open chord campfire songs that its from the elbow, but what about single note lines? are you suposed to pick from the wrist when sweeping, but from the elbow when alternate picking? right now i go from the elbow, but it seems like alot of other people go from the wrist. i guess im asking how you guys pick the way you pick

Thanks,
_Smith

[png123]

Yup,
Everyone has his personal style, personally, i pick solos and lead parts from the Wrist, and rest my palm on the bridge occasionally for muting or tremolo effect

[UnklMickey]

Pete Townsend sez:

for great chords,

forget about the wrist or the elbow.

hold the guitar at arms-length and pick from the shoulder!

[Ripper]

I was taught...

Pick from the wrist: Fine tune with the fingers.

[johan]

with the fingers (of course) and without thinking

[Ripper]

I do that " Without thinking" thing rather well!

[ajent__smith]

deepblue said:

I do that " Without thinking" thing rather well!

people call me guitarded for a reason ....

thanks for the posts, im gonna work on my wrist now.

[UnklMickey]

ajentsmith said:

...people call me guitarded for a reason ....

prolly just some drummers, angry about your signature line.

[sumgai]

people call me guitarded for a reason ....

thanks for the posts, im gonna work on my wrist now.

There is one particular "special" exercise I could recommend for that.

;D ;D ;D ;D


sumgai

[gfxbss]

im w/ unk on this. for full strumming it is all about the shoulder. otherwise it depends on the instrament. thick guitar like an acoustic, its the elbow. thin electric, its the wrist. whatever seems more comfy for you is what you should go with.

[johan]

just try picking from your arm without moving anything else.
Confusion might be that in classical guitar playing the wrist is supposed to be steady and the fingers have to do all the work. That way you have a nice full classical guitar attack, but modern music is much more rhythmical and isn't all about clear pronounced tones...

[warmstrat]

Pick from the wrist, and use a Dunlop Jazz III for ULTIMATE control. 'nuff said!

[michaelcbell]

I say (just to be controversial) that it's both at all times. Example - try to do both upstrokes and downstrokes without moving your wrist at all and you'll look and sound like a two year old trying to walk in a body cast, yet do the opposite and you'll look equally stiff (and your wirst is going to get very painful). That being said, I'd be more than willing to bet that the elusive 'your' style is probably going to fall somewhere in-between.

[suicufnoc]

I generally use my fingers, wrist, elbow, shoulder, brain, tongue, and big toe.

Seriously.

[strathappy]

suicufnoc said:

I generally use my fingers, wrist, elbow, shoulder, brain, tongue, and big toe.

Seriously.

What, no teeth?? ;D

[hitman]

lol, im a drummer and a guitarist, i can make jokes about my self! lol

Stupid drummers, they r always jealous of us guitarists!

[pollyshero]

Sorry folks, but none of the above...

Pick from the HEART. Everything else follows.