Need to get ahold of my Right hand

Though I've been playing for 10+ years, I still have a problem with the right hand. I can be very sloppy and sometimes. I feel lost in relation to the strings. Some people I talk to brush their pinky along the pickguard. Others have their pinky gripping Underneath the high E string, others have the palm resting on the bridge and some have it above the strings, not touching anything at all. I've tried all the different styles, but i can't seem to be confident that I'm going to hit the correct string when I go into a solo.

I've been practicing slow, using a metronome, watching my right hand, holding the pick, go thru the string til it ends up halfway between the string I just hit and the next one below it. Trying to get the most efficiency from it. When I try a little faster, inevitably I'll hit an errant string.

It's little frustrating, but I'll keep working on it. But I've also been doing it a while now.

Any other suggestion for me to try. :cool:

A few suggestions:

Don't worry about getting your pick to halfway between strings before you change direction, just make sure you've hit the string, then start heading back.

On the pick - make sure you hold it at an angle to the strings. Mine is probably about 45 degrees, but experiement on what feels right for you - you can pick faster with it angled. Also, make sure you have a minimal amount out past your fingers so you don't get caught up in the strings.

String skip. If you're doing spider exercise 1234,1234,1234 type exercises, do the same thing but miss a string, or maybe miss two, or three or whatever. It'll help you locate the strings when you're not just moving between adjacent ones. Arpeggiating chords might help with this one too.

Finally - don't look at your right hand while picking. Well, maybe spend some time looking, but some time looking away as well so you can feel where the strings are instead of looking.

Apologies if any of that is obvious, as you've been playing 10 years. If you're still having trouble, chances are you might need to go back a step to move forward.

what ever floats ur boat ;). ull find it if u want to. and i know u do coz u told us. so heres my advice. the sting skipping is good at that but when u feel like ur making a mistake. do it again but slow it down and as u slow it down correct it. do it repetedley until the mistake is undone. its subconcious traning. it takes time but when uve nailed it uve nalied it for good.

Originally Posted by: zreynoldspA few suggestions:

Don't worry about getting your pick to halfway between strings before you change direction, just make sure you've hit the string, then start heading back.

On the pick - make sure you hold it at an angle to the strings. Mine is probably about 45 degrees, but experiement on what feels right for you - you can pick faster with it angled. Also, make sure you have a minimal amount out past your fingers so you don't get caught up in the strings.

String skip. If you're doing spider exercise 1234,1234,1234 type exercises, do the same thing but miss a string, or maybe miss two, or three or whatever. It'll help you locate the strings when you're not just moving between adjacent ones. Arpeggiating chords might help with this one too.

Finally - don't look at your right hand while picking. Well, maybe spend some time looking, but some time looking away as well so you can feel where the strings are instead of looking.

Apologies if any of that is obvious, as you've been playing 10 years. If you're still having trouble, chances are you might need to go back a step to move forward.

Thanks for the advice. I have tried angling the pick. Sometimes the sound of the pick hitting the string is very scratchy (vice a clean sound).

When I observed my right hand, I noticed, for example, if I picked down on a string, I have a tendancy to not keep parallel to the strings with the pick. Kinda hard to explain. Its almost like, when I pick, my pick is moving away from the body of the guitar. This is why I've been watching my right hand and going slow by picking down, pushing thru the string, and having my pick set for the next attack, parallel tho the strings. Maybe a bad habit I taught myself early on.

You're absolutely right about taking a step back and refocusing on correct technique. Thats my #1 goal now that I'm no longer playing with my band.
I can put all my concentration into things I need to do other than learning a song for the next gig.

I hope you don't mind me asking these questions, cause I don't take lessons, but its nice to get other players advice on what [U]they[/U] do, or how they may have fixed a problem that is similiar to the ones I'm having.


I'll give the spider picking a try. I was doing the 1234 exercises, but in succession, E string, then A string next, then D and so on. I'll try alternating between different string instead of going in order.

As for my right hand. I never look at my right hand when I'm playing. I was just recently lookin at it to see if I was doing it right and making sure I was doing the right motion.

Thanks again for the advice.