Originally Posted by: kmawadI've improved for sure but I find I still struggle with a basic skill that is really hampering the kind of music I want to play (blues and rock): poor flat picking accuracy![/quote]

I'm assuming you mean using a pick to play single note lines, like lead licks & riffs. Picking requires relaxed, minimal motion for maximum efficiency.

I'm not sure what your skill level is, but have a look at some of these options & jump in where it benefits you.

Major & Minor scales are a great place to start on picking because you are using the raw materials of music to work on technique, building your physical skill along with your ear.

Major Scale Patterns 1

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=453

Minor Scale Patterns 1

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=887

There are more advanced tutorials that build on those.

Since you are interested in blues & rock, try working on some of these pentatonic licks. They are the kind of physical motions using pentatonic scales that form the basis of a lot of rock & blues style licks.

https://www.guitartricks.com/search.php?search=%22Connecting+pentatonic+patterns%22

You might also get a lot from these pentatonic exercises.

Pentatonic Major Exercises

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=722

Pentatonic Minor Exercises

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=185

Go slow at first! Play it right first, then gradually speed up using the video speed control when necessary.

And if you are working on rhythm guitar playing, this tutorial is aimed at developing efficient picking for that skill. Also first in a series of tutorials.

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1492

Originally Posted by: kmawadThe "internet" convinced me early on that anchoring my picking hand would be counter productive and I tried for a couple years to get better with a a floating hand.

It depends on the person & the specific licks or techniques you are trying to accomplish. But in general it's a good idea to anchor you picking hand palm. I discuss that in many lessons, but especially in this tutorial aimed at building speed playing single note lines.

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=287

That's a pretty advanced tutorial, but it might help you get a sense of what is required to play faster in general.

[quote=kmawad]I had made up random string skipping exercises in the past which helped early on but they were a little to "formulaic" and didn't translate to actual improved playing of songs.

Exercises can wind up sounding sterile. That's when it helps to take it to the next step & learn actual licks. These tutorials are aimed at building a vocabulary of blues & blues-rock licks.

https://www.guitartricks.com/collection/Bread-and-Butter-Butter-Blues-Licks

Be patient with yourself! Best of success!