Meet Your Picker - Learn to Appreciate Your Picking Hand

It's easy to underestimate the importance of the picking hand. Beginners usually have more trouble with fret hand skills than with strumming or simple picking. Most of their effort goes toward learning chords, rifs & songs. Over time, the picking/right hand may be neglected.

Have you ever wondered why the dominant hand is usually used for picking, since fret hand skills seem to be harder at first? Why not put the hard stuff into the hand with the most dexterity? One answer is that maybe the responsibilities of the picking hand are more difficult and more important than they seem.

Good players appreciate the picking hand. It's the main source of the sound. It's where most of the rhythm and expression come from. The fret hand selects the notes, but it's the picking hand that determines the precise timing, shape and volume of a note. Is a note exactly on time, or a little early or late? Are the notes in a phrase consistent with each other? Are there some that are emphasized or muted? Is the attack hard or soft? Does a note sustain or cut off? Is it loud or soft compared to its neighbors? The quality and timing of your notes come mainly from the picking hand.

Being able to shape your notes and phrases is critical if you want to sound good and find a groove. A solid picking hand means your playing has rhythm and expression. It sounds musical. It has a voice.

If your picking hand is accurate and responsive to your musical ideas then you'll make your musical phrases come alive. Even if you hit a wrong note once in a while, it will still be on time and in the groove. Maybe your band will think you are being creative! But watch out if those notes come in too early or late, or if they feel stiff or forced. We've all heard flashy players who hit all the notes, but don't have much feeling. The players that get people dancing or crying have a solid picking hand.

To check out your picking hand skill, try this exercise on your guitar, bass, banjo or mandolin. Keep your fret hand off the fretboard. Play only open strings. With a 4/4 metronome background, try to get a groove going on just one string. Later you can use 2, 3, or more strings. Don't use your fret hand at all. Keep a pattern going for at least 2 minutes. Try slow simple patterns at first, then increase the speed & complexity. You can look at the exercise pages on the Twanger website at Exercises for some interesting ideas. ALWAYS listen to the timing and shape of the notes.

You can do this finger style or with a pick, and with any style of music. See how long it takes to get something interesting to happen, and see how long you can last before you stumble or lose the groove. Try muting the strings with your fret hand or a cloth and do exercises with even less tonality. Playing your instrument this way is something like drumming, or like playing a tonal rhythm instrument like the kalimba. You may be surprised. It's not easy to do it well. You may notice weaknesses when you put all your focus on the picking hand, but if you stay with this line of practice for a while you will surely notice improvement when you get back to your normal routines and songs.

For those of you who don't have enough time to practice as much as you'd like (who does?) the Twanger PraxAx is a useful tool that helps you exercise your picking hand when you don't have your regular ax. It's a portable picking practice instrument with real strings spaced like the strings at the usual picking hand position. There are models for guitar, bass, banjo and mandolin. It's small and rugged. It comes with a belt so you can wear it. You practice with one hand while the other hand stays free. Use it anytime, anywhere like while commuting, during downtimes at school or work, or while on the phone or computer. It's fun & relaxing after you get used to the strangeness of practicing only one hand. Check it out at www.Twanger.com

The picking hand gives rhythm & expression to your playing. Give it the respect it deserves and help it along with some focused picking hand practice. You may be very pleasantly surprised at what a difference it makes.