Picking question

Hey Jonny,

I think it is because Joe is using a fairly strong 'anchor point'.  The fantastic camera views here clearly show his palm anchored at the top of the bridge, and it doesn't seem to move from that point throughout.

However, if you look closely, you can see that whilst he angles his wrist to move across the strings, he still seems to rotate the angle of the pick so that the pick is still striking the strings at a 90deg angle.

I suspect that this is a natural thing that Joe does without even thinking, and that indeed if you asked him this question directly, he couldn't explain it to you.  It is probably something that hours and hours of playing and practice has instilled quite naturally.

I have heard that Joe has quite a soft touch when playing, but when playing acoustic, you have to 'dig in' a bit more to get the guitar to respond in certain ways.  He probably has a very different technique when playing his electrics.

I am guilty of 'floating' my right hand too much when playing (especially on my acoustics), and am working on finding a nice, comfy anchor point that I can use as a base to improve my own picking technique.

Finding your playing position is a habit thing, and can take a while.  If you play a lot of different guitars, I daresay it will take a lot longer as each guitar will have it's own optimum playing position that you have to work out depending on your style and technique.

The 90 degree thing is also something that is a personal preference.  It gives you the maximum response for the energy you impart, but it is very difficult to get it perfect all the time.

I use the rather thick v-picks, and this has helped to improve my picking technique a LOT because with those picks, if you do not hit the strings at 90degrees, you get that annoying 'chirp' sound..