Cody Kilby told me he went from floating all the time to playing anchored, and I told him i normally play with my wrist resting on the bridge. He thought learning to do things different ways in the long run will improve overall musicianship. So I’ve been working on playing with pinky loosely anchored like Sutton, wrist loosely anchored like Tuttle, and completely floating like Workmen.
Resting Hand while Flatpicking
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There is only ONE 
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THE Workmen.
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It’s Workman
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OHHHHH I feel like an idiot:joy:
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If you want to play that guitar, you gotta put in the work, man.
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Haha
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That’s interesting that Cody made the switch from floating to anchoring. I would imagine that most would go the other way around.
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I am a pinky dragger. I spent over a month trying to go free. My tone and accuracy never got to where I was convinced that it was right for me. It DID seem that it was going to lead to more speed. I think @oaklymaple’s trying out different approaches is good if you can do it. I think there are things that are generally better for most, but in looking at all the folks that do great with differing techniques, I think it is hard to say that what works for one person is what everyone should do. Lots of great suggestions so far. As someone mentioned above, the big thing is to eliminate tension.
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My experience exactly Mike! Not to mention the unwanted noise the pinky dragging the top makes. I don’t really notice it until I try playing without dragging and then go back.
Maybe we’re just too old and set in our ways! 
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Ya’ll check out Carl Miner’s video here, This was key to success for me. I watched this video over and over again and always seem to pick something new out of it. In this vid, he talks a lot about the wrist/hand movement and technique that is great for fast smooth playing. Although this technique is not really for record breaking speed playing, Carl still uses it to play faster and cleaner than I probably ever will. And, although the demo’s in this video are not Rawhide at 200bpm, it’s still pretty good and a solid base for someone to use as a regular technique. Besides, once you want to play really fast, you can always switch to the free floating Jake Workman style. I have found that in my case, Anchoring the pinkie like Carl does give me a much better all around sound then the freehand does at most tempos. I’d still like to master the freehand so I have the backup option for super fast playing but just haven’t got there yet.
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It is funny how so many are saying the planting opened up their sound. I used to drop my fingers and I was so tense and had a muffled sound. Everything changed for the better - tone, speed, and clarity - when I closed up my right hand fingers and started floating. But it’s not easy to get accuracy at first so you have to not give up.
I’d say it took me about 8 months to start feeling completely comfortable with the new technique. And that’s practicing every day! Yes… I’m slow
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In my opinion the floating style isn’t really just for playing at fast tempos especially since it’s harder than it sounds to get used to and practice with at first. After a lot of practice you will feel most comfortable sticking with one position rather than changing with the various speed you are playing at. Changing positions while playing just invites tension and the opportunity to throw your pick!
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See… I’m the other way. I tense up when my hand is in that fist. The main thing I lack while floating is not accuracy, but volume. I can strum loudly, because I’m just powering through a bunch of strings. But I have a foundation and more strength if I touch the guitar top.
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Welcome here, Jason!
I think you can’t go wrong with Bryan Sutton technique. Looks relaxed, floating and freely flowing. Pick holding technique is also equally important. But when I play my hand touches or brushes or slightly rests. One thing for sure, it takes time to pick up speed.
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It is the same motion picking and strumming the way Jake teaches it… the way I try. Same ratio of arm and wrist movement, just closing in the fingers more, but digging into the strings rather than picking out or up. Of course not resting your hand on the bridge, but lightly brushing across the bridge pins
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So i am not really saying you conciously switch techniques when you speed up, but it just sort of happens. I know a guy that would normaly plant his pinkie but when he speeds up, his fingers curl up into a free float without him even thinking about it. That’s what i mean about switching. It’s not a fucused thing your trying to do, just something that happens.
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I bet Jason wishes he hadn’t asked.
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Friendly, well-meaning person asks honest question
stubborn bluegrass musicians get into a passive-aggressive debate over picking technique
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It could have been worse. He could have asked the banjo players on here a question.
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