# Open palm or closed fist?



## ScornEmperor (Apr 11, 2011)

I've played for over a year with a closed fist. Now I'm wondering if I shouldn't be playing with an open palm. Does it really matter which picking hand grip I use? I see most people use an open palm...but deprogramming what I know is very hard.


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## Waelstrum (Apr 11, 2011)

I play closed fist, and (as far as I know) it doesn't have any negative affects such as causing RSI. I say if you prefer it, then there's no reason to change. I have only been playing a few years, though, take that with a spoon of salt.


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## TRENCHLORD (Apr 11, 2011)

I relax much more with open palm(please no rosy palmer jokes), but honestly I think the mutes come out slightly tighter and tonier with close fist. Anchoring my 3rd and 4th finger on pickup mounting ring helps me with low/bass string staccatto.


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## Mr. Big Noodles (Apr 11, 2011)

I don't think it really matters. There was a Guitar World article in which Dave Mustaine talked about this, and his conclusion was that a closed fist results in less momentum, and therefore it is easier to control the movement of the hand. Is it really going to make a huge difference, though? I dunno. I personally do both, but I prefer an open hand.


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## ScornEmperor (Apr 11, 2011)

Alright thanks for the views, guys. I think I'll stick with what I'm doing. It hasn't caused a problem so far, but I've become very anal about string noise and I'm thinking about how I mute noise. I think most of my problems lie in my fret hand technique, however I was also concerned I might have just developed a poor method with my right hand.


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## highlordmugfug (Apr 11, 2011)

I usually use closed fist, it works fine for me.


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## theo (Apr 11, 2011)

I've always played open, but I noticed Paul Gilbert plays closed, in my opinion his right hand is beastly *innuendo intended*, so when I learn sacrificed I tried to force myself to play closed hand. It was a battle for sure, however I noticed my economy of movement was definitely improved a little, notes seemed a little more defined. I'm not really sure if it was in my head or not. After I got over playing sacrificed I slipped back into my open hand ways, it was just too hard to reprogram the muscle memory in such a short space of time for me. Try both though! You may find one works a lot better for you than the other, personally I wouldn't say either OS right or wrong. Just two different techniques


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## SirMyghin (Apr 11, 2011)

I play sort of 1/2 closed I guess, as I do hybrid picking and don't let my fingers wander much. Not tightly closed, not really loose, a finger or 2 might be out occasionally. Closing to a fist I find very uncomfortable.


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## Curt (Apr 11, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> I play sort of 1/2 closed I guess, as I do hybrid picking and don't let my fingers wander much. Not tightly closed, not really loose, a finger or 2 might be out occasionally. Closing to a fist I find very uncomfortable.



same for me, as well.

Well, it really depends..

If i'm playing metal.. My picking hand seems to go back and forth between semi-closed if i'm playing leads and open if i'm playing rhythm. it's just something that happens, I don't think about doing it.


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## Maniacal (Apr 11, 2011)

I play open fist for a few reasons.

Its comfortable. 
It helps me navigate where the strings are, this is particularly important on an 8 string. 
Its easier for me to switch between picking and tapping with an open fist. 
I find my hand is less tense and I never pick from the elbow, when I play closed my elbow starts to move at higher speeds. 
If I play closed fist my fingers get in the way when I am trying to palm mute. 

Each to their own though.


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## Mordacain (Apr 11, 2011)

I play open, but I also use hybrid picking and fingerstyle (as well as a cool elastic warp thumbpick).

Given the way I use my fingers my hand has to remain open. When I started learning to use a pick (little over 2 years ago) I tried a fist...it worked well for some things, but ultimately I found I didn't have as much control.


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## ShadyDavey (Apr 11, 2011)

semi-closed I guess - tending towards a more "fully open" fist when playing rhythm parts and closing up for leads to retain some economy of motion...just a sense of feel that I prefer.


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## Overtone (Apr 11, 2011)

Closed, but with a relaxed grip.


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## Dead Undead (Apr 11, 2011)

My pinky usually rests very lightly to allow for more freedom of movement. I RARELY anchor) flat across the bridge/tailpiece, while I have my middle and ring fingers open for hybrid/finger picking and have my thumb and forefinger gripping the pick a little too tightly because I'm too aggressive on 9-42's and need to adjust my picking style slightly. I'm also switching to 10-46's gradually. Getting used to the bending, but it makes it a lot easier to keep my picking and fretting steady.


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## ittoa666 (Apr 11, 2011)

I keep my fist open and anchor my ring and pinky fingers on the bridge pickup ring. My fingers do tend to close up when I start sweeping though. I haven't been paying much attention to how I keep my fist, because I finally got picking with my index and thumb only down.

Also, for some reason, I can't stand seeing someone pick with a close fist. It drives me insane for some reason. Pet peeve I guess.


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## Solodini (May 8, 2011)

I'm another open picker as I use my fingers a lot. I agree with the opinions on ease of navigating this way. I don't anchor my hand but I find it helpful to sometimes be able to calibrate myself while playing. I also find it helps with consistent muting as there's more finger to use, should you need to move strangely in your picking.

A lot of my muting to keep things sounding neat is also of individual strings which I can do in a fingerstyle-manner while picking others open.

While closed fist can sound more defined I think it sometimes walks a line between defined and not flowing but that's just me. I think it can sound a bit mechanical, at times.


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## Dayn (May 8, 2011)

Doesn't really matter, but when my wrist is loose, I find a fist to be faster. The problem is that my hand hits the volume knob... I was wondering why my sound slowly died.


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## Waelstrum (May 8, 2011)

Waelstrum said:


> I play closed fist, and (as far as I know) it doesn't have any negative affects such as causing RSI. I say if you prefer it, then there's no reason to change. I have only been playing a few years, though, take that with a spoon of salt.



Actually, in closer inspection, I use only open hand, and have just realised that's how it always has been. 

That shows how much I pay attention to my technique whilst practising.


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## Winspear (May 8, 2011)

Mordacain said:


> I play open, but I also use hybrid picking and fingerstyle (as well as a cool elastic warp thumbpick).



Me too. I find anchoring my pinky makes playing tighter slightly easier, but I am trying to break that habbit for when I get my 9 string and have strings in the way / want to so hybrid picking in riffs with my pinky.

What thumbpick are you using?


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## Infamous Impact (May 8, 2011)

I play closed fist most of the time, but whenever I tense up or play faster I notice that my hand opens up. It's a good indicator to slow down for me.


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## Diggy (May 8, 2011)

Hey, good day all..

I play 1/2 and 1/2.. there are advantages to both. Closed helps me with reducing overall movement away from the strings.. keeping the pick tight to the string(s) when playing fast. Easier for me to get a percussive attack too w/o getting sloppy while playing faster "djenty" stuff. Muting unwanted noise from unplayed strings gets kinda weird though. Closed keeps mine hand away from the unplayed strings and reducing unwanted noise because I'm not touching the unplayed strings.. while open-handed allows me to control/mute unplayed string by resting my relaxed fingers on the strings themselves... but both ways could possibly create noise if not really careful.

All strumming is open-handed.. just feels natural.

Learning co-ordination is another thing. Some feel that playing open and resting your fingers on the guitar somewhere helps with navigating the guitar strings with your pick.. I agree, but playing closed-fisted while getting started playing the guitar would help alot with pick hand co-ordination, IMO.

I think it ultimately comes down to what is comfortable, fast, clean, and allowing best wrist movement for the lick being played.


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## ShiftKey (May 8, 2011)

Ive always played open, but from watching a fair few other people I hold my pick differently, index finger straight(ish) with the pick in between the pad of my thumb and finger, ive tried curling my index round a few times to play that way but it feels odd to me.
I do rest my picky on the body of the guitar but not anchoring it anywhere in particular, on my old rg350 the pickguard finish was worn away by my pinky next to the single coil.


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## brutalwizard (May 8, 2011)

he plays with like a upside akward duck hand so i think its a preference thing


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## Diggy (May 8, 2011)

I like Marty alot. Lot of movement within his hand for closed player.. Kinda suprised he is as clean as he is


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## GuitaristOfHell (May 8, 2011)

I've tried both ways and honestly I like both ways. I usually do an open hand though, but when I do I anchor my pinky on the top of the pickup ring or slightly on the pickup (bridge) ( I don't give a fuck I anchor, don't like it suck my dick ) With a closed fist I don't anchor, but I feel as if over a time period I'll tense up quicker with a closed fist.


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## Sephael (May 8, 2011)

usually closed hand with my pick resting on the second distal joint of my index finger, but almost having cut my thumb off a couple years ago means I do what I have to for comfort


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## Threinfhir (May 8, 2011)

I can play either way, but open-palmed feels weird. At this point, my fingers want to close, and I almost have to consciously keep them open. Open-palmed does give me a bit better control over some kinds of muting, but that is probably just my sloppy playing.

Of course, I absolutely cannot play anchored anymore.


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## Wierdoom (May 9, 2011)

I used to play open-palmed with my pinky finger anchored on the bridge/bridge pickup, though I am working on playing closed-fist and un-anchored. I found it that I have quite a bit more control when playing closed-fist, and it is easier to change between strings as well.

Overall I think that closed-fist is a little better, but the differences are small. Use whatever is most comfortable for you.


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