It is, unfortunately, true. I tend to use my pinky to ground my picking hand and keep it in a particular position. This drives instructors crazy and they're always pointing it out. But, I've played that way for 40 years, so it's not something that's going to change.

I also play acoustic so it is typical, when sitting, that my arm is resting on the guitar body. This is difficult to avoid with an acoustic because of the much larger body and I don't see anyone getting much grief for doing it. Also consider that if you play standing, it's impossible to rest your arm on the body unless you have the guitar strapped high and not slung low. And it's impossibe to NOT rest your arm on the body if it is up high.

More important is to keep your picking hand "hovering" and not touching the guitar, unless technique, (like palm muting,) demands it. If you ground your hand, you will lose some natural motion that greatly contributes to speed.

thanks xarkzila. looks like im going to have to start learning how to do that :/
i usually have my guitar strapped fairly high. would you suggest strapping my guitar lower in order to help me naturally develop this technique?

Actually not really low. Higher is better if you're looking for control. (You will find a similar position if you play sitting. In the studio those who play sitting down, do much better than those who insist on standing. Sit with your guitar. Sit straight! Notice it's position, then adjust so your strap has it about the same location. About mid-waist.) Lower is better if you're looking for "cool."

The most important thing is to not rest your picking hand on your guitar.

thanks xarkzila.
ive had a lot of replies on other forums from people telling me they rest their hand on the bridge, or resting your hand on the guitar doesnt make a difference. ive looked at videos of players such as Blackmore, Van Halen and Page, and they all appear to be resting their picking arms on the guitar.
Im very confused :S
attempt to play fast passages, i usually find that my picking hand hits some of the open strings, totally destroying any clarity.
in theory then, if my picking hand hovers above the guitat, this problem should be solved?
thanks again for your advice.

It really depends on what you are doing. If you are accidentally killing strings with your palm then you definitely are putting you hand where it shouldn't be. If you are strumming then I see no reason to rest any part of your arm or hand on the guitar. For precise picking I think it's almost necessary to stabilize your picking hand by resting it on the bridge or using fingers to hold a place on the guitar body. You'll see all types of examples of hand placement when you watch the you tube vids. It's all about what works for the technique you are implementing.

The thing is, while there are "more effective ways" of doing things there aren't many hard and fast rules about playing the guitar. The players you've mentioned (Blackmore, Van Halen, Page)...they're all self-taught aren't they?

If you're after properly researched technique, it might be best to look elsewhere. Say, other guitarists that have been educated in certain music schools like Paul Gilbert or whatever.

Hell, I was watching the Crossroads Guitar Festival DVD and I kept saying to myself "wtf, their picking doesn't make sense but they all sound awesome!" So if it works and doesn't have any detrimental effect on your well being, I say go for whatever works for you.

The way I've been taught with my picking is to lightly rest my palm on the lower strings (e.g. E-A-D) to mute them while I'm playing the higher strings (e.g. G-B-E). I find that the only occasions where my picking hand will actually "float" is when I'm strumming or playing the low E string.

I tend to rest my hand on the lower strings when picking the higher strings, (G-B-E), when going for the lower strings, (E-A-D), my hand seems to move to the bridge. I tried to keep my my forearm off the guitar and kept my hand off the bridge and strings. I can see how it's an advantage but man what a bite! I don't think I could get used to doing that.

When ever I play I tend to move my hand around for different sounds in the song, so I don't think that resting your hand is a bad thing if you use it as part of your playing, but make sure that you understand that when you want a note to ring out you have to move your hand out of the way. I went to an expansion course on the guitar, and the professor was saying and showing us certain ways to play certain styles, so I don't know about the resting the hand all the time. If it's for technique, like chugga chugga, heavy metal, sure, but when you start expanding those horizons, you're going to need more than that in your arsenal. So listen to what Xark says, to an extent. Xarks I do the pinky thing every now and again, as well. I have found that Xarks is pretty solid when it comes to advice.

I highly recomend a stylus pick. It will force you to work out your technique issues, make you a better picker all around, and it really does work, especially if your trying to learn to sweep pick.

-sallan