Front Playing Position
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In the front playing position, the musician uses the Playing Tip more or less identically as one would use a conventional flat pick, so we need not go into any further details on that subject, other than to postulate that the more secure grip offered by the 6ePick may influence speed, picking accuracy and overall playing confidence.
What we do want to focus on here is how the invention plectrum is held: the front Playing Tip is facing the strings of the instrument, and the hand is oriented in a semi-pronated position, with the palm facing medially and toward the instrument strings. The only fingers that come into contact with the plectrum are the thumb and index finger. Each of the two digits contacts closely with the ergonomically designed concave depression, neck, finger grip, through-hole, Pad-Pads and raised branding lettering on its respective side of the Main Body. This creates an overall situation of high static friction, to ensure that the musician has a secure grip on the plectrum while in use.
Slide Carousel: How to Hold 6ePick in Front Playing Position
Click through the photo carousel to learn how to hold the 6ePick in the front playing position.
Seeing is everything, so the photographs in the above slide carousel should be adequate for instructing a novice on how to hold the 6ePick in the front playing position.
For the sake of clarity, however, we can give a precise anatomical description of what is happening here. Refer to the diagram below if you need to brush up on the terminology used to describe human hand anatomy:
(a). The palmar surface of the thumb pad fits into the ergonomic concave depression, with its through-hole, on the left side of the Main Body, with the said palmar surface contacting the Pad-Pads, which are below the through-hole, and pressing against the raised branding lettering which acts as a semi-circular "stop" around the upper portion of through-hole. The ulnar side of the thumb, in the area between its interphalangeal joint and the base of the fingernail, presses firmly against the outside edge and the underside of the left finger grip . This configuration greatly restricts the movement of the thumb.
(b). The radial side of the index finger, from the distal pad back to the proximal pad, comes into contact with the right side of the Main Body, at an approximate 45-degree angle. The distal pad fits into the deeper end of the ergonomic concave depression, resting upon the Pad-Pads, which sit atop the pronounced "finger pad support". A portion of the pad presses through the through-hole to contact with the thumb pad on the other side. It also presses against the raised branding lettering present around the upper portion of the through-hole.
(c). Next, the intermediate pad of the index finger fits into the remainder of the said depression. Then, the palmar surface of the proximal pad butts up against the back side of the right finger grip (the grip being conjoined to the said concave depression). As such, the top surface of the right finger grip is pressed up into the proximal interphalangeal crease, thus affording a large amount of lateral stability to the plectrum. Finally the bottom side of the neck of the Main Body presses along the radial surface of the proximal pad.
(d.) The thumb shows little to no flexion in the interphalangeal joint. The index finger exhibits approximately 30 degrees of flexion at the metacarpophalangeal joint, approximately 70 degrees of flexion at the proximal interphalangeal joint, and 30 degrees of flexion at the distal interphalangeal joint. The remaining three fingers do not touch the plectrum at all and are flexed loosely in various manners depending on the individual musician’s preferences. The key aspect is that these other fingers must be out of the way such that they do not interfere with the musician’s ability to direct the playing tip in the desired manner. The little finger is sometimes placed, in a fully extended manner, against the body of the instrument below the sound hole, as a means of stabilizing the playing hand.
We end our discussion of the front playing position by noting that in moving between the front and the rear playing positions, the 6ePick only has to be laterally rotated 180 degrees, so that the playing tip on the other end is now facing the instrument strings. This is to say that the pick does not have to be flipped upside down. Just keep in mind that when using the 6ePick its bottom side should always be facing one's palm.
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