Rear Playing Position

The rear playing position is reached by rotating the 6ePick 180 degrees laterally from the front playing position. This rotation brings the rear Playing Tip to face the instrument strings. As such, the hand orientation remains the same as in the front playing position, being semi-pronated with the palm facing medially and towards the instrument strings. 

However, this position uses a different combination of two fingers: the index finger and the middle finger. These two fingers are held closely together, with the plectrum snugly pressed between them in their middle sections. This is a novel means of holding a plectrum, and one that allows for rapid switching back and forth between using the playing tip to strike instrument strings to using one's fingers, as the tips of all fingers are free at all times (since they are not being used to grip the pick).  This makes for great hybrid picking!

The above slide carousels visually teach how to hold the 6ePick in the rear playing position, demonstrating how one can either use the Playing Tip, or any of one's fingers, to strike the strings, while holding the pick between the index and middle fingers.  Not conveyed, of course, is the fact that one can quickly and easily shift on the fly between the two means of engaging with the strings.

The photographs likely  are adequate instruction, but for the sake of completeness, we can give a precise anatomical description of how the fingers are positioned when using the rear playing position.  Refer to Figures 1-3 below which show the anatomical terms that we need to employ here.    

Starting with the index finger, its ulnar surface makes contact with the right side of the Main Body. The contact starts at the proximal end of the distal pad and extends along the remaining ulnar length of the digit. In particular, the proximal interphalangeal crease, or for some users, the distal interphalangeal crease,  is wrapped over the right finger grip, which provides a very strong resistance to movement of the plectrum away from the palm, and also adds substantially to the lateral stabilization of it.  Finally, the ulnar sides of the intermediate pad and the proximal pad abut the contour of the ergonomic concave depression located on that side of the Main Body.  They   rest upon the "Pad-Pads" of the finger pad support there, and press against the raised branding lettering, greatly adding to the amount of frictional contact between the digit and the Main Body.

Turning to the middle finger, the radial side of that digit is involved, with more or less the same general portions of it being in contact as was the case with the index finger. The contact is made on the left side of the Main Body:  the proximal interphalangeal crease is wrapped over the left finger grip (although some users of the 6ePick might prefer to wrap the distal interphalangeal crease instead), again providing great resistance to movement of the plectrum in the direction away from the palm, and adding much lateral stabilization to it.  Finally, the radial sides of both the intermediate and the proximal pads are in full frictional contact with the concave depression there, with the raised branding lettering mostly being in contact with the proximal pad.  All of this configuration detail adds up to create a large amount of frictional contact between the middle finger and the left side of the Main Body.

Finally,  the bottom of the Main Body is nestled into the interdigital webbing between the index and middle fingers. This webbing acts as a cushion and stabilizer against the impact force when the playing tip at the other end strikes an instrument string. Overall, it assists in securing the plectrum in the musician’s fingers.

The terminal section of the neck of the Main Body, with the attached rear playing tip, emerges from between the index finger and the middle finger, in the general area of their respective intermediate pads (see Figure 4 above). It then curves and arches up over the dorsal surface of the distal phalanx of the middle finger, touching lightly on the radial side of the distal interphalangeal joint.  From there, the neck continues out to the attachment point with the playing tip, the latter terminating in mid-air above the said distal phalanx of the middle finger. This positioning allows a musician to direct the playing tip to strike an instrument string without the middle fingertip getting in the way. The neck, to which the playing tip is attached, is configured with respect to the remainder of the Main Body such that it aligns the sides of the playing tip to be more or less parallel to the longitudinal direction of the instrument strings. This allows the musician to engage an individual string with one or the other of the flat sides of the playing tip, as is the preferred technique when using a conventional playing tip.  At any time, the musician is free to use the tips of any of his/her five fingers for finger plucking, as they are not otherwise engaged in the gripping of the plectrum.  This is an outstanding attribute of the 6ePick, especially for musicians who employ hybrid picking techniques.

In the rear playing position, the thumb is fully extended and assumes a  gripping position akin to a person holding a car key, that is, the palmar surface of the thumb presses against the radial surface of the index finger somewhere in the general vicinity between the  distal and the proximal interphalangeal creases, the exact location depending on the personal preference of the musician. The other four fingers are nearly completely flexed at the distal interphalangeal and proximal interphalangeal joints, forming a fairly tight curl, with the Main Body being snugly pressed between the index and middle fingers. While the musician is playing, the primary movement consists of all four fingers moving in unison at the metacarpophalangeal joints, with those joints extending and flexing as needed to direct the playing tip to different strings. One exception to this generalization occurs when some musicians prefer to place the little finger, fully extended, against the body of the instrument below the sound hole as a means of stabilizing the hand while playing.