There are two ways to look at your hand position. We can look at how picks go towards the strings. I call this the angle of attack. We also can look at where are palm or side of hand is located across the strings. One way is to have the hand laying next to the strings. This is what I call a traditional method. We can see how this would allow for utilizing the side of the hand as a block or damper to control the strings. This places your hand at in a position that has your first knuckle higher than the rest. To describe it as a 45 degree angle is appropriate.
Another method that is used I call the modern. This is with the top of your hand in a flat position. This places your picks on the strings with all of the pick in play. The traditional rotates the hand and puts the edge of the pick on the strings.
The thumb angle is different with both because of the rotation. With the hand in the traditional position then you have the thumb pick attacking the strings at a slight angle. In the modern method the thumb pick is placed flat across the string. A good way to see is how well your thumb pick looks. A chewed thumb pick usually comes from the angled attack created by the rotation of the right hand.
All of this also relates to the position of the rest of the arm. We will break it all down in later posts. But for the most part this video will get you started on your way. I talk about the different ways that you can hold your hand. The WebVideo is dated December, 19 2009. It also has a section on scales using Excel and recording the screen on my computer.
