Holding the guitar pick

[Robert]

People ask me often how to hold a pick. Here's how I do it:

http://www.dolphinstreet.com/guitar_video_lessons/lesson-46.php

I try to show how I keep the index finger horizontally across the pick.

 

[tot_Ou_tard]

Yup, that's how I hold'm too.

 

[Jimi75]

Hello Robert,

when I started playing I held the pick completely wrong. At that time I was wondering how all the other kids where able to play all this fast heavy metal stuff.

Only after one year, I dared to ask a friend and he showed me how to hold the pick - exactly the way you explain.

Anyway, what the theory and books suggest isn't valuable for every individual player....just thinking of how strange Santana holds the pick...but this contributes a lot to his style.

Good video though, it amazes me to see that you even think of covering such basic elements of the guitar playing! GREAT!!!

 

[sunvalleylaw]

People ask me often how to hold a pick. Here's how I do it:

http://www.dolphinstreet.com/guitar_video_lessons/lesson-46.php

I try to show how I keep the index finger horizontally across the pick.

That's really cool Robert. Fortunately, I had been taught to hold a pick that way. I have been thinking that in guitar, as in skiing, before movement can be accomplished effectively, position needs to be proper. In skiing, I coach that a stance must be effective before movement can be efficient. That has to be the same for guitar. I love that in your lessons, you show how you are fingering something, then show how to make the moves to play what you are teaching. Very helpful.

 

[doomhauer]

Yep, think I use a similar approach. Been having an ongoing debate with a friend from college who holds his pick with his middle finger and claims its the way forward!!?

Thing is hes a great player, he may actually be onto something!

 

[Plank_Spanker]

I believe that there's no "correct" way to hold a pick. Whatever way is comfortable and works for you is best. I hold mine between my thumb, index and middle fingers and I'm constantly changing the grip based on the string attack I need.

One thing that I preach is to not clamp down on the pick. Keep a relaxed grip and let it "float" in your fingers.

 

[Tone2TheBone]

Sometimes I drop my pick and use my index fingernail and fingers. This is a cool sound.

 

[Hogfullofblues]

Very Interesting....
Haven't had much time to play lately, but I finally tried it, and I like it! I was letting way too much pick stick out and never thought about the index finger.
Thanks for the tip, Robert (was that a pun?).

 

[warren0728]

Sometimes I drop my pick and use my index fingernail and fingers. This is a cool sound.

+1 .... i have been playing without a pick quite a bit lately....kinda like it

works for derek trucks

ww

 

[t_ross33]

Thanks for that Robert. I've been giving it at try. It will take a bit of getting used to - I find it changes my wrist position a bit, but picks are always spinning around in my fingers so maybe this will help.

 

[Tone2TheBone]

+1 .... i have been playing without a pick quite a bit lately....kinda like it

works for derek trucks

ww

Heck yeah buddy pluck them geetars! Derek is a bad arse!

BTW I have that same smoker and it smokes tasty salmon every Spring during the Catholic holiday of Good Friday.

 

[Moshe]

Nice lesson robert! Very helpful.

 

[R_of_G]

personally, i use different picks and hold them differently

Firstly, another excellent lesson Robert. How to hold the pick "right" was something I was very concerned with when I first started playing. The thing was, every other guitar player I asked had a slightly different answer. To my ears that meant however it is comfortable to get you the range of motion and economy of motion you desire. I also use several different picks, depending on which guitar I am playing, or sometimes just how my hands feel as some are easier to play with, some make certain sounds i like when i scrape them across the strings, etc. What I've noticed is that I hold different picks differently. When I use "Medium" picks I tend to hold it much the way Robert showed with a bit of the middle finger as well for balance. Sometimes when I play in open tunings I will use a smaller or lighter pick and use more of both index and middle finger to hold it so I can use one or the other to pluck open strings.

and for the record, derek trucks is amazing! i take it you guys that are into derek have tried out his open e tuning? everything I play in that tuning sounds right, slide or no slide. on my acoustic with a slide the tuning sounds very much like the indian sarod [which is my favorite sound of all stringed instruments]

 

[tot_Ou_tard]

and for the record, derek trucks is amazing! i take it you guys that are into derek have tried out his open e tuning? everything I play in that tuning sounds right, slide or no slide. on my acoustic with a slide the tuning sounds very much like the indian sarod [which is my favorite sound of all stringed instruments]

Yes Derek is fantastic. I've tried open G, but no other alternate tunings. It's a lot of fun to try n' slide.

 

[guitartist]

+1 .... i have been playing without a pick quite a bit lately....kinda like it

works for derek trucks

ww

Speaking of Derek Trucks, I just picked up his cd "Songlines" about 2 weeks ago and have been loving it, I've been listening to it every day since. I didn't know he didn't use a pick, that's interesting.

Yeah, there's some great players who don't always play with a pick...Ronnie Earl, Jeff Beck...I don't think Albert King or Wes Montomery EVER used a pick. Sometimes I'll go pick-less for a night, the last time I did that though I got a huge blister on my thumb. Ouch!

I recently read in a mag that a lot of pros use the Dunlop II Jazz pick, so I bought some of those and really like them...they are smaller than your average pick and have really forced me to clean up my picking technique (I'm a bit sloppy in that area at times).

How many of you ever mess around with thumbpicks and metal fingertip picks (like banjo players use)? I've never mastered them (not even close) but I have messed around with them occasionally ever since I was a kid. About 6 months ago or so Roger McGuinn was featured in Acoustic Guitar magazine, and they showed a close up of his hand with his thumbpick and fingerpicks...and it turns out I had been wearing the fingerpicks upside down! Dang. So I tried them again turned around McGuinn-style and I'm still just as clumsy with them...oh well.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

EDIT: I moved this over from Jimi75's vid thread as it was a blatant off topic hijack. It seems to fit better here as it relates to Strum's practicing of Robert's techniques here.

I know there is no "correct" way and it was more an observation. I always like to give potential improvements a try. When I saw Robert's video regarding holding the pick I gave it a try and even after several attempts, I felt I lost some control.




That's something I definitely would like to see, especially if your detail allows some of us beginners to get an understanding of what you are doing.

Jimi, I think [your] vid (see here: http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php?t=4744 ) is a good example of right hand work. Please allow me to mention something to Strum about my pick holding style.
Strum, I played with the same things recently. I had been holding my pick unconventionally with my index finger pointed more toward the point of the pick than across as Robert and other places show, and holding it loosely. I had even begun to rely on larger 3 point picks to allow contact with other parts of my finger, but my pick had become kinda floppy and sloppy in my hand and I was digging way to deep with too much pick. Too much string and pick noise and not enough guitar tone noise. I got pretty frustrated at first trying to adjust my pick grip as Robert demonstrated and as Spud showed me when he was last over here, but with a small adjustment, it is coming along finally, and my tone and control seems to be better.

Tone is coming faster than control on individual notes. The strummed chords just sound cleaner and with more guitar and less excess noise. Also, my hand is flailing around less as I keep less pick exposed. I did have to adjust it and allow my index finger to fold not quite true 90 degrees across the pick as that just doesn't work for me, but basically it is working. Great place, this, to pick up things like this and watch great examples such as Jimi's above! P.S. I don't mean to comment on your technique or what you are doing or contradict Jimi, just sayin' what I am doing. :beer:

 

[just strum]

Steve,

I was thinking about moving the post too, I didn't want to take away from the intent of Jimi's thread. I'll read through this and then post some comments. In the meantime, I went back to trying that pick holding method and the one thing need to do is relax. I find myself squeezing the pick too tight which is a common thing when trying something new (ex: swinging a new driver when golfing).

The other problem I am having - I tend to lose track of where I'm at and find myself picking the wrong string.

I'm sure both could be corrected - practice, practice, practice.

 

[Iago]

I used a thumbpick for quite some time, because I started playing some more fingerstyle guitar and country blues.. Much by the inffluence of Johnny Winter. It gives a brighter, snappier tone on the bass strings, which I prefer. I took a while to get used to it, cos you have to change your hand position to play with it. Now I'm using the old regular pick again. Its faster and your fingers dont hurt after playing These are probably the 2 only advantages of a pick. And if people at work are picky (pun?) about you having long fingernails.

 

[chordshredder]

Ive got a DVD of SRV playing in Europe, He was sweating from all the garb he wore and he dropped the pick a few times, and he of course was using it bass-ackwards with the the pointy end towards his hand, still he sounded great. I got to looking at how I hold a pick when I was learning to do harmonics. That was hard for me to figure out. ZZTop seems to be able to bend and get harmonics at same time I think having a high gain amp probably helps.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Steve,

I find myself squeezing the pick too tight which is a common thing when trying something new (ex: swinging a new driver when golfing).

The other problem I am having - I tend to lose track of where I'm at and find myself picking the wrong string.

I'm sure both could be corrected - practice, practice, practice.

Good thought on the golf analogy. I am a professional ski instructor and when teaching new motion patterns or body stances it is common for things to feel strange and overwork it, creating fatigue and reducing motion and fluidity and therefore efficiency. Time with the new technique and repetition of the technique done properly eventually develops comfort and relaxation which leads to more success. At least that is one way I sell more lessons.
No really, it works, in skiing anyway. I try to tell myself the same thing when I am the newb learning guitar techniques. ancake

 

[just strum]

I've been using the pick holding method that Robert demonstrates and darn if the guy isn't right. I may deviate away from it a little to find my comfort zone, but I am becoming a lot more comfortable with it after just a couple of days.

Now, back to the relaxation discussion (related). As I noted in the bruised finger thread, I am finding how much the relaxation helps in the guitar playing. As I became or become more comfortable in the new way I am holding the pick and the effort I am putting in giving the fretting a softer touch, I am finding moving from chord to chord or note to note much easier/smoother. The only draw back is when I get too relaxed I find it hard to make those guitar playing faces.

I don't know if it's me, but I feel I am getting a better tone out of the guitar as a result of both changes.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Cool Strum! That is what I am feeling working with developing the same good fundamentals. It is like developing a good touch on the edges in skiing, which makes a better shaped turn. More efficient, using the body better, and more fun. In teaching skiing, I tend to start with body stance and balance issues, and once those are adjusted, work more with the movement patterns. Obviously there is some cross over and blending, but that is the basic idea. Basically, if you are not standing on your skis well, it is harder to move strongly and efficiently.

I guess good fundamentals with how you hold the pick, how you sit or stand, how you hold the guitar, etc. affect how you can move your hands and fingers, and thus ultimately your tone. Anyway, that is how I want to approach it. Sure there are lots of folks that are all stars with funky techniques, but I think for the person learning, especially a person learning in midlife, good fundamental technique has to be a key. It is so cool we newbs have access to a bunch of great players here to help us with that.

 

[just strum]

Steve, you hit on a few good points that I would like to highlight. You compare it to skiing, I compare it to golf, but those activities, as in playing guitar rely heavily on being relaxed. Relaxation should not be confused or considered sloppy, because in all three activities sloppy only leads to trouble.

I guess good fundamentals with how you hold the pick, how you sit or stand, how you hold the guitar, etc. affect how you can move your hands and fingers, and thus ultimately your tone.

I think the importance of fundamentals is they should be viewed as building blocks. Each fundamental learned brings you closer to your goal. Many beginners (myself included in that group) want to jump in and tear up a shred or learn some difficult song. Even if they eventually learn to play it to some degree, they are only imitating, but walk away with no true understanding how it's done or the "ingredients" of what they learned. Going through the basic fundamentals and using those building blocks will eventually make those more challenging parts of learning easier to conquer. Some building blocks are boring, but they have a purpose.

...Sure there are lots of folks that are all stars with funky techniques, but I think for the person learning...

True, but people should keep in mind how much of that is stage theatrics. I don't think you will find Townsend in the studio doing windmills or jumping in the air. Richards probably isn't in the studio doing that strange strumming that you see him do on stage. In fact, in photos and film any studio shots I've seen, they are usually sitting. I believe it was Winston Churchill that said "Why stand, when you can sit"

...but I think for the person learning, especially a person learning in midlife, good fundamental technique has to be a key

Nothing to add, just repeating a very strong statement

...It is so cool we newbs have access to a bunch of great players here to help us with that.

Certainly is. Always listen or read what people have to offer.

Ok, I know, boring post for you intermediate to seasoned players, but for us beginners...