Jump to content
Gibson Brands Forums

Holding the Pick


Doc

Recommended Posts

Hey Y'all,

 

I had a guitar lesson last night and it was really, really helpful. I'm a country player who's relied mostly on cowboy chords over the years. I know a lot of chords and have soaked in a few bluegrass runs, but I'm trying to become a better lead player. I get along just fine for a guy who's never had a formal lesson, but I also love how learning new licks and chords always leads to new songs for me.

 

Aside from teaching me a novel approach to pentatonic and blues scales, the teacher showed me a different way to hold the pick. Basically, you make a light fist and hold the pick between the joint of your thumb and the top knuckle of your curled first finger. Don't rest your hand on the bridge. You have less precision than when you use your pinky/ring fingers as an anchor, but you get a delicious tone, to say nothing of the speed you gain. Also, the momentum of a closed fist creates some interesting textures as you hit some strings harder than others.

 

It'll take a lot of work for me to change the way I hold a pick -- and I may never make the switch -- but I was able to move pretty fast up and down those bluegrass scales last night. Funny how finessing your technique can open up new sounds in a guitar.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well Doc, I'm an old Honky Tonk dog myself. I've been playing the better part of 45 years now, and as a rhythm player, can easily hold my own.

 

Gotta tell ya, for the most part, I hold my hand the same way as what you have pictured in your avatar.

That can change depending on what I'm picking or strumming. But usually that's it. My little finger is not anchored to the bridge or the top, but moves freely with the hand. I have found holding it this way, gives me more control, and allows me to mute strings however I may need to easily.

 

But go with your teacher. They'll most likely teach you proper. Then you can go from there.

Stay with it. I wish I had. I'm impatient. You'll be a better player for it, but you already know that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I get speed by holding the pick on my index and middle finger pad and pressed in place with the thumb. The third and fourth fingers are kept together against the first and second, so it is a like the low hand on a baseball bat, or imagine a toilet paper roll going in the hole.

 

The three finger grip keeps the pick in place without any turning so the tip of the pick can be angled for any attack style - the the added bonus is the weight, counterweight of the hand being closed which makes a better and shorter pendulum working off the wrist.

 

All of these tips for holding the pick can be useful to try, but I still always support the idea that you want to do what feels natural and comfortable first, and add ideas to what you already do if they work.

 

The open hand style that you see so many players using, with a two finger grip and three fingers flat and parallel to the top of the guitar, is physically limiting because the down stroke puts momentum far from the wrist which takes more energy to counter on an up stroke. Still, as was mentioned in an earlier comment, muffling with a fist or cucumber grip poses some challenges that the open hand style resolves very well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only advice I found helpful from a teacher as far as pick holding is to hold it as close to the tip as possible. It allows speed with picking and keeps you from "digging" into the strings. Other than that, I just do what feels comfortable at the time.

 

Good luck with the lessons and from one student to another - If it starts feeling too much like work, throw everything he's teaching you aside for a few days and just play the damn thing!! Hahaha!! I also get into trouble with him like that. He's anal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good advice. So far, though, I'm enjoying opening new doors to my playing. A lesson like this is long overdue and I have more than enough technique and theory to work on.

 

I think it's important to try to integrate the exercises into the type of music you play. If I learn a new lick, I'll try to incorporate it into one of my songs. That keeps it fun. [-X/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I believe I read somewhere that Stevie Ray "SRV" would hold his pick backwards with the big end out.

I tried it and like it a lot. When I play, I usually use my fingers and grab a pick for a solo depending on the song. I'm tempted to get a few acrylic nails but don't want to be seen in a nail salon. [-X

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just about the only thing I took away from my three week stint in lessons was better pick technique. My other faults, alas, were too numerous for my instructor's continued sanity. I too used the three finger grip in my youth, but two fingers IMO are much faster and more precise. The rest of my hand is loose without curling up too much and I don’t anchor it at all. I’m mainly a strummer and this is what works for me. I don’t even think about it any more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the srv way is best for me, too. more pick contact with the string gives a fatter tone, acoustically and electrically, as well. picks (i use med) tend to wear better and not crack this way. i suppose it simulates fingerpicking, thumbpicking.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Y'all' date='

 

I had a guitar lesson last night and it was really, really helpful. I'm a country player who's relied mostly on cowboy chords over the years. I know a lot of chords and have soaked in a few bluegrass runs, but I'm trying to become a better lead player. I get along just fine for a guy who's never had a formal lesson, but I also love how learning new licks and chords always leads to new songs for me.

 

Aside from teaching me a novel approach to pentatonic and blues scales, the teacher showed me a different way to hold the pick. Basically, you make a light fist and hold the pick between the joint of your thumb and the top knuckle of your curled first finger. Don't rest your hand on the bridge. You have less precision than when you use your pinky/ring fingers as an anchor, but you get a delicious tone, to say nothing of the speed you gain. Also, the momentum of a closed fist creates some interesting textures as you hit some strings harder than others.

 

It'll take a lot of work for me to change the way I hold a pick -- and I may never make the switch -- but I was able to move pretty fast up and down those bluegrass scales last night. Funny how finessing your technique can open up new sounds in a guitar.

 

[/quote']

 

 

Oh Doc

 

I do envy you

 

Your teacher doesn't have a brother in Kent UK does he?

 

The nearest teacher to me that anyone speaks well of is 100 miles away (Albertjohn lives much closer to him)

 

All the guys round here seem to what Slash's latest riffs and/or LED Zep.

 

Hell I left that stuff behind 20 years ago ( I wish!!!!!)

 

To be serious I'd love to hear of a teacher in Kent?/ South London who would actually take all the bad habits I have picked up in 40 years of playing and just help me make the most of them.

 

So if anyone knows anyone?......

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Before I had any lessons - about 6 years ago - I had a 3 fingered really tight grip and dug in really hard but was using a very light pick. The great one from Suffolk got me to change to a heavy pick. He taught me to hold it between thumb and forefinger, not too much showing with the remaining fingers making a light fist as if you were holding a broom handle/tennis racquet/hockey stick kind of thing. I still end up with my little finger on the pickguard sometimes but teach my couple of young students the "correct" method.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...