Using a pick vs. finger picking

[ILikeGuitar]

Hi I started teaching myself guitar, and it has been about 8 months now. I've made some good progress in my opinion, but something I struggle with is picking. My neighbor helped me out a little bit and he taught me how to finger pick (he plays classical on a nylon string). I play both acoustic and electric. When I switch over to my electric, I can still finger pick but I feel like if I learned to use a pick I would be able to play much faster. I've practiced a little bit and I'm ok.. I'm kind of slow and sometimes I hit the string above or below the one I want to. Are there any exercises I should try to improve my skill with the pick? I'm also not sure how to have the proper technique or where to lay my wrist etc.

[bdemon]

What kind of music do you want to play? If we're talking folk, fingerstyle, etc., then going without a pick is very common. As far as getting the pick technique you can try picking a string DOWN continuously for a minute, UP for a minute or ALTERNATE for a minute (or longer if you have the patience). Then you can do basic warmups, say, frets 12-13-14-15 of each string with your index-middle-ring-pinky hitting those frets. It's a start.

[Big Muff]

Are you talking about alternate picking, or just picking in general?

 

Don't be afraid to use your pinky as an anchor on the guitar, does wonders for me.

[RJcoolK]

Pick-free playing on an electric works well if you have built up good calluses on your picking fingers. You'll have good "attack" and it can work out well, over a matter of time. I

 

f you continue to play a lot (fingerpicking) on your acoustic, you will develop good calluses. Watch how Lindsey Buckingham plays his electrics.

[ILikeGuitar]

I'm just saying picking in general. It's hard to play rock music on an electric without a pick. I have a bad habit where I sometimes anchor my pinky to the bottom E string... something I do naturally. I'm trying to be able to pick without doing that but it's hard. I can pick downwards alright but I'm not good at picking up.. and I don't know when I should do that in a song. I'm also really slow right now too. Something I noticed is that I put the pick way too far into the strings. The tip of the pick almost touches the pickguard. Ugh it's so hard...

[johnnywas]

the commonest form of picking is alternate picking which is picking up and then picking down.

 

starting with a lighter pick may help

 

hold the pick between thumb and forefinger - so that just the tip is showing and you are holding the rest of the pick firmly

 

angle the pick so that when you play a downstoke the tip of the pick is pointing slightly upward . This ensures that the tip of the pick crosses the surface of the string as it plays the string and that it does not drag the string with it

 

When you play the upstroke try to make sure that the tip of the pick is pointing slightly down

 

it takes some getting used to so

 

when you are starting with the pick use it for a few minutes and then finish your practice session without it

[Knottyhed]

 

Hi I started teaching myself guitar, and it has been about 8 months now. I've made some good progress in my opinion, but something I struggle with is picking. My neighbor helped me out a little bit and he taught me how to finger pick (he plays classical on a nylon string). I play both acoustic and electric. When I switch over to my electric, I can still finger pick but I feel like if I learned to use a pick I would be able to play much faster. I've practiced a little bit and I'm ok.. I'm kind of slow and sometimes I hit the string above or below the one I want to. Are there any exercises I should try to improve my skill with the pick? I'm also not sure how to have the proper technique or where to lay my wrist etc.

 

 

People are right to say that you'll probably find it easier at first using a light pick, that's because you won't have to worry hitting the string at the right angle for a good release or worry about how hard you are hitting the string. Harder picks are better though, they're more accurate, give better tone, more control over dynamics and allow you to play faster.

 

I've gradually used harder and harder picks over the years, but frankly think I'd have been better off just using hard picks from the start.

 

Picking technique is a personal thing - there's alot of 'correct' ways. Generally though:

 

Grip:

Balence the pick on your forefinger between the tip and first joint. Then clamp you thumb on top. The grip should be firm but not tense. You don't want loads of pick poking out, just enough to allow you to accurately and confidently hit the string.

 

Hand placement:

Place the hard forward of the bridge (around the bridge pickup area). Rest your palm lightly on the strings to mute. Bear in mind that you can pick in different places to get different tones/dynamics, but that should probably be your 'default' position.

 

Picking:

Pick from the wrist in alternate fashion. Angle the pick downwards. Aim to release the string smoothly on both the up and down stroke. Practice this slowly, you should be able to feel that if you do it right the string will not 'catch'.

 

Exercises wise, in my personal opinion just practicing scales takes alot of beating. So practice scales in all the positions on the neck, cromatic scales are also good.

 

Oh and practice it to a metronome, try playing your exercises as 16ths, 8ths, 1/4 notes, triplets etc.

[Burningleaves]

Go with what feels comfortable and slowly build the other tech' as you go along.

[JerseyGuy]

The metronome bit is really important; record yourself and you'll really notice how out of rhythm you are. Also, for my first couple years, I lightly anchored my pinky on the pickguard, which really helped. You can't do it up the neck, of course, but it's a great way to not be so nervous about whether you're going to hit the right string.

[Kindras]

Try just picking the guitar Open and go slow.

up and down the open strings

 

--0-----------------------------0--------------

------0-----------------------0----------------

----------0-----------------0------------------

-------------0------------0--------------------

-----------------0-----0-----------------------

--------------------0--------------------------

 

Something like that..

[ILikeGuitar]

well i ask about hand and wrist placement because i see so many different ways of doing it. some people seem to rest their hand on the bridge, some rest their wrist on the top part of the body and still manage to be able to pivot their hands to play without interfering with any strings somehow.. no idea how they do it. i tried the anchoring the pinky on the guitar and it helps a little bit but when i go to strum i have to let go and reestablish the anchor which is kinda annoying. btw my trouble could be how i'm holding the guitar too. i dont really have a consistent position with it, sometimes the neck is angled up, sometimes is kinda down, some times i sit on the edge of my bed with knee up so its higher up on my body..

[Kindras]

As far as hand/wrist placement goes i've learned lots from watching other guitarists. Find some Nice pro guitarists videos on youtube and watch how they place thier hands.

 

As far as the right hand, Its more of a combination of both bridge and top part of the body. To be honest i do i differently depending on what im playing.

 

If im playing something very heavy picking, or "metal" i'll rest right on the bridge.

 

But if im strumming, then i pull up a bit, to give me more flexibility.

 

When im strumming my flexibility is broad, i'm reaching more strings. When im picking notes or shredding, i need low narrow focussed touch.

[rhat]

 

People are right to say that you'll probably find it easier at first using a light pick, that's because you won't have to worry hitting the string at the right angle for a good release or worry about how hard you are hitting the string. Harder picks are better though, they're more accurate, give better tone, more control over dynamics and allow you to play faster. I've gradually used harder and harder picks over the years, but frankly think I'd have been better off just using hard picks from the start. Picking technique is a personal thing - there's alot of 'correct' ways. Generally though: Grip: Balence the pick on your forefinger between the tip and first joint. Then clamp you thumb on top. The grip should be firm but not tense. You don't want loads of pick poking out, just enough to allow you to accurately and confidently hit the string. Hand placement: Place the hard forward of the bridge (around the bridge pickup area). Rest your palm lightly on the strings to mute. Bear in mind that you can pick in different places to get different tones/dynamics, but that should probably be your 'default' position. Picking: Pick from the wrist in alternate fashion. Angle the pick downwards. Aim to release the string smoothly on both the up and down stroke. Practice this slowly, you should be able to feel that if you do it right the string will not 'catch'. Exercises wise, in my personal opinion just practicing scales takes alot of beating. So practice scales in all the positions on the neck, cromatic scales are also good. Oh and practice it to a metronome, try playing your exercises as 16ths, 8ths, 1/4 notes, triplets etc.

 

 

 

I made the transition from finger picking to using a flat pick when i started playing alot of electric guitar. I found a thicker hard pick much easier to control than a thin bendy one. My teacher suggested starting out with thicker more ridgid pic. Now a thinner pick seems easier. I guess different things work better for different people . rat

[Knottyhed]

 

I made the transition from finger picking to using a flat pick when i started playing alot of electric guitar. I found a thicker hard pick much easier to control than a thin bendy one. My teacher suggested starting out with thicker more ridgid pic. Now a thinner pick seems easier. I guess different things work better for different people . rat

 

 

If you preferred harder picks starting out you are probably in the minority? Certainly in my experience very few people at beginner/intermediate stage have that preference (except maybe those who play metal).

 

Either way, Eric Johnson, Steve Vai, Malsteen, Satch, Sean Lane, MAB - pretty much anyone that's anyone in the whole of guitar picking uses/used hard, non-flexible picks for the reasons I outlined above (i.e. better control, speed, accuracy etc.). It's about the only thing that's consistent between the techniques of all the electric guitarists I've looked at when working on my own picking technique.

[RJcoolK]

I only use a flexible pick for some acoustic strumming, to get that special "hear every string in the chord" sound. Otherwise, it's all about the stiff picks on both electrics and acoustics...unless, of course, I'm finger picking.

[Knottyhed]

 

I only use a flexible pick for some acoustic strumming, to get that special "hear every string in the chord" sound. Otherwise, it's all about the stiff picks on both electrics and acoustics...unless, of course, I'm finger picking.

 

 

Yeh the softer picks definately have applications for acoustic guitar strumming. The pick gauge/material can make a massive difference to the sound you get.

[RJcoolK]

OK, here's my one-and-only pick (plectrum) related anecdote that's worth anything. I met Billy Gibbons in Stockholm, Sweden, when I was a student there in the 1980s. Got his autograph, as well as Frank Beard's and Dusty Hill's. ZZ Top was playing a concert that night, and I had tickets.

 

I asked him if he really played with a quarter (instead of a pick) and he said he did. I gave him a Swedish kronor (worth about 15 cents at the time and about the same size and weight as a U.S. quarter) and asked him if he'd ever tried one. "No," he said, but he assured me that he'd give it a shot during the show. I asked him if he didn't beat the crap out of his strings and guitars with a coin.

 

His response: "Nope."

 

He was a really super-nice guy, and treated me like a fellow guitar player, even though I was just a 19-year-old kid at the time.

[RSD]

I prefer picks for lead work and playing Electric because of the increaed clarity of the attack. Although, for Acoustic I use both picks (usually lighter ones) and fingerstyle.

[monstermaker]

I've used picks most of my life but have been leaning towards fingers these days. I can grab a lot more notes with less work. My speed hasn't changed all that much. Chord melody type playing is easier.

Learn both methods.

[ILikeGuitar]

i like the feel of heavy picks more.. feels like i have more control. but it sucks when i strum a chord with a heavy pick because it sounds like im bashing the strings with it

[Dubb]

i like the feel of heavy picks more.. feels like i have more control. but it sucks when i strum a chord with a heavy pick because it sounds like im bashing the strings with it

No one says you have to do one or the other. I use a .88mm nylon pick (a bit flimsy, but not too much) for acoustic and a 1.14mm tortex pick (quite sturdy... love that tortex) for electric. I prefer it this way for the same reasons you described, and I think many/most guitarists feel the same way.

[Virgman]

 

OK, here's my one-and-only pick (plectrum) related anecdote that's worth anything. I met Billy Gibbons in Stockholm, Sweden, when I was a student there in the 1980s. Got his autograph, as well as Frank Beard's and Dusty Hill's. ZZ Top was playing a concert that night, and I had tickets. I asked him if he really played with a quarter (instead of a pick) and he said he did. I gave him a Swedish kronor (worth about 15 cents at the time and about the same size and weight as a U.S. quarter) and asked him if he'd ever tried one. "No," he said, but he assured me that he'd give it a shot during the show. I asked him if he didn't beat the crap out of his strings and guitars with a coin. His response: "Nope." He was a really super-nice guy, and treated me like a fellow guitar player, even though I was just a 19-year-old kid at the time.

 

 

I've tried a quarter but I just don't like the sound of it.