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how do you hold your guitar pick?


sirka

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Posted

how do you hold it? my pick keeps slipping out. how many fingers do oyu use to hold it? pics please if possible

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Anyway that feels rite to you..they say to hld btwn thumb & index
finger..I sometimes put my middle finger on the edge to keep it from slipping...Its all good...

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thumb and index, but my middle finger is always on it as well. i can't used to thumb and index only, feels like it's gonna slip out...

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I've been playing for what seems like forever, and my pick still slips out.

To get around this, wash your hands before playing and wash the pick.

Don't touch oily surfaces thereafter.

When you cannot do this, a little spit goes a long way.

Thumb and index with a little help from the middle finger.

Keep monitoring the pick as you play. You'll know when you are about to lose it, so keep trying (unconciously) to keep it from getting to an extreme position by rotating it back into your grasp or lighten up at some point and literally place it how you like it best.

I've known players who keep extras on mike stands, little holders on their guitars, shirt pockets, anything to avoid picking it up off the floor. A lot of people just finish out the song without a pick, which is just fine.

I've heard that there are technological advances in picks and that new materials are out there that make them sticky when you sweat. But that's all I've heard, and only on this website.

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Posted

I play with the large round end of a pick.

I press my left thumb's largest joint in towards the hand somewhat, and usually just have my forefinger pressing lightly on the other side. Sometimes I use my middle finger to 'rudder' my pick by lightly pushing on the sharp end of the pick.

I used to have poor pick control, its gotten better from lots of picking exercises. I miss notes still of course, but i dont 'lose' the point of the pick.

Probably cause the end I play with is so damn big and round. :p

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You should try not to hold the pick with your middle finger... it tightens up certain tendons making it more difficult to efficiently pick with the wrist. There shouldn't actually be any grip coming from your index finger. It should curl to a natural position and your thumb should press the pick into the side of it. The hand should stay in a completely relaxed position- no planting, no making a fist, no resting on the bridge. The hand should float over the strings... no "reference" points are needed. With sufficient practice, the position of the strings will become second nature.

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Posted

I don't think that I'll ever get used to pressing it into the side of my index finger. That feels awkward to me, but I'm aware that I maybe should have started doing that ten years ago.

I don't think there is that much of a difference whether I use my index finger or middle finger when I'm holding it the way I do today.

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Posted
Originally posted by S2Joel

You should try not to hold the pick with your middle finger... it tightens up certain tendons making it more difficult to efficiently pick with the wrist.


This is true.
:cool:

There shouldn't actually be any grip coming from your index finger. It should curl to a natural position and your thumb should press the pick into the side of it.



I actually DO use some pressure from my index finger, just a little bit, to prevent the pick from slipping whenever I need to use hybrid picking.


The hand should stay in a completely relaxed position- no planting, no making a fist, no resting on the bridge. The hand should float over the strings... no "reference" points are needed. With sufficient practice, the position of the strings will become second nature.



I disagree with the part about not resting on the bridge; it's a necessary part of muting. And, I DO keep my hand almost in a fist. But, my hand is relaxed in that position, so no loss. :D

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Posted

If you read the Tuck Andress article posted above, you'll see that top pros hold their picks entirely differently from one another, and all do just fine. Take-home message - there is no "right" way.

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Posted

Originally posted by rhrocker

I don't think that I'll ever get used to pressing it into the side of my index finger. That feels awkward to me, but I'm aware that I maybe should have started doing that ten years ago.


I don't think there is that much of a difference whether I use my index finger or middle finger when I'm holding it the way I do today.

 

 

I think maybe I'm wrong about this. I realised that pinched harmonics are soo much easier when using my thumb and index finger to hold my pick.

 

I took pictures of my hand holding it the way I do today, and a pic when holding it with my thumb and index. Sorry about the quality.

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Posted

thanks guys :) i always felt weird holding it with thumb and index, and i don't know many people who play guitar so i wasn't sure how to hold it!

i'll try thumb and middle finger :)

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Posted

I started holding the pick with my index middle adn thumb because with just thumb and index, I had a tendency to do all the movements from my knuckle on my index finger and no wrist action at all... it wasnt hurting me, but I figured this was a bad thing, I realize there should be some movement there, so your hand can be relaxed... by adding the other finger, it somehow "subconciously" told my index finger to not move like that... seems to be working...

it still moves a bit, Im told this is like "circular picking" or something and that its quite alright to pick this way, and it doesnt seem to be holding me back... any thoughts?

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Posted

I wish i'd known about this forum when I was learning... I still play songs and find myself at the end playing with the round end of the pick without realizing it.

A friend of mind just came back from japan with these picks with little bumps on the part you hold, and they're an absolute dream to play with - my speed jumped up a notch or two.

Another friend takes a sharpy to his, to put extra friction on the pick, but I've never gotten the hang of this. I use too much force and end up slicing the pick in half.

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Posted

I don't really like texured picks (unless its wooded) and only nylon ones have the grip part. hole punchers can help with some picks, especially the star-shaped hole-punchers. they can shatter a lot of picks though.

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