How do you hold the pick?

[sjaguar13]

How do you hold the pick? My pick starts to move. It starts out points down. Then it ends up pointing back at me. I tried holding it really, really tight, but that's when my finger started to hurt and it swelled up.

[krazyderek]

ok i started off holding with my thumb and middle finger... which was really stupid... it always slipping and picking individual notes got harder and harder as i sped up.. (left)

Then my friend said it was faster to use your index finger (right)

Eventually i figured out what he meant, you have to hold it against the side of your index finger, i'm not sure what this is called, but it's how i hold the pick now (below)

I've also been giving the steve morse pick holding technique a try too, but it's hard to change after a couple years...

[keithb]

I hold the pick between my thumb and first finger, much like krazyderek in the third picture.

I also have problems with my pick moving around, but I've solved them by changing picks (Dunlop Gator Grips don't seem to move as much).

My other guitarist swears by Gorilla Snot (a sticky substance you smear on picks to make them grippier) but I can't get used to it...

There is hope! And never grip too hard, especially to the point of swelling!

[GregP]

Without anyone telling me any better, I defaulted to the Steve Morse way. Unfortunately when I wanted to do some hybrid picking, it felt pretty odd.

Eventually I just did away with picks for 50% of my playing. There are things for which a pick is necessary, but for the most part I can play fairly fast runs with just my forefinger, holding the tip as though it's a pick. <laff>

Either up or down "picking", I go with:

If I need to drag through a chord (semi-sweep, but not really):

Even with my nails cut short, there is very little flesh at the tip to interfere with getting a 'hard' sound out of my down-picks:

And it's butt-simple to get pinch harmonics. Sorry about the semi-fuzzy pictures. It was hard to get a good focus without being too far away.

Greg.

[GuitarMaestro]

I play the Steve Morse Way, but instead of firmly holding the pick with the index finger and the middle finger, I only hold it with the index finger and thumb and rest it against the middlefinger for improved control over the pick.....

[westhemann]

i hold it between my thumb and finger

[El Dangerouso]

I go with the traditional; similar to Krazyderek in the third picture, but with the point of the pick centered between the tip of my index finger and the first knuckle. Basically, I held it like a pencil and rotated my index finger 90 degrees. For me, I found that this allows me to do all the things I want, play with pick, combine pick and tap with middle finger, hybrid with pick, middle and ring, etc.

I think what matters most about holding the pick is that you are:

a) comfortable

achieve the control and speed you desire

c) are able to play what YOU want to play

However you hold the pick and get that, it's the right way, kind of like a putting grip.

Beat Navy,

ED

[krazyderek]

I also have problems with my pick moving around, but I've solved them by changing picks (Dunlop Gator Grips don't seem to move as much)

YESSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GATORS RULE!

i like the purple, blue and green, i shift between those 3, but always gators!!

[jbkim]

I also have problems with my pick moving around, but I've solved them by changing picks (Dunlop Gator Grips don't seem to move as much)

YESSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GATORS RULE!

i like the purple, blue and green, i shift between those 3, but always gators!!

Are they flat? The Dunlops I've tried way back when (I think they were the Tortex) were all irregularly curved that they affected my picking accuracy. I've been using Clayton Acetal picks for soooo long, I wouldn't mind a change .

[john]

i hold it as follows:

thumb on front face of pick, index and middle finger on back face. The thumb is kinda perpendicular to the other two fingers.

oh yeah, i use the pick upside down with the poiny bit pointing at the knuckle in my thumb.

and half of the time i dont use a pick,i use my index finger. depends on the tone im looking for.

[wylde1919]

If you like the picks you are using and don wont o go with gorrilla snot here is a trick you slayer fans may be familiar with. Take your exacto knife and score both sides of the pick with an X. Grip will improve!

[weezerboy]

or stick wet/dry paper on it

[El Dangerouso]

Just by 2.0mm Dunlop Big Stubbys. Problem solved.

[bowser]

love em^^^^^^^^^

[keithb]

nyjbkim, Gator Grips seem to be pretty consistently flat to me.

Dunlop has a whole bunch of pick materials available now, looking through my pick bucket I can see Dunlop picks in nylon, Tortex, Gator Grip, Ultex and delrin (along with Fender mediums, Dunlop Jazz IIIs, Ibanez picks, etc, etc)

I can never decide on which picks I like

[canuckguitarist]

lol, derek, did you scan you hand?

[krazyderek]

lol, derek, did you scan your hand?

*peter grifin voice* no!!

[GregP]

If there's one pick I hate, it's the stubby. Bleah! If there was ever a barrier between your fingers and the guitar, it's a 2mm thick piece of rigid plastic.

<shudder>

Standard 1.14mm picks ('hard') are about as thick as I care for.

Greg.

[jbkim]

Hmm... I wasn't going to post anything in this thread but I have a couple of different pick grips that weren't mentioned. I usually hold a pick much like krazyderek's third picture most of the time but I occasionally use this reverse/perpendicular grip (for a lack of a better term .)

Weird thing is, I started picking that way to even out the pick's wear pattern . It has an interesting sound.

Another idiosyncratic thing I do is slide the pick up my finger for cascading arpeggio, for example, for something like this:

e |-16-12-9-4----|

b |-12-11-5-0----|

g |-15-12-8-5----|

d |-14-11-6-4----|

a |--------------|

E |--------------|

I'd use fingerpicking without the thumb.

I seem to have learned how to slide the pick in and out of that position quickly and smoothly.

I think it'd be a good idea to learn a whole bunch of these different picking styles.