How to Easily Hold and Use a Guitar Pick

The appropriate pick-hold is among the most crucial things for a new guitarist to grasp straight away. If you grip too tightly or in the incorrect position, you may end up stiff, in discomfort, and with a terrible sound. On the other hand, if you clutch the pick too freely, it may fly off your hand!

Fortunately, mastering how to hold a guitar pick correctly is simple. Furthermore, once you’ve mastered your guitar picking position, it will be much easier to acquire additional methods in the future. To begin, make sure you have the appropriate guitar pick on hand.

Getting the Perfect Guitar Pick

 

How do you choose a pick? Guitar picks are available in a variety of thicknesses and weights. As a result, there are several brands to select from. If you’re a complete newbie, you may also want to experiment with a few different options before settling on what seems right for you.

For strumming, beginners usually prefer lighter-weight picks. If you’re focusing on picking scales and fundamental riffs, a mid-weight pick will do. On the other hand, heavy-weight picks are ideal if you play many solos on an electric guitar.

Word of advice: purchase in bulk when purchasing guitar picks. Guitar picks, for some reason, will disappear the moment you lay them down. You should also purchase guitar picks in vibrant colors so that they are easier to find if you misplace one. Finally, when you go to the music store, always get at least ten guitar picks. You wouldn’t want to have to return to the store in a few days because all of your choices have gone!

 

guitar pick

 

Holding a guitar pick with your both hands

 

How to hold a guitar pick if you’re right-handed, fret using your left hand and grip your pick using your right. Take time to stretch out and calm your right hand while picking up your pick. Then, using your thumb from the outside of your forefinger, make a loose fist.

Swing your hand around, so your thumb is towards you. Insert the pick between your thumb and the center of your index finger. Maintain a stable hold on the pick, with the pointed end protruding far from your hand. Hold your pick beneath the middle of your thumb.

Typically, you should leave approximately a half-inch of your pick protruding from behind your thumb. However, if you’re strumming your guitar, you might like to leave a little gap.

 

Strumming your guitar using a pick

 

Keep your picking hand over the soundhole on an acoustic guitar or over the body of an electric guitar. Enable your hand to glide rather than rest on the guitar.

Finally, strum your guitar out from the highest string down, using the pick. Strumming your guitar does not need you to swing your entire arm. Allow the motion to originate through your wrist instead. Rotate your wrist like you’re unmounting a light bulb while maintaining your wrist upright and your hold on your pick relaxed and effortless. While you strum, your wrist should rotate rather than bend when you do so.

Strumming a chord can be done from the top string downwards or the lower string up. To spot the difference across each type of strum, try switching down and up strums. In addition, you can experiment with other rhythms or pairings, such as down-down-up-down, to communicate distinct emotions or conjure a genre. Punk music, for instance, will generally employ just rapid down strums, but an old country song may use gradual alternating down and upstrokes.

 

Picking technique

 

After you’ve learned how to hold a guitar pick and finally strumming the guitar’s strings, working on alternate picking techniques will allow you to play notes on single strings fast and fluently. When practicing scales, riffs, or solos, use an alternate picking method to help you gain speed and hit single notes accurately.

To get going, place your guitar pick between your thumb and the side of your forefinger.

At the start, don’t bother about something with your left hand and concentrate solely on picking. Begin with just a downstroke on your guitar’s sixth string, the thickest string at the top. Then, strike upon the same string next.

 

Using a guitar pick

 

Guitar picking speed

 

If you want to perform fast guitar compositions, you’ll need to focus on both your right-hand picking pace and your left-hand fretting ability. Examining the angles of the guitar pick to the strings is a fantastic starting point in increasing your speed.

You should hold your guitar pick at a 45-degree angle to the headstock and in a neutral position relative to the strings. For instance, if you hold your pick quite far up, the upstrokes will be easier, but the downstrokes will be more difficult, slowing you down.

You may also play quicker if you use a heavier pick. Light picks may flex somewhat as you play a note, slowing you down as you move to another note. A solid pick keeps you steady and helps you to gain pace.

Finally, be certain that you are pronouncing each note. What exactly does this mean? You may be hitting notes too softly if you try to play without tension in your hands. These tiny strokes may become hardly audible as your pace increases.

It is okay to play a bit more aggressively (but not too aggressively!). Just ensure you can hear each note.

 

Conclusion

 

Learning how to hold a guitar pick is not that hard, especially if you are determined to learn and play the guitar. Understanding each you could get from various guitarists will help you in every way possible. Hope that you have learned something from this article. Happy strumming!

 

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Darren