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Posted by: C.J Mar 14 2007, 08:34 PM

I saw Kris's video on alternate picking and Pavel's on sweeping where they both mentioned that the pick must be held at a slant angle? I couldnt really see exactly what they meant but have a pretty good idea.

Ofcourse now with the change it seems like im back to the begining lol. But just need to make sure i'm going the right way before i get too far.

Another thign is that my index finger (on my picking hand) hurts slightly since the new adjustment. Is this normal or am i doing somehtign wrong? I attached a couple pics. Am i doing anythign wrong?

Any help will be great

Posted by: ezravdb Mar 14 2007, 08:42 PM

there's nothing wrong with the angle and how you hold it seems pretty normal too.
BUT pain in your index finger sounds weird to me and that's not very good.
maybe you hold the pick to thight or something? maybe lower the pressure a bit.
and stay relax I think you won't get pain if you stay relax.

I hold the pick almost the same as you btw

tips:
experiment!
and mayb you have to get used to it, when I played for the first time with my guitar on my left leg, my left butt hurt like hell

Posted by: C.J Mar 14 2007, 08:47 PM

I do hold it a little tight cause i feel like there's always a tendancy for the pick to get a little shaky (move around in my fingers). Gonna try holding it a little less tighter from now on

anythign else?

haha good example .
Guess its kinda cause it takes a little getting used to. but then again your left butt is a little different from my index finger haha. But i get your point

If anyone sees anything wrong plz post here.

Posted by: BalysLTU Mar 17 2007, 12:44 AM

Dont angle your thumb. Keep it in straight position.

Posted by: MickeM Mar 17 2007, 01:58 AM

+1

I might hold it a bit differently from others but the tip of my index finger doesn't stick out, I bend mine further up so it's parallell with my thumb so to say. And with the index finger out of the way I keep less of the pick stcking out aswell.

Posted by: dogman Mar 17 2007, 03:20 AM

That's a pretty big pick you got there... you may not have enough fingers

all kidding aside. everyone holds their picks a little different.
as long as you keep a good angle, grip and it feels good do it your own way

Posted by: C.J Mar 17 2007, 06:19 AM

I was giving it some thought.. it didnt look too right which is why i posted pics of em too thx balysltu.



thx mate. Its just after i i started my holding my pick in the 'new way'.. i tended to feel as if i was losing grip which is y i held it kinda tight.. I guess thats the resaon for my index finger sticking out wuite a bit..

As for the part where you keep less of the pick ticking out thats a really good tip.. Ive tried it before and it felt good too.. but i didnt know which one many used. Thx again!



Haha.. its the best pick i could find where i live.. infact the only pick thats thicker than .96mm lol.
This is a 2mm Jim dunlop stubby. There is pretty much no bend and its a bit easier for alternate picking compared to the .96mm nylon i got (which isn't too bad).

I guess you're right too but considering even i feel my thoumb and index finger are a bit out of place ever since i held my pick like: \ instead of like / (which is how i used to hold it for the past couple years)(also that is that the pick looks like from an overhead view).

It probably need some getting used to.
Thx dogman.

Stil open ofor any other tips

Posted by: sanders4617 Mar 19 2007, 10:02 PM

Who ever said one way is the correct way? Just do what works for you man.

Posted by: MickeM Mar 19 2007, 10:10 PM

I don't agree. "What works" might be a technique that sucks. And not knowing what's better than "what works" might leave the guitarist with worse chances to succeed.
Then I agree that there can be plenty of ways that works, not only one.

To put it in another way. If you can run 100 meter on 12 seconds that might be "what works" and you're pretty satisfied with that. But if lifting the knees higher and holding your upperbody more still will get you down to 10 seconds that's a pretty good impreovement, right? But if noone tells you how to improve, what's the chanse you'd find a better way? Especially if the better way means you'd suck the first three weeks, like you would when chaning how you hold the pick.

Been there, done that and I improved a LOT from changing the way I held my pick. Both in spee and accuracy.

Posted by: C.J Mar 20 2007, 06:14 AM

Hey Sanders. You're right about there not being a real correct way. But there are different ways of holding a pick that determin your speed and other techniques.
I'm trying to hold it the best way i can.. and get used to it. Instead of reachning full potential with the way i used to hold the pick and regret not changing before.



Mike: exactly why i posted this topic. I found it harder to pick much faster the way i held my pick before. So i changed it. Now that im getting used to it more i feel like i can pick faster already. But still need a bit of getting used to.

But even though i changed the angle of the pick.. theres a very good chance im actually holding the pick in a way that won't allow me to pick at my full potential.

Id appreciate any tips.

Cheers
CJ

Posted by: MickeM Mar 20 2007, 11:44 AM

I experienced the same thing, righ after changing you're a beginner again and nothing works.
Here's an http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=2803&hl=holding where I posted a picture of how I'm holding my pick now. The old way was more like I held it between "fingerprint" area of both my thumb and indexfinger. It's a bad picture, I know, both in size and resolution but I hope it shows I hold the pick with the thumb-"fingerprint" and the side of my indexfinger. I'm not sure about the angle of the pick and I can't measure since I don't have a guitar where I'm at now but I guess it's between 30-45 degrees... more like 30 degrees on the fat E string and up to 45 when I reach the thin E-string.
Also check out the Marshall-video posted in that thread!

And I'm not saying my way also works best for you but I THINK it is what works best for me. You know I dropped everything, everything, and restarted from the very basics after playing for many years. So I've spend quite some time finding my way

Posted by: C.J Mar 20 2007, 12:12 PM

That really helped man. I know this may not be the perfect way for me to hold my pic but its definitely worth a try. It feels very comfortable and pretty similar to the way i'm holding mine on the images i uploaded. But i gotta admit i feel like its my first week playin guitar again. Atleast i feel like im on the right track

Mike i got just one last question for u.
Do you hold your pick the same way while strumming? or does it change slightly?

Thx alot
cheers

Posted by: MickeM Mar 20 2007, 12:47 PM

I'm pretty sure I hold it the same way while strumming... havn't though about it really but I don't see that I should change it. I will try with a guitar later today when I get a chanse to but until then I'll stick to that I'm holding it the same way.

It gives a very flat hand, a tiny bit of the pick showing and I have low action on the strings. I think it gives me great control, but the first couple of weeks were the shit...

Good luck with the picking

Posted by: C.J Mar 20 2007, 01:24 PM

Thanks alot mike.
Answered a couple questions ive had for a while.
Lemme know if you do by any chance change the way you hold your pick while strumming.
Thanks again!