Holding A Pick
PKJperson
Jul 20 2007, 01:44 PM
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Hey, I know there are probably a lot of stuff on holding a pick but I didn't see any that answered my question.

I noticed that most of the instructors that I see, and guitar players in general, have their middle, ring, and little finger of their picking hand extended when they are playing. When I play it feels most comfortable to have my extra fingers tucked, kind of like making a fist. I was just wondering if extending my fingers is something I should convert to. I guess it would make it easier if I needed to use my remaining fingers on my picking hand for plucking the strings, idk blink.gif . I would like to hear what everyone thinks. smile.gif

I also wanted to know if, while strumming, you should hold your hand stationary and just strum by rotating you wrist or if you should use some of your arm. Thanks for your input! laugh.gif

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Hemlok
Jul 20 2007, 02:26 PM
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Play what feels most comfortable to you, try playing with your fist shape and then try playing with fingers extended, see which feels most relaxed. But if that isn't working and you get discomfort quickly, then maybe you try to play in a position that other people find comfortable.

There are a few threads on the subject, so here are a couple that may help you:

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_fo...hl=holding+pick

https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_fo...hl=holding+pick

You have been a member since November 06 so I expect you have already seen these above links, sorry if that is the case sad.gif

As for your second question, I don't intentionally angle my wrist while playing, I like to keep my thumb parallel to the string I am hitting, therefor when I am strumming up and down, it is usually a whole arm movement, it just feels natural to me that way. I wont just keep my hand still and move my forearm up and down like a robot.

Now, I have not been playing seriously for very long, but I do really hope my experience helps you in some way. And secondly, how i hold my pick. I have recently bought a pick called The Light Pick, it has grooves on either side for your thumb and index. It is a very comfortable pick and since I held my fingers in that position I noticed improvement in my playing.

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Good Luck! smile.gif

- Hemlok

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Andrew Cockburn
Jul 20 2007, 03:18 PM
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One thing I recently discovered ...

I changed my pick holding a lot since I joined GMC, started using heavier picks and changed the way I hold it - couldn;t be happier with my new level of control and comfort.

I asked myself the same question as you during this process, and came to the conclusion that a fist worked best for me - I tried stretching my fingers but it felt stiff and awkward.

One thing that people always tell you is to relax your picking hand. I read that and said, yeah, yeah I am relaxed, no sweat.

A couple of weeks ago I had a breakthrough moment in which I realized that I hadn;t been relaxed at all, and that I had been tensing up for fast runs - still do it a little now, but I am wathing for it.

The pont of this is, that as soon as I really relaxed my hand, I found that it was very natural to extend the fingers, and I now no longer make a fist.

I'm not saying a fist is wrong, I'm sure it works well for a lot of people, just wanted to let you know the importance of relaxation, and how that might affect how you keep your hand.

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Mer-V
Jul 20 2007, 05:15 PM
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What I do is that I grab the neck-pick up and use it for extra grip and support whilst soloing. Just playing chords I usually let all my fingers but the index and thumb fly around freely, it gives me better control of my strums.

Once one of my guitarplaying friends said to me that I should play with all my fingers bend like a fist, but I found that to be verry inconvenient and annoying when playing fast solo's. My whole hand whould just sway of the strings uncontrolled, so I dropped that pretty quickly.

You ask whether you should keep your hand stationairy or use you hand/arm to strum chords. I think this depends on what music you play, and which chords you want to emphasis. I usually use my whole hand to strum, but for extra power I swing my whole arm about tongue.gif

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Anastasio123
Jul 20 2007, 09:30 PM
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Relaxation is the key, honestly you should have a good grip between your thumb and index finger, your hand should be relaxed, and you should have no pain at all from a good practice session. That's how u know you are holding the pick the rght way. Honestly, there really isnt any right way to play the guitar, you just have to make sure that your technique isnt effecting your progress in technique or that you are hurting yourself.

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PKJperson
Jul 21 2007, 10:07 AM
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Thanks everyone for your help!

Thanks for the links Hemlock, I actually haven't seen those, laugh.gif. Maybe I didn't search hard enough. That lighted pick is pretty cool, I might pick one of those up and try it out. smile.gif

Andrew thanks for your tips. I tried out your suggestions for a while and realized that I often tighten my picking hand. I am going to try to focus more on relaxing my hand. smile.gif

Thanks.

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fkalich
Jul 21 2007, 10:47 AM
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QUOTE (PKJperson @ Jul 21 2007, 04:07 AM) *
Thanks everyone for your help!

Thanks for the links Hemlock, I actually haven't seen those, laugh.gif. Maybe I didn't search hard enough. That lighted pick is pretty cool, I might pick one of those up and try it out. smile.gif

Andrew thanks for your tips. I tried out your suggestions for a while and realized that I often tighten my picking hand. I am going to try to focus more on relaxing my hand. smile.gif

Thanks.


listen to Andrew, he is the 2nd sharpest guy on this forum.

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Andrew Cockburn
Jul 21 2007, 02:44 PM
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QUOTE (fkalich @ Jul 21 2007, 05:47 AM) *
listen to Andrew, he is the 2nd sharpest guy on this forum.


Hah! Only the 2nd sharpest ?? Who would be number one? I'm guessing it would be fkalich wink.gif

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Hemlok
Jul 21 2007, 02:55 PM
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QUOTE (Andrew Cockburn @ Jul 21 2007, 09:44 PM) *
Hah! Only the 2nd sharpest ?? Who would be number one? I'm guessing it would be fkalich wink.gif


Yes, fkalich for sure. With the help of BoBo and his eight furry feline sidekicks. That's alot of claws.

- Hemklij

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Andrew Cockburn
Jul 21 2007, 02:59 PM
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QUOTE (Hemlok @ Jul 21 2007, 09:55 AM) *
Yes, fkalich for sure. With the help of BoBo and his eight furry feline sidekicks. That's alot of claws.

- Hemklij


Yes, that's true of course, he has a lot of Canine and Feline help, plus he has night vision goggles, just like Steve Vai, so lets not mess with him ... blink.gif

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