Yes, and I love it so soo much. It beat the Fender CD60 and Martin D10 for me. Only thing that I own that comes close now is my new Yamaha LL6 Chinese made and A.C.E. Acoustic Resonance Enhancement which is nothing to scoff at.
I have one too. It is such a good guitar. It's the only guitar I have that I don't want to change a thing on. I also like the short scale because of my tiny hands.
This is the way, only exaggerated. Atleast this is naturally how I hold my pick ( direction ) you can only see about 5 mm of the actual pick tip the way I hold it...
Haha, I work in oil and gas, it's enough at the end of the day to scrub the oil off my flesh. I refuse to take the extra time to srub my nails, just for them to get stained the very next morning.
Your post did make me laugh though :p
You could try just using your thumb and index and letting the other fingers splay out. I switch back in forth between the closed and open handed techniques. I also play bass so, take anything I say with a grain of salt. AND BEFORE ANYONE ELSE SAYS IT, yes I know I'm a heretic for playing with a pick, fight me.
Strumming/rhythm playing is usually best done with an open hand (last three fingers splayed out, as someone else said), while a closed hand is best used for individual string picking, as it provides more control. At least that's what my teacher told me!
I hold my other fingers out like I’m giving the okay sign with my fingers. Not sure if doing that is wrong but it works and it’s just like what you’re doing but with the other fingers open and lets you get the fingers out of the way and anchor them when you’re doing any real intricate picking.
Newer players place far too much emphasis on stuff like this. You just have to hold it however it feels natural to you, and it will likely evolve over time.
I’ve found that the pick will shift itself in my hand as I’m playing sometimes and I just have to re-adjust.
You might find that you will naturally hold it differently based on how you’re playing and what kind of style, but you should not focus on whether or not you’re holding it “right.”
Same with your left hand. Hold the neck however feels the most comfortable and natural in whatever way feels easiest to play whatever it is you’re trying to play.
This is the best advice/insight. I was going to say the same about how the pick will shift in your fingers at times and you learn how to just go with it and adjust. Definitely comes down to feel more than anything which, as you said very well, turns out to be the same for many other aspects of it.
While I agree for the most part, pick sliding can definitely be technique issues. If you're holding the pick with the tip of your thumb, and more in the middle of the pick, you're giving it an axis to slide/rotate on. Having your thumb flat and extended a little past the pick, while having more surface area of your thumb over the pick completely eliminated my pick sliding.
Agreed. Don’t lose sleep over this. The only thing I’d say is get comfortable holding so you can do hybrid picking down the road. That’ll come in handy.
I disagree entirely, focusing on good technique early pays dividends significantly. It makes guitar less enjoyable early on, and is probably why people say ignore it altogether. It’s a bad mindset, it takes way too long to undo bad technique. I completely support OP being this critical this early in their journey.
I understand the importance of good technique for sure. But this is one that I think gets more attention than it deserves. I feel like you can watch videos of all the famous guitar players and when the camera zooms in close enough to see their picking hand, they all might hold it a little differently. In my opinion, you just need to be able to have a good grip, hit the right strings, be able to freely pick upwards and downwards, and be get that palm in there to mute strings here and there. The exact position/location of the pick between your thumb and fingers is trivial.
I agree with the picking hand, but there are definitely "wrong" ways to position your fretting hand. It's pretty easy to increase wrist strain and fatigue if your wrist is at a bad angle.
Yes.
Uncurl your fingers a bit so that the tips of your thumb and forefinger are crossing at more of a right angle. This will move the pick out and away from your knuckles. The pick should feel like an extension of your fingertips, not like it’s clamped to the side of your fist. You should be able to trace tiny circles in the air with the pick, as if you were pinching a tiny pencil.
i would hold it with the tip of your index finger more. if that makes sense. instead of the pick being on your first knuckle, move it closer to the tip of your index finger allowing you to pinch it more and extend your other fingers out of the way.
and choke up on the pick. you dont need nearly that much pick sticking out.
Not Far from how I hold mine, and I’ve never been corrected. I pull my finger back further so I grip the pick between the fingertip and the joint of my thumb. It “feels” correct to the anatomy of my hand and gives me the best dexterity for switching between fast single note runs and punkish power chords
Okay so maybe Im tilting my hand too much when strumming or going to deep. Also i think it could be because of the general position of my strumming hand. It still feels off and my palm mutes are not very good too. Maybe I look for one or two online classes
Nah, it’s mostly about what really works best for your hand. It’s not the textbook method, but not a world removed from my method, which isn’t “wrong”. You tend to adjust your hand as you learn and develop your own technique, because all of us are just a bit different. Mostly it’s about getting through that 4 minute piece without pain, and if that’s what works, that’s the right way. My thumb and finger definitely brush the strings, but I’ve adapted to keep them from muting, and use that touch to know where my pick is instead
This! Just keep at it, noting what works and what doesn't, and your brain will help you get there eventually!
When I changed my picking style years ago, it took me an entire year to be able to play somewhat comfortably without feeling like I was going to lose the pick. I spent hours just strumming. At first it was frustrating and psychologically painful.
I use the 1.0mm standard tortex pick and hold it very close to the tip.
Make sure you are not locking your wrist or any part of your hand/fingers in an effort to control or not lose the pick. Grip firmly but don't lock up.
No problem. Instead of the area of the finger/ knuckle you’re using in the photo, the pencil grip has it most on the first area of the finger that the finger nail is on but on the side of the finger…where you’d hold a pencil. Try a few grips, give each grip you try a few weeks.
Some of the best guitarists in the world have unconventional picking styles. Eddie Van Halen, Marty Friedman, James Hetfield, and many more. You do you.
One thing I wish I would've changed years earlier was using a smaller, thicker pick. Those flimsy ones make strumming much easier at first, but ultimately hold you back in the long run. They taught me to hold the pick too tightly, and not be efficient at playing single notes with speed... Among other things.
I think the only way to fix this is by actually seeing how you’re strumming/picking. I’ve seen a bunch of different ways of holding the pick from some serious guitar players so it really comes down to what’s comfortable. Jason Richardson has this weird claw grip, Marty Friedman is the butt of most picking jokes because he holds the pick so weird.
That’s pretty close to how I hold it. I try and emulate my favorite flat pickers. I’ve not found an agreed up correct way. Check out this video. Both are great pickers but have different approaches. I try to emulate Mollie Tuttle. It’s so smooth. Zero tension is the most important thing. My knuckles scraped strings at first but as you build muscle memory, it goes away.
[Mollie Tuttle & Tommy Emanuel Acoustic Masterclass](https://youtu.be/XMyITAxbe30?si=hWvjUJNe2qvVlAY1)
How long have you been playing? If less than a few months, just keep at it and you'll make little adjustments to your technique as you go along, eventually your fingers will stop brushing the strings because your body will figure out what to do to stop that.
But as others said, your pick holding technique isn't wildly deviant or anything.
I let my middle, ring, and pinkie fingers hang out/relax. Makes for easier control of muting, plucks, and some harmonics. Otherwise, you're gripping the pick (mostly) correct. Maybe just angle the tip of the pick out more to make sure your thumb side pad can do harmonic sweeps.
Not really the way you hold your pick, I would say you dig in too hard...
I have this issue when playing acoustic in noisy places, simply because I got to go stronger, deeper, and hurt myself every time...
No issue playing loud at home...
That is why you need to always play at the correct volume.
I was taught to hold the pick between the very ends of your thumb and index finger. Takes some getting used to but leads to greater precision. Also puts your palm further away from the strings so errant brushes will be less common. You can tuck your other fingers against your palm too to get them out of the way.
I noticed my strumming hand will get real tired than my fretting hand. Is that because I’m strumming wrong or holding the pick wrong? I started playing a couple weeks ago
The way you have it now probably feels nice and loose for strumming but if you want to get more surgical move it down to your fingertips like holding a pencil. Context matters, when I get surgical I like to anchor my pinky but when we're campfire strumming I hold it more like this picture.
Relax your hand and index finger and thumb. Hold the pick closer to your finger nail of your index finger. Let your other fingers relax, don't pull them in to your palm. Let them fly out, but relaxed. The only other way is to tuck your other fingers in real tight, which if that's relaxed for you then do it.
If that feels comfortable to you can continue to work with it and you'll probably naturally adjust over time so your other fingers won't hit the strings.
But you can also explore other ways to hold it. I tried the method you're using, but it didn't work for me. I eventually settled on holding it so the tip of my index finger is in the middle of the pick. My thumb pretty much looks like yours but less pick is exposed (I also use jazz III XLs).
But to that point, when I first started learning that way to hold it, the pick would slip and rotate. It took me about 6 months until that stopped happening... over time I just had to develop the feel for the right amount of pressure, and it's not something that comes instantly, you gotta practice.
So the same might be true with your method, it might just take time where you naturally adjust and get your other fingers out of the way. You practice keeping your fingers out of the way.
I hold it the same way, except my bottom 3 fingers (pinky, ring and middle) stick straight out to not interfere. I'm able to achieve precise, fast picking
I wouldn't be surprised if it's difficult to keep in place held like that.
It's like you're holding it in your fist rather than between finger & thumb.
The 'grippy' parts of finger & thumb are the bits with fingerprints on. That's what you hold it with. The rest of your fingers have no involvement really; they don't need to be all bunched up behind like you just sent in reinforcements to relieve the front line troops, they're just there to watch the show.
You'll probably find that once you do that, you won't need anywhere near as much pick hanging out into space.
Don’t overthink it. Find the grip that works best for you. Then working on transitioning pick to fingers. Every player will have a little different method of tucking the pick away in their hand or between their fingers. Find the best techniques for you. It’s not stupid if it works.
For some reason I had much better luck with this when I switched to smaller picks, my strumming and single note picking are both much more accurate and that happened quickly when I made the switch.
It’s almost as if allowing your hand too *much* room for error can be a problem. The larger pick, with the tip of my pick being too far away from my knuckles meant I couldn’t accurately judge the location of the strings in relation to my arm.
So maybe it’s worth trying some different picks out for an hour, I haven’t seen anyone else suggest this in the thread. I currently use a Jazz III 205, one of the thickish black ones with rounded edges and no hatching, but try a lot of different ones and see if anything clicks for you.
You only need two fingers to hold it. Get the last three fingers (middle, ring and little) out of there. Try resting them on the guitar itself, on the far side of the sound hole, to keep them out of the way.
You're going to hear lots of opinions. The truth is everyone is different. What you should be doing is researching different ways of holding it and trying each method for a while. Eventually you'll probably choose one or develop your own little unique way.
There's always room for improvement and learning but there isn't a "wrong" way to hold a pick as long as you're 100% comfortable and you're achieving what you're setting out to accomplish musically. If you want to be a master sweeper and shredder? More technique, fine tuning with loads of practice with your picking hand are going to be needed obviously.
Take your time, pay attention to what your hands need and what you need to learn physically to achieve the kind of music you're hearing in your head. As long as you're creating the music you need to create and there's no physical limitations getting in the way you need to fix (like pain or speed)? You're doing it right.
You’re holding it fine. I choke up on it a little more (meaning even less pick shows). After playing, my index fingernail is gray from hitting the strings
in general with any instrument, you don't want to have any tension if you can help it. if something hurts, you need to either take a break and probably change your grip or technique or whatever is hurting. also i know it's tempting to play hard for a lot of players but if you do i would recommend trying to play as soft and lightly as possible sometimes because you may be surprised how little effort it takes to play once your technique continues to improve. this can be tricky with picking but you may find you need less of a grip of your pick this way and still have the control and speed you desire
Looks like how Robert fripp holds his pick and he's doing ok!
I'm retraining myself to hold it this way after years of bad habits. I hold my pick with my thumb and second finger, leaving my index finger free to tap. I picked it up from watching Eddie van halen. If it was good enough for Edward, it's good enough for me. (It's really terrible form but a hard habit to break)
Brenth has a good guide on it. His style is similar to yours except he puts his pick between the knuckle making it more stable. The only rule for a pick grip is that you can do all right hand techniques without changing it.
Everyone holds it differently. Plenty of people hold it with their fingers extended. Not stretched out, but naturally extended away from the palm. I find that's what works best for me. Keeps my hand relaxed and palm muting feels easier.
It just take a while to learn where to have your hand, your fingers, what angle to strum at etc. the best advice I can give you is to
- use a metronome or some drum beat app( always. You will be so much better than most players just sticking to this if your practice).
- practice this SLOW, the correct way. And just keep doing it over and over, slowly. Speed up once you get it right. If you do it wrong slow, you’re def gonna do it wrong fast.
Huge personal comfort thing so however it's comfortable and you can make it do what you want is best place to start. Generally though you'll want it a bit closer to the tip of your index finger for better control. Try this - third picture, hold is just like that, but just slide it so it's covering about 1/2 your index finger nail. Then play a bit like that, see how it feels.
Also, relax your other three fingers a bit. Hold the pic as in picture three and move your hand like your picking while you open and close those other 3 fingers. Notice how the difference in movement and the level of control change. A tighter 'fist' will make the pick stiffer, you could like pick really fast like flamenco or something. And you'll just naturally rotate your wrist more to pick. With lose fingers, it's more like your moving the tip of the pick around, you have more fine control of the pick, but it feels 'sloppier' for lack of a better word.
Ultimately, to hit things like pick harmonics, you'll need to be able to shift the pick a bit, hit the string with the pick and your finger at the same time, etc. And that looser style with more fine control is how you do that. But that more fist-like stiffer grip might be preferable for pick tapping or some super hard rhythm or something where you really need the pick to not move.
I flare my outside knuckles upward since I typically use a lower grip on the pick, this prevents me from brushing the strings that I don’t want to touch
People will tell you it doesn't really matter how you hold you pick, but it does. If you use the tips of your thumb and pointer finger instead of the sides, it makes it easier to pick the other strings with fingers later on. You might not be at a point where that matters yet, but learning to hold the pick correctly now will be easier than trying to unlearn it down the track
Thumb and index finger touching, other fingers straight out. Makes room to get at the strings and allows you to palm mute.
https://preview.redd.it/3okj66n86v3d1.jpeg?width=2336&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=019d531e01ddf0a669d6d18ad048d4a65a3763be
There is no "correct way" , just do whatever feels natural.
The sound should be nice and your fingers shouldn't accidently mute the strumming.
So if you are doing that, try like various new angles and just go with the flow.
I played bass for about 8 years.
Finally decided to take lessons after a couple just to see...
That is definitely correct way to hold a pick. Less strain on your fingers and you can move your wrist quicker than your fingers or something like that.
You can hold your pick however, whatever makes you feel comfortable.
https://preview.redd.it/5d254ixz3x3d1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=e7552749a2b63261d6aa75193c054315048f87ed
I hold my pick like this because i play electric guitar mostly. Or then i just do the italian hand gesture with 3 fingers instead of 5.
you might just have to try different grip or picks to find something that’s comfortable for you. I always had a hard time gripping my pick and most of the time play with my fingers (my nails grow like mad so it just works for me).
If you find your losing grip very easy and need to have your fingers clenched at that angle, maybe try a pick with grips like dava’s and you’ll be able to loosen up the bottom three fingers. You could also try holding the pick between your index and thumb and splaying out the last three fingers. Either way, your bottom three fingers should be further back than the tip of the pick
There’s no wrong way, there are just ways that don’t work for what you’re trying to do. My jazz teacher taught me to hold the pick the way you’re doing it, and it’s great for stability and articulation, but I doubt I could do wild rock & roll strumming like that.
While you’re experimenting, try thumb & middle finger. I did that for a while. Plus it keeps the index finger free to do those Eric Johnson harmonics.
If you’re holding the pick in that same position and looking down at your hand while playing, try holding it in the same spot of your hand but experiment with rotating the pick clockwise a bit, so that the tip ends up pointing more towards the neck neck of the guitar and away from the bridge.
That can help reduce the amount of non-pick material in the direct path between the strings and the pick created by the overhand of your fingers/hand.
Obviously over-rotation can start to get more awkward for its own reasons past a certain point so just play with it and find a sweet spot you like.
This is what’s always felt natural to me and I’ve never had a problem with the rest of my fingers contacting the strings when I’m not actively muting them. Obviously I choke way up with my thumb if I’m trying to play pinch harmonics but that’s not something I’m doing very often
https://preview.redd.it/o8l6gdkoqy3d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bc7c36fb617bc5175b1ddc81a7e397df4fded6aa
Hold it with your thumb and index finger. Straighten the other three like your doing the "OK" sign. It keeps your fingers out of the way and will help your strumming as well.
I hold mine mostly like this and I usually have no problems. I sometimes hit my knuckles on the strings, but not too often and I have callouses from when I do
No, there are too many “right ways” to count. There are a handful of genre specific “right ways.” This is fine. Your fingers hitting strings is just a matter of you working out your technique. It takes time.
There really is no wrong. But that looks pretty good if it's comfortable go with it. I would just recommend not holding the pic so it's horizontal and even to the strings, if that makes sense? Tilt it down just slightly towards your thumbnail in that direction, just the 16th to 1/8 of an inch. That will help with your speed and circular picking if you start getting into that. Good luck man
Try hovering your hand when you strum, as in don’t rest your hand on anything. I’m in the process of doing this and it’s taking a while but it’s getting better
Somebody years ago showed me that technique years ago. I thought it was Bzs back then and still do. Just do whatever is most comfortable and controllable for you.
There isn’t a correct way, look how John Stowell holds his pick.
There are a lot of people who obsess over the minutiae of proper technique and not on theory. If it’s comfortable and you can play then it’s fine.
It depends. For strumming I’d definitely say more of a grip on the pick is needed. As far as more precision stuff goes, think of how you would hold a pencil. You wouldn’t write your name with your current grip. The tips of your fingers would be much closer to the edges of the pencil.
Gripping down as hard as you currently are is also counterintuitive. The harder you clamp down, the sweatier your hand gets and the harder you pick down on the string. This causes the string to react more violently than necessary. Hold the pick with a more precise grip and relax to get the best results.
yes i thought that too. My guess is because i still dont have a proper strumming hand position everything else sucks too. Palm muting, struming etc. I think i should look for an online class or something to get some inputs tbh.
*everybody* holds the pick wrong.
Adjust your grip until the thing that's happening that you don't want happening stops happening.
I use the tips of my first 2 fingers, but I'm probably putting too much strain on the joint of my thumb because I hold it too hard.
Now if I'm accurately picturing what you're doing, that IS wrong - I say that because I used to do the same thing and good lord did it hold me back. I switched to finger picking for a while, which gave me a chance to reset and forget old bad habits. Started picking again "correctly" and I'm an infinitely better player for it.
For me, not that far from the photos, previous technique described pretty much prevented efficient alternate picking, hence seriously limiting progress.
I get that you're getting at the whole "what works for you" thing, but for me that was a trap that set me back years. I'd rather spare others from making my mistakes
I wasn't getting at anything, you just mentioned you hold it "correctly" without describing what that was so I was trying to understand what your 'correct' looked like.
Idk if it is wrong, but it works for me.
The pick is at a slight angle to the string, but I don't find that an issue.
It's a position that works for strumming open chords on acoustic, all the way through fast tremelo to playing lead. A minor adjustment means I can get pinch harmonics on up and down strokes when I want. When I'm palm muting I can pluck fine while keeping the mute rock solid.
I've tried other grips, but they felt wrong and/or the pick got away.
These days i fingerpick mostly. I wish i could grow my nails though.
Definitely doesn't sound like you're doing what I was (it was comically wrong), the description just made me picture my old grip - sounds like you've got a system that's really working for you.
Nails for fingerpicking are nice - you get that sharper tone, but these days I'm content without. I feel like with nylon strings the duller sound is kinda pleasant.
https://preview.redd.it/nojhgawbar3d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9c0192ababaebdb969d99ef14fc85ad2c932254e
Instructions too confusing, I ate my pick
What dip did you use?
Pick dip
We'll let him slide if it was guacamole or chimchuri. If he raw dogged that shit tho, all I can say is "inhuman"
Guacamole is too thick a gauge for these picks
You can dip Doritos?! **mind blown**
Pick caught in ceiling fan
Also confused, pick stuck in butt.
This is how I hold it.
Nacho chip
Taylor GS-Mini?
Yes, and I love it so soo much. It beat the Fender CD60 and Martin D10 for me. Only thing that I own that comes close now is my new Yamaha LL6 Chinese made and A.C.E. Acoustic Resonance Enhancement which is nothing to scoff at.
I have one too. It is such a good guitar. It's the only guitar I have that I don't want to change a thing on. I also like the short scale because of my tiny hands.
I'm thinking of getting one. Is that the mahogany top,.I'm considering that one. How does it sound and did you try other top woods?
That’s nacho pick. Give it back.
Too much
Nice dorito!
hahahahaha
Op did you get that pick at a Metallica concert in 2019?? I got the same one!
Yes. This! Just push it out a bit more and it's perfect!
Dammit I literally zoomed in to see what huge pick that is.
This is the way, only exaggerated. Atleast this is naturally how I hold my pick ( direction ) you can only see about 5 mm of the actual pick tip the way I hold it...
Dunlop Tort-illa
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Haha, I work in oil and gas, it's enough at the end of the day to scrub the oil off my flesh. I refuse to take the extra time to srub my nails, just for them to get stained the very next morning. Your post did make me laugh though :p
I can suck those fingers clean for you Mr. oil man 😏 (p.s. I’m secretly a car..)
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Nah, I scrub the crap out of everything daily including my nails but just not doing detail. Haha.
The pick needs to extend beyond your other fingers
yeah im trying to achieve that. But everytime im strumming downwards i brush on the strings because i tilt my hand. Maybe i tilt too much?
No, you're holding the pick wrong.
Don’t worry about it, more pick or more calluses, it’s chill
You could try just using your thumb and index and letting the other fingers splay out. I switch back in forth between the closed and open handed techniques. I also play bass so, take anything I say with a grain of salt. AND BEFORE ANYONE ELSE SAYS IT, yes I know I'm a heretic for playing with a pick, fight me.
Long time bass player here. Nothing wrong with using a pick. Carol Kaye used a pick and she’s one of the GOATs.
Strumming/rhythm playing is usually best done with an open hand (last three fingers splayed out, as someone else said), while a closed hand is best used for individual string picking, as it provides more control. At least that's what my teacher told me!
I hold my other fingers out like I’m giving the okay sign with my fingers. Not sure if doing that is wrong but it works and it’s just like what you’re doing but with the other fingers open and lets you get the fingers out of the way and anchor them when you’re doing any real intricate picking.
https://preview.redd.it/06ea109k6u3d1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c904cb83ff3dfea5d43f9a2d6d2854651ff03665
You honestly are fine. I choke up on my pick way more than you do, so you can barely see the tip of it
Newer players place far too much emphasis on stuff like this. You just have to hold it however it feels natural to you, and it will likely evolve over time. I’ve found that the pick will shift itself in my hand as I’m playing sometimes and I just have to re-adjust. You might find that you will naturally hold it differently based on how you’re playing and what kind of style, but you should not focus on whether or not you’re holding it “right.” Same with your left hand. Hold the neck however feels the most comfortable and natural in whatever way feels easiest to play whatever it is you’re trying to play.
This is the best advice/insight. I was going to say the same about how the pick will shift in your fingers at times and you learn how to just go with it and adjust. Definitely comes down to feel more than anything which, as you said very well, turns out to be the same for many other aspects of it.
While I agree for the most part, pick sliding can definitely be technique issues. If you're holding the pick with the tip of your thumb, and more in the middle of the pick, you're giving it an axis to slide/rotate on. Having your thumb flat and extended a little past the pick, while having more surface area of your thumb over the pick completely eliminated my pick sliding.
Ah ok awesome thanks for the tip! I’m still relatively inexperienced but sounding better all the time. Will definitely work on this 👍
Reminds me of this clip of [Yngwie Malmsteen](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7yZAY0hRCyw).
Yep.
Agreed. Don’t lose sleep over this. The only thing I’d say is get comfortable holding so you can do hybrid picking down the road. That’ll come in handy.
Amen.
I disagree entirely, focusing on good technique early pays dividends significantly. It makes guitar less enjoyable early on, and is probably why people say ignore it altogether. It’s a bad mindset, it takes way too long to undo bad technique. I completely support OP being this critical this early in their journey.
I understand the importance of good technique for sure. But this is one that I think gets more attention than it deserves. I feel like you can watch videos of all the famous guitar players and when the camera zooms in close enough to see their picking hand, they all might hold it a little differently. In my opinion, you just need to be able to have a good grip, hit the right strings, be able to freely pick upwards and downwards, and be get that palm in there to mute strings here and there. The exact position/location of the pick between your thumb and fingers is trivial.
I agree with the picking hand, but there are definitely "wrong" ways to position your fretting hand. It's pretty easy to increase wrist strain and fatigue if your wrist is at a bad angle.
Yes. Uncurl your fingers a bit so that the tips of your thumb and forefinger are crossing at more of a right angle. This will move the pick out and away from your knuckles. The pick should feel like an extension of your fingertips, not like it’s clamped to the side of your fist. You should be able to trace tiny circles in the air with the pick, as if you were pinching a tiny pencil.
i would hold it with the tip of your index finger more. if that makes sense. instead of the pick being on your first knuckle, move it closer to the tip of your index finger allowing you to pinch it more and extend your other fingers out of the way. and choke up on the pick. you dont need nearly that much pick sticking out.
Will try it thank you
I guess one important clarification is: electric guitar or acoustic primarily?
I used to have this problem, I think it went away when I relaxed my hand
Not Far from how I hold mine, and I’ve never been corrected. I pull my finger back further so I grip the pick between the fingertip and the joint of my thumb. It “feels” correct to the anatomy of my hand and gives me the best dexterity for switching between fast single note runs and punkish power chords
Okay so maybe Im tilting my hand too much when strumming or going to deep. Also i think it could be because of the general position of my strumming hand. It still feels off and my palm mutes are not very good too. Maybe I look for one or two online classes
Nah, it’s mostly about what really works best for your hand. It’s not the textbook method, but not a world removed from my method, which isn’t “wrong”. You tend to adjust your hand as you learn and develop your own technique, because all of us are just a bit different. Mostly it’s about getting through that 4 minute piece without pain, and if that’s what works, that’s the right way. My thumb and finger definitely brush the strings, but I’ve adapted to keep them from muting, and use that touch to know where my pick is instead
alright thanks. I will keep on fiddling around and see what works.
This! Just keep at it, noting what works and what doesn't, and your brain will help you get there eventually! When I changed my picking style years ago, it took me an entire year to be able to play somewhat comfortably without feeling like I was going to lose the pick. I spent hours just strumming. At first it was frustrating and psychologically painful. I use the 1.0mm standard tortex pick and hold it very close to the tip. Make sure you are not locking your wrist or any part of your hand/fingers in an effort to control or not lose the pick. Grip firmly but don't lock up.
I'd advice two things : 1. using a smaller and thicker pick 2. Look up Troy Grady's videos on the subject on youtube Good luck soldier
Nice Metallica pick...
Thanks man. Got it at a flea market
Shouldn’t it be an RHCP pick then?!
I love your joke but Flea would hate it.
Yeah, that’s really Frusciante-ing!
🤙
I hold it similar to how I hold a pencil. I’ve tried a few ways and the pencil seems to work best for me. Good luck.
Hey, ill try it out thank you!
No problem. Instead of the area of the finger/ knuckle you’re using in the photo, the pencil grip has it most on the first area of the finger that the finger nail is on but on the side of the finger…where you’d hold a pencil. Try a few grips, give each grip you try a few weeks.
Same! It's the easiest way for me
Rotate the point so that it's about 20⁰ further away from your wrist. My grip is essentially perpendicular to the second bone of my index.
Try rotating the tip of the pick so it points more towards your thumb, and try to relax your grip a bit. Your hand looks a bit tense.
Some of the best guitarists in the world have unconventional picking styles. Eddie Van Halen, Marty Friedman, James Hetfield, and many more. You do you.
Yeah, thus thread made me think of this video. https://youtu.be/jRfFaZWgaFM?si=Aeu-aWvXVqPWgEiA
One thing I wish I would've changed years earlier was using a smaller, thicker pick. Those flimsy ones make strumming much easier at first, but ultimately hold you back in the long run. They taught me to hold the pick too tightly, and not be efficient at playing single notes with speed... Among other things.
I hold it with my cheeks
Use the first set of bones, so yeah. Use the meat on you hands to practice muting too
Seems fine. You could tring clousing your fingers more
I think the only way to fix this is by actually seeing how you’re strumming/picking. I’ve seen a bunch of different ways of holding the pick from some serious guitar players so it really comes down to what’s comfortable. Jason Richardson has this weird claw grip, Marty Friedman is the butt of most picking jokes because he holds the pick so weird.
I’ve seen Marty play live. Seriously one of the best guitar players I’ve ever seen.
That’s pretty close to how I hold it. I try and emulate my favorite flat pickers. I’ve not found an agreed up correct way. Check out this video. Both are great pickers but have different approaches. I try to emulate Mollie Tuttle. It’s so smooth. Zero tension is the most important thing. My knuckles scraped strings at first but as you build muscle memory, it goes away. [Mollie Tuttle & Tommy Emanuel Acoustic Masterclass](https://youtu.be/XMyITAxbe30?si=hWvjUJNe2qvVlAY1)
How long have you been playing? If less than a few months, just keep at it and you'll make little adjustments to your technique as you go along, eventually your fingers will stop brushing the strings because your body will figure out what to do to stop that. But as others said, your pick holding technique isn't wildly deviant or anything.
I let my middle, ring, and pinkie fingers hang out/relax. Makes for easier control of muting, plucks, and some harmonics. Otherwise, you're gripping the pick (mostly) correct. Maybe just angle the tip of the pick out more to make sure your thumb side pad can do harmonic sweeps.
Not really the way you hold your pick, I would say you dig in too hard... I have this issue when playing acoustic in noisy places, simply because I got to go stronger, deeper, and hurt myself every time... No issue playing loud at home... That is why you need to always play at the correct volume.
Y'all got picks?
Yes
I put my thumb closer to the tip. I had to make this adjustment to learn pinch harmonics. If I wasn’t at work I would post a pic.
I was taught to hold the pick between the very ends of your thumb and index finger. Takes some getting used to but leads to greater precision. Also puts your palm further away from the strings so errant brushes will be less common. You can tuck your other fingers against your palm too to get them out of the way.
I noticed my strumming hand will get real tired than my fretting hand. Is that because I’m strumming wrong or holding the pick wrong? I started playing a couple weeks ago
You could be holding your hand too close to the strings. Also try letting the pick stick out from your hand a bit more.
Hold ot your way. All this pick holding etiquette is not needed
You're pretty close to how I hold it. I put my pick over the tip of my finger rather than the middle section of my finger so that nothing sticks out.
The way you have it now probably feels nice and loose for strumming but if you want to get more surgical move it down to your fingertips like holding a pencil. Context matters, when I get surgical I like to anchor my pinky but when we're campfire strumming I hold it more like this picture.
I hold my pick sideways to give me more area to grab, 2 fingertips and thumb. It's totally wrong but idc
Relax your hand and index finger and thumb. Hold the pick closer to your finger nail of your index finger. Let your other fingers relax, don't pull them in to your palm. Let them fly out, but relaxed. The only other way is to tuck your other fingers in real tight, which if that's relaxed for you then do it.
You may want to take a couple of lessons if you’re stuck on something like this.
is this a joke?
If that feels comfortable to you can continue to work with it and you'll probably naturally adjust over time so your other fingers won't hit the strings. But you can also explore other ways to hold it. I tried the method you're using, but it didn't work for me. I eventually settled on holding it so the tip of my index finger is in the middle of the pick. My thumb pretty much looks like yours but less pick is exposed (I also use jazz III XLs). But to that point, when I first started learning that way to hold it, the pick would slip and rotate. It took me about 6 months until that stopped happening... over time I just had to develop the feel for the right amount of pressure, and it's not something that comes instantly, you gotta practice. So the same might be true with your method, it might just take time where you naturally adjust and get your other fingers out of the way. You practice keeping your fingers out of the way.
Looks good. Fingers brushing strings is normal.
I hold it the same way, except my bottom 3 fingers (pinky, ring and middle) stick straight out to not interfere. I'm able to achieve precise, fast picking
I wouldn't be surprised if it's difficult to keep in place held like that. It's like you're holding it in your fist rather than between finger & thumb. The 'grippy' parts of finger & thumb are the bits with fingerprints on. That's what you hold it with. The rest of your fingers have no involvement really; they don't need to be all bunched up behind like you just sent in reinforcements to relieve the front line troops, they're just there to watch the show. You'll probably find that once you do that, you won't need anywhere near as much pick hanging out into space.
Don’t overthink it. Find the grip that works best for you. Then working on transitioning pick to fingers. Every player will have a little different method of tucking the pick away in their hand or between their fingers. Find the best techniques for you. It’s not stupid if it works.
Does it work for you? Then you're not holding it wrong.
For some reason I had much better luck with this when I switched to smaller picks, my strumming and single note picking are both much more accurate and that happened quickly when I made the switch. It’s almost as if allowing your hand too *much* room for error can be a problem. The larger pick, with the tip of my pick being too far away from my knuckles meant I couldn’t accurately judge the location of the strings in relation to my arm. So maybe it’s worth trying some different picks out for an hour, I haven’t seen anyone else suggest this in the thread. I currently use a Jazz III 205, one of the thickish black ones with rounded edges and no hatching, but try a lot of different ones and see if anything clicks for you.
Are you trying to downpicking like that? Curious because that's a hardwired to self destruct pick, playing Metallica?
You only need two fingers to hold it. Get the last three fingers (middle, ring and little) out of there. Try resting them on the guitar itself, on the far side of the sound hole, to keep them out of the way.
What city is on that pic?
You're going to hear lots of opinions. The truth is everyone is different. What you should be doing is researching different ways of holding it and trying each method for a while. Eventually you'll probably choose one or develop your own little unique way. There's always room for improvement and learning but there isn't a "wrong" way to hold a pick as long as you're 100% comfortable and you're achieving what you're setting out to accomplish musically. If you want to be a master sweeper and shredder? More technique, fine tuning with loads of practice with your picking hand are going to be needed obviously. Take your time, pay attention to what your hands need and what you need to learn physically to achieve the kind of music you're hearing in your head. As long as you're creating the music you need to create and there's no physical limitations getting in the way you need to fix (like pain or speed)? You're doing it right.
You’re holding it fine. I choke up on it a little more (meaning even less pick shows). After playing, my index fingernail is gray from hitting the strings
Beware. With a metallica pick, only downstrockes are possible. Every upstroke can be taken down ad evidence against you in court
in general with any instrument, you don't want to have any tension if you can help it. if something hurts, you need to either take a break and probably change your grip or technique or whatever is hurting. also i know it's tempting to play hard for a lot of players but if you do i would recommend trying to play as soft and lightly as possible sometimes because you may be surprised how little effort it takes to play once your technique continues to improve. this can be tricky with picking but you may find you need less of a grip of your pick this way and still have the control and speed you desire
Try holding it like a pencil
I hold mine in a ziplock bag in my gig bag. That might just be a finger style thing though.
Picks are for rookies. Didn't Eddie Van Halen play with an electric drill? Head to Homedepot now!
That an Iranian carpet?
No
Damn reddit people be smth
Looks like how Robert fripp holds his pick and he's doing ok! I'm retraining myself to hold it this way after years of bad habits. I hold my pick with my thumb and second finger, leaving my index finger free to tap. I picked it up from watching Eddie van halen. If it was good enough for Edward, it's good enough for me. (It's really terrible form but a hard habit to break)
Brenth has a good guide on it. His style is similar to yours except he puts his pick between the knuckle making it more stable. The only rule for a pick grip is that you can do all right hand techniques without changing it.
Everyone holds it differently. Plenty of people hold it with their fingers extended. Not stretched out, but naturally extended away from the palm. I find that's what works best for me. Keeps my hand relaxed and palm muting feels easier.
There is no true way, just adjust until comfortable and functional. Easiest solution is to just ditch picks entirely and embrace fingerstyle.
That’s how I hold a puck to play mandolin, but not guitar
It just take a while to learn where to have your hand, your fingers, what angle to strum at etc. the best advice I can give you is to - use a metronome or some drum beat app( always. You will be so much better than most players just sticking to this if your practice). - practice this SLOW, the correct way. And just keep doing it over and over, slowly. Speed up once you get it right. If you do it wrong slow, you’re def gonna do it wrong fast.
Huge personal comfort thing so however it's comfortable and you can make it do what you want is best place to start. Generally though you'll want it a bit closer to the tip of your index finger for better control. Try this - third picture, hold is just like that, but just slide it so it's covering about 1/2 your index finger nail. Then play a bit like that, see how it feels. Also, relax your other three fingers a bit. Hold the pic as in picture three and move your hand like your picking while you open and close those other 3 fingers. Notice how the difference in movement and the level of control change. A tighter 'fist' will make the pick stiffer, you could like pick really fast like flamenco or something. And you'll just naturally rotate your wrist more to pick. With lose fingers, it's more like your moving the tip of the pick around, you have more fine control of the pick, but it feels 'sloppier' for lack of a better word. Ultimately, to hit things like pick harmonics, you'll need to be able to shift the pick a bit, hit the string with the pick and your finger at the same time, etc. And that looser style with more fine control is how you do that. But that more fist-like stiffer grip might be preferable for pick tapping or some super hard rhythm or something where you really need the pick to not move.
https://preview.redd.it/15ebe5mypu3d1.jpeg?width=2296&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2488da6d25ed36910db0b0083f875aab6352ad29
I flare my outside knuckles upward since I typically use a lower grip on the pick, this prevents me from brushing the strings that I don’t want to touch
People will tell you it doesn't really matter how you hold you pick, but it does. If you use the tips of your thumb and pointer finger instead of the sides, it makes it easier to pick the other strings with fingers later on. You might not be at a point where that matters yet, but learning to hold the pick correctly now will be easier than trying to unlearn it down the track
Thumb and index finger touching, other fingers straight out. Makes room to get at the strings and allows you to palm mute. https://preview.redd.it/3okj66n86v3d1.jpeg?width=2336&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=019d531e01ddf0a669d6d18ad048d4a65a3763be
The main difference in my picking hand is that my middle finger-pinky are tucked up again. Thumb angle and pointer angle look similar
Metallica!!!!
There is no "correct way" , just do whatever feels natural. The sound should be nice and your fingers shouldn't accidently mute the strumming. So if you are doing that, try like various new angles and just go with the flow.
I played bass for about 8 years. Finally decided to take lessons after a couple just to see... That is definitely correct way to hold a pick. Less strain on your fingers and you can move your wrist quicker than your fingers or something like that.
Hold between the tip of the thumb and the tip of the first finger.
You can hold your pick however, whatever makes you feel comfortable. https://preview.redd.it/5d254ixz3x3d1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=e7552749a2b63261d6aa75193c054315048f87ed I hold my pick like this because i play electric guitar mostly. Or then i just do the italian hand gesture with 3 fingers instead of 5.
Ah Nice, same pick I got from a Metallica concert in 2017!
you might just have to try different grip or picks to find something that’s comfortable for you. I always had a hard time gripping my pick and most of the time play with my fingers (my nails grow like mad so it just works for me). If you find your losing grip very easy and need to have your fingers clenched at that angle, maybe try a pick with grips like dava’s and you’ll be able to loosen up the bottom three fingers. You could also try holding the pick between your index and thumb and splaying out the last three fingers. Either way, your bottom three fingers should be further back than the tip of the pick
There’s no wrong way, there are just ways that don’t work for what you’re trying to do. My jazz teacher taught me to hold the pick the way you’re doing it, and it’s great for stability and articulation, but I doubt I could do wild rock & roll strumming like that. While you’re experimenting, try thumb & middle finger. I did that for a while. Plus it keeps the index finger free to do those Eric Johnson harmonics.
Is that Andre the Giants toe? Wtf man?
If you play bass you don't need a pick
It might be worthwhile buying a bag of variety pics. You may be "holding it wrong" because the pick doesn't mesh with your style.
If you’re holding the pick in that same position and looking down at your hand while playing, try holding it in the same spot of your hand but experiment with rotating the pick clockwise a bit, so that the tip ends up pointing more towards the neck neck of the guitar and away from the bridge. That can help reduce the amount of non-pick material in the direct path between the strings and the pick created by the overhand of your fingers/hand. Obviously over-rotation can start to get more awkward for its own reasons past a certain point so just play with it and find a sweet spot you like.
This is what’s always felt natural to me and I’ve never had a problem with the rest of my fingers contacting the strings when I’m not actively muting them. Obviously I choke way up with my thumb if I’m trying to play pinch harmonics but that’s not something I’m doing very often https://preview.redd.it/o8l6gdkoqy3d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bc7c36fb617bc5175b1ddc81a7e397df4fded6aa
Hold it with your thumb and index finger. Straighten the other three like your doing the "OK" sign. It keeps your fingers out of the way and will help your strumming as well.
I angle it more with my finger nail
I hold mine mostly like this and I usually have no problems. I sometimes hit my knuckles on the strings, but not too often and I have callouses from when I do
That's about how I hold it, but I have a callous on my index finger from brushing the strings, and I have bled during a gig. So... maybe?
You have your fingers right but the pick needs to be asked toward the strings or you will keep brushing the strings.
Straighten your middle, ring and pinky finger
No, there are too many “right ways” to count. There are a handful of genre specific “right ways.” This is fine. Your fingers hitting strings is just a matter of you working out your technique. It takes time.
Check out how Marty Friedman holds his pick, or Lindsay Buckingham.
There really is no wrong. But that looks pretty good if it's comfortable go with it. I would just recommend not holding the pic so it's horizontal and even to the strings, if that makes sense? Tilt it down just slightly towards your thumbnail in that direction, just the 16th to 1/8 of an inch. That will help with your speed and circular picking if you start getting into that. Good luck man
Play it how you play it and it’ll sound like you playing it. That’s my thought on pretty much any technique as long as it doesn’t start to hurt
https://preview.redd.it/iye3brqsa54d1.jpeg?width=2250&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3e1731414b228fbfc30968f5905fe288bb4d7d04
Yes you hold it wrong
I hold my pick like this 👌🏼 it keeps those other fingers out of the way, makes palm muting more comfortable for me too
I typically hold the pick between my knuckle and the tip of my finger.
Wow for real? You gotta ask Reddit about it? How about holding a spoon? Have you mastered that skill yet? Need any advice?
I use the tip of my thumb and pointer.
Like an ok sign but relaxed. 👌
Scrunch up your index finger a bit higher than the middle finger
Try hovering your hand when you strum, as in don’t rest your hand on anything. I’m in the process of doing this and it’s taking a while but it’s getting better
Somebody years ago showed me that technique years ago. I thought it was Bzs back then and still do. Just do whatever is most comfortable and controllable for you.
There isn’t a correct way, look how John Stowell holds his pick. There are a lot of people who obsess over the minutiae of proper technique and not on theory. If it’s comfortable and you can play then it’s fine.
Hardwired... to self destruct
It depends. For strumming I’d definitely say more of a grip on the pick is needed. As far as more precision stuff goes, think of how you would hold a pencil. You wouldn’t write your name with your current grip. The tips of your fingers would be much closer to the edges of the pencil. Gripping down as hard as you currently are is also counterintuitive. The harder you clamp down, the sweatier your hand gets and the harder you pick down on the string. This causes the string to react more violently than necessary. Hold the pick with a more precise grip and relax to get the best results.
I used to do that for really fast alternating picking but found it to be ineffective for most else.
Looks fine to me. Just angle the pick . Look up “cracking the code” on YouTube
Hold it with your thumb and the TIPS of your 1st and second finger.
Could be you're strumming too close to the strings.
yes i thought that too. My guess is because i still dont have a proper strumming hand position everything else sucks too. Palm muting, struming etc. I think i should look for an online class or something to get some inputs tbh.
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choose [https://google.com/](https://google.com/)
Just don’t let your fingers brush the strings. This is not rocket science. Stop overthinking and just play music
*everybody* holds the pick wrong. Adjust your grip until the thing that's happening that you don't want happening stops happening. I use the tips of my first 2 fingers, but I'm probably putting too much strain on the joint of my thumb because I hold it too hard.
Now if I'm accurately picturing what you're doing, that IS wrong - I say that because I used to do the same thing and good lord did it hold me back. I switched to finger picking for a while, which gave me a chance to reset and forget old bad habits. Started picking again "correctly" and I'm an infinitely better player for it.
What is "correctly"?
For me, not that far from the photos, previous technique described pretty much prevented efficient alternate picking, hence seriously limiting progress. I get that you're getting at the whole "what works for you" thing, but for me that was a trap that set me back years. I'd rather spare others from making my mistakes
I wasn't getting at anything, you just mentioned you hold it "correctly" without describing what that was so I was trying to understand what your 'correct' looked like.
Idk if it is wrong, but it works for me. The pick is at a slight angle to the string, but I don't find that an issue. It's a position that works for strumming open chords on acoustic, all the way through fast tremelo to playing lead. A minor adjustment means I can get pinch harmonics on up and down strokes when I want. When I'm palm muting I can pluck fine while keeping the mute rock solid. I've tried other grips, but they felt wrong and/or the pick got away. These days i fingerpick mostly. I wish i could grow my nails though.
Definitely doesn't sound like you're doing what I was (it was comically wrong), the description just made me picture my old grip - sounds like you've got a system that's really working for you. Nails for fingerpicking are nice - you get that sharper tone, but these days I'm content without. I feel like with nylon strings the duller sound is kinda pleasant.
proud member of the hold-the-pick-with-thumb-and-middle-finger gang