How To Hold a Guitar Pick
If you have played guitar for any amount of time then you know this can part of the process can be a bit tricky. If you are a beginner then you may already been finding this struggle to be a little frustrating. Don’t worry, we will get it all smoothed out for you.
In this article we will look at the most efficient way to hold a guitar pick. I say most efficient because there are different ways to hold a pick that aren’t wrong, but aren’t the most efficient. I have held the pick in many different ways of the years. I found that to do everything I wanted to do I needed to adjust how I held it. Changing how you hold the pick always feels unnatural and awkward. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been playing for a week or for years, any changes to how the pick is held feels strange. I see it all the time with my guitar students, but it doesn’t take long for this new and unnatural feeling technique to integrate into your playing and feel quite normal. I know this first hand(no pun intended), because I had to change my technique after many years of holding completely backwards from how I do now. The only thing i wish was different was that I had adjusted this sooner than I did.
The type of pick we will be working with is a standard pick most common used in guitar playing. This article will not get into using thumb picks or anything more on the fringes of guitar playing. There are 3 common shapes for guitar picks; the standard tear drop, the nacho(3 pointed triangular which is my favorite), and the jazz pick(a small version of the tear drop). These aren’t official names of course.
First pick up your pick by the point with your non picking hand. Next hold your picking hand in a relaxed and comfortable position where you would normally hold it when playing guitar. Curl your fingers in to make a fist but don’t close them all the way. Just enough to place your thumb on the first bone of the side of your index finger. Next place the pick with the point facing your guitar on the first bone of your index finger and clamp down with the thumb on the top of the pick. That’s it!
As simple as this is it is often very difficult to get just right. I think it is due to the initially unnatural feel, most people question whether or not it is correct. This second guessing makes it hard to feel confident that it’s being done correctly. This is normal and I’d encourage you to be patient and keep working with it. Also make sure to have your guitar teacher check and confirm if you are doing it correctly or not. There is nothing that can take the place of in person expert feedback of your guitar playing and technique.
About the author: Ryan Duke teaches guitar lessons in Franklin, TN
In this article we will look at the most efficient way to hold a guitar pick. I say most efficient because there are different ways to hold a pick that aren’t wrong, but aren’t the most efficient. I have held the pick in many different ways of the years. I found that to do everything I wanted to do I needed to adjust how I held it. Changing how you hold the pick always feels unnatural and awkward. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been playing for a week or for years, any changes to how the pick is held feels strange. I see it all the time with my guitar students, but it doesn’t take long for this new and unnatural feeling technique to integrate into your playing and feel quite normal. I know this first hand(no pun intended), because I had to change my technique after many years of holding completely backwards from how I do now. The only thing i wish was different was that I had adjusted this sooner than I did.
The type of pick we will be working with is a standard pick most common used in guitar playing. This article will not get into using thumb picks or anything more on the fringes of guitar playing. There are 3 common shapes for guitar picks; the standard tear drop, the nacho(3 pointed triangular which is my favorite), and the jazz pick(a small version of the tear drop). These aren’t official names of course.
First pick up your pick by the point with your non picking hand. Next hold your picking hand in a relaxed and comfortable position where you would normally hold it when playing guitar. Curl your fingers in to make a fist but don’t close them all the way. Just enough to place your thumb on the first bone of the side of your index finger. Next place the pick with the point facing your guitar on the first bone of your index finger and clamp down with the thumb on the top of the pick. That’s it!
As simple as this is it is often very difficult to get just right. I think it is due to the initially unnatural feel, most people question whether or not it is correct. This second guessing makes it hard to feel confident that it’s being done correctly. This is normal and I’d encourage you to be patient and keep working with it. Also make sure to have your guitar teacher check and confirm if you are doing it correctly or not. There is nothing that can take the place of in person expert feedback of your guitar playing and technique.
About the author: Ryan Duke teaches guitar lessons in Franklin, TN