# Holding a pick



## rforster (Sep 26, 2011)

hi all
looking for some advice. I've been playing for a long time, almost 18 years. Around a year or two ago, I figured I was holding my pick a bit wrong than I wanted to so I have been on and off trying to fix it.. now the problem is, I can't get comfortable holding my pick any way (including the way I used to). 

I've tried really focusing on it and spending time but nothing is comfortable for me (yet). I keep moving the pick around as I play or just can't get comfortable holding it. 

anyone else switch this before after a long time of playing?

any help or advice, greatly appreciated

thanks

Ryan


----------



## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

rforster said:


> hi all
> looking for some advice. I've been playing for a long time, almost 18 years. Around a year or two ago, I figured I was holding my pick a bit wrong than I wanted to so I have been on and off trying to fix it.. now the problem is, I can't get comfortable holding my pick any way (including the way I used to).
> 
> I've tried really focusing on it and spending time but nothing is comfortable for me (yet). I keep moving the pick around as I play or just can't get comfortable holding it.
> ...


I vary my pick hold all the time, depending on how and what I'm playing. No real rhyme or reason for it either, other than when I'm doing pinch harmonics


----------



## jayoldschool (Sep 12, 2013)

It would help us if you showed us how you held it before, and how you are trying to hold it now ;-)


----------



## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

I find it best not to think about stuff like that. I use fender 351 heavies and they move around so I move them back somehow w/out a problem. A couple of days ago I tried scruffing one up with emery cloth for better grip and it was actually worse than leaving them smooth - so scruffing them up was a fix for a problem that I didn’t have.


----------



## rforster (Sep 26, 2011)

thanks everyone, yes Im trying to be "natural" but i just can't get comfortable with a pick anymore its extremely frustrating. its mainly on doing metal rhyhtm etc, i seem ok while playing lead lines etc. 


attached are 2 pics. the first one is the old way, i was holding it a bit to angled so when picking , the side of the pick was hitting the strings and not much of the tip. the 2nd pic is what im trying to do now


as i said, both ways dont seem comfortable anymore lol


----------



## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

Hold it like you're pinching a man's nipple.


----------



## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

adcandour said:


> Hold it like you're pinching a man's nipple.


With vice grips?


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

adcandour said:


> Hold it like you're pinching a man's nipple.


Holy shit, this is accurate...

Also, check YT tutorials. Ben Eller has some good lessons.


----------



## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

cboutilier said:


> With vice grips?


Remind me to never cuddle with you.


----------



## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

Budda said:


> Holy shit, this is accurate...
> 
> Also, check YT tutorials. Ben Eller has some good lessons.


Even more accurate is to describe it as grabbing it from behind, but I didn't want to freak anyone out.


----------



## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

GOOD THREAD!


----------



## rforster (Sep 26, 2011)

LOL love it


----------



## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

When I used a pick, the most interesting thing I did was choke picking. It took me a long time to figure out I could do that with my fingers.

You can hold the pick in a specific way so that you can hit the chokes, or not, at will on any up-stroke or down-stroke, mostly by squeezing the pick to spread out the pad of your finger and thumb so that they lightly brush the string after it is plucked. That puts your finger and thumb in a very specific place on the pick.

I went from using extremely light picks when I was a kid to Dunlop Jazz IIIs. My teacher said to use larger and lighter picks because they were forgiving. I felt the smaller heavy picks gave me more control, but he insisted differently.

The position I used I think was a lot more like a pinch of salt. You want a very specific amount of salt. Then you spinkle the salt.


----------



## sambonee (Dec 20, 2007)

Big for me when teaching is the picking axis at 90 degrees to the thumb Axis. I also insist that the flat edge must not be parallel to the string. There must be a difference of pitch between the pick and the string. Essentially the pick is ascending and descending the string. Hard to explain.


----------



## rforster (Sep 26, 2011)

yes, ive been experimenting with tons of different picks too. I find the Jazz III a bit too small for me but I do like the XL Jazz IIIs 

I've recently been trying to just not think about it and pick naturally but not helping either lol.. 

maybe i just need to pick a spot and really focus this summer on it and work it out


----------



## Merlin (Feb 23, 2009)

I had a look at my pick angle the other day. It’s not parallel to the string as I would have expected. It’s at an angle. I play a lot of surf, and do a lot of tremolo picking. I think that my stylistic focus has affected my technique in a positive way.


----------



## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

Merlin said:


> I had a look at my pick angle the other day. It’s not parallel to the string as I would have expected. It’s at an angle. I play a lot of surf, and do a lot of tremolo picking. I think that my stylistic focus has affected my technique in a positive way.


Same here. After 30 years of playing I started to really key in on the angles after watching a few Youtube things on certain player like Morse. There isn't a right or wrong way to do anything, but paying attention to what you are actually doing really can traslate in some cool little tricks and short cuts. Ditto with finger style.


----------



## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

My pick angle changes all the time, depending on what I'm trying to do. I will switch between hybrid picking, alternate picking, pinch harmonics, and finger style within the same song. 

I suggest getting comfortable moving your pick around in your hand while you play. It took me a long while to learn to palm, and unpalm, my pick mid song.


----------



## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

cboutilier said:


> My pick angle changes all the time, depending on what I'm trying to do. I will switch between hybrid picking, alternate picking, pinch harmonics, and finger style within the same song.
> 
> I suggest getting comfortable moving your pick around in your hand while you play. It took me a long while to learn to palm, and unpalm, my pick mid song.


I do stuff like as well, and I just did it without thinking about it--when I started teaching I noticed the different things I did--the change of angle, grip and even flipping the pick around --depending on whether I was playing slow or fast, strumming chords, grinding out power chords, playing single notes, etc.


----------

