“How to hold a pick” is one the least covered of tutorials. Many beginners still fumble around with the idea of guitar picks. So here’s a quick tutorial for you.
The most common way guitarists hold the pick is having it clamped between their thumb and the middle of the index finger. There are also many other ways of holding the pick but this is the standard.
Personally, I do more of a pen-like grip, holding the pick between my thumb and the tip of my index finger – Sort of like you’re trying to write something with a pencil. I get a lot control that way.
Whichever way you choose to hold a pick, the following points are important.
Hold the pick firmly so that the pick does not slip out of your hand. If you find this happening often, don’t worry – I had this problem when I first started playing the guitar too. You just need to hold the pick tighter and over time, it will become natural to you. Trust me on this one.
- Use LESS of the pick. What I mean is that you don’t want too much of the pick protruding out from your fingers. Allow only a couple of millimeters to stick out and that’s sufficient.
- The less of the pick you dig into the strings when you pick, the faster your picking speed will be. This is because you can more easily graze across the string and less force is needed.
- SLICE through your strings during picking by at a 45 degree angle rather than picking parallel to your strings. Using this ” slicing ” guitar technique, you use less force to pick a string hence you can pick faster.
Many beginner guitar players always ask what gauge thickness of pick they should use. As a beginner rule of thumb, use a think pick for strumming ( 0.7 mm ) and a thick one ( 1.0 mm or more ) if you’re playing lead guitar. Thicker picks give you faster picking speed and more precise picking and control.
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