After reading Mike's interview yesterday, I tried his recommended pick grip. As I understood, he holds the pick loosely between the ball of his thumb, which I assumed is the first knuckle from the end, and the first knuckle(from the end) of the index finger. When I tried this my thumb and the first joint of my index finger are parallel to each other in a straight line. This is very different from the way I've held the pick when playing both mandolin and guitar. I have always held the pick between the pad of my thumb and the first knuckle of my index finger. My thumb and finger form an X.
When I tried holding the pick the way described I was astounded by the increased volume! I've played my Weber Absaroka for 10 - 11 years and have never heard that tone/volume before last night! I was even distracted from watching the Cowboys / Eagles game
The grip was fairly comfortable, though different, when playing a fiddle tune but felt very awkward when playing a tremelo or strumming.
I would appreciate any comments and suggestions before I invest the time and effort at learning to hold the pick in such a radically different manner. I'm a semi-professional picker, earning about 20% of my income from teaching guitar and mandolin students and playing in 2 groups. Although I loved the results I don't know if I want disrupt my playing by relearning such a elemental technique.
Any advice and suggestions are appreciated.
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