I use the same grip as Mike. I think it was taught to me by my jazz guitar teacher at NYU, Barry Galbraith. The picks flexes so that the pick always drives down into and through the strings (toward the soundboard). If the pick pushes the strings sideways too much or pulls them away from the top, you get a buzzy weak tone. On the upstroke, the pick flexes the other way to push down toward the instrument as well. A loose grip on the pick is essential for this.
I've been trying this grip for a couple of days. After twenty years of guitar playing and much less time mandolin, this feels like a radical change to me. At first I found I just couldn't hit the strings with any accuracy, it felt very frustrating. After a couple of hours it began to seem more natural and now my original grip doesn't feel right, although i'm still not completely relaxed with this "new" (to me) grip.
At first I started feeling a strain along the back of my hand, just above the pinky. I adjusted the position of the pick slightly and this went away.
There is a definite improvement in the volume but I'm not sure about the tone.
The main difference I've noticed is that it has lifted my hand up off the bridge. Playing mandolin I've always rested my hand on the bridge, but this grip lifted it off without me being aware of it.
Feels much beetr chopping and ok for tremelo, but I'm still not up to the same speed I was at previously when picking. I feel like I'm past the point of no return now and am going to keep going with this position, I feel optimistic about it. I'd be interested to hear how other people are finding it if they've recently changed.
Last edited by Darren Bailey; Jan-14-2010 at 4:54pm. Reason: literacy
I feel it's more important to find a grip and a pick for that matter that work for you instead of trying to mimic your favorite mandolinist. Everyone is different including your hands and fingers. I have seen some people do things a certain way that are truly physically uncomfortable for me and things like this can lead to injuries. I have been holding my pick the way i have for close to 30 years and it's what works for me but may not be right for you.
I've been holding the pick my way (I hold my pick with three fingers similar to Wayne Benson) too long to change though I've tried the Compton grip. I'm a big fan of the tone he gets...very big and fat. It's like I'm just starting out when I use a radically different pick grip then I'm used to.
If you are fairly new to picking though I'd give the Compton grip a serious attempt.
Everyonce in a while in mid tune I'll change to that type of grip for chopping; it's helps fatique to change positions once in a while I think. Also I find the Compton grip easier to attempt on a guitar for some reason.
I think Dan Crary puts four fingers on his pick!
Last edited by Perry; Jan-15-2010 at 9:46am.
It's never too late to change a "bad" habit - I'm living proof. I changed my pick grip from the "Clapton grip" to the "Compton grip" after 30+ years of ingraining the "Clapton grip". It was worth every bit of frustration, discipline and force of will that it required. The benefits were less fatigue, better tone, better playing overall, and elimination of the pick rotating or otherwise shifting position during play.
That said, it did take more time and effort than I really wanted to devote to it, but in the end it is definitely a goal that can be accomplished. It's mostly a matter of putting in the time it takes to get through the steep part of the learning curve.
Clark Beavans
If a pick grip is not like "so and so's" it doesn't make it bad; just different. Agreed if it is something really holding you back from what YOU want then it's worth struggling through it.
There's one thing you can't do with a clenched fist grip and that is to use your pick and fingers to strike strings simultaneously. Very handy for chord melody stuff.
p.s. What is the "Clapton" grip?
Great advice on grip change. I've been working on this grip for about 3 hours and I must echo the general results-definite pronounced increase in volume. It seems that older picks I had decided did not have the right sound for me sounds great now. Less tension in the arm has also resulted. It does feel a bit clumsy, but I'm sure it is the user and not the technique Heck I was clumsy before, but now I'll have louder mistakes with more tone Thanks for the great advice-I haven't been this jazzed about a new tech for a while!
Jeff
It's how EC holds his pick - lightly pinched between the pads of thumb and pinky. I was mostly self-taught (pick grip particularly), and it was definitely holding me back from learning how to flatpick acoustic instruments. My pick was rotating and shifting and sometimes flying across the room, which was not conducive to learning (unless you're learning to swear).
The old grip still works for me on electric guitar, especially for short, staccato upstrokes - because I can trap the pick on the end of my thumb with my index finger, and that allows for a very controlled, short movement. It also allows me to drop the tip of my middle finger down, braced against my thumb, to just barely touch the top of the string I'm picking. I can get a little chimey thing going (think the second break in Bellbottom Blues).
Oddly enough, I find myself switching between my old grip and the Compton grip at various times, on electric.
Clark Beavans
Bagpipe Music (I promise ... no actual bagpipes!):
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/defa...bandID=1063977
I've been trying this grip for a few days now and though the tone and volume increases are great I'm having a couple of problems.
I play with the heel of my right hand lightly touching just on or behind the bridge and this grip moves my hand closer to the strings sometimes causing some unwanted muting. If I move my hand towards the tailpiece it takes me out of my sweet spot.
The other more serious problem is that the extra curling of the index finger seems to introduce just enough extra tension to cause pain in my wrist and forearm. Anyone else experience this?
Eric
bagpipe - great photo. Index finger is what I meant, don't know how pinky came out instead.
Clark Beavans
I changed my flat pick grip about a year ago to something close to this. It seemed very awkward for strumming and tremolo at first. After a few weeks it seemed completely natural.
Rob G.
Vermont
No - see quotation marks around "bad". It was bad for me.
Clark Beavans
I was using this grip last summer but slowly started putting the pick further out to the end of my thumb because it seemed that it provided a little more dexterity, but I could hear the tone thinning out so I increased the pick angle across the strings to compensate. I have never been a real Compton fan but this thread has let me know that my initial grip wasn't wrong afterall. Beefier tone with less work in my opinion. I have really enjoyed the process of getting a good tone and I think this is where a mandolin can teach the player good technique.
Ken Ratcliff Silver Angel #285
My emphasis - because it tallies with my recent experience. I'm only starting out, but the day I relaxed and held the pick somewhat more loosely brought about a big change in the sound of my playing too. The notes sound cleaner, the chords softer, and whilst some of you have spoken about increases in volume I find that I can now much better control the volume at which I play. Good advice here, thank you Mandolin Cafe!
I have been experimenting with Mike Compton's pick grip and have found that my speed and tremolo have greatly benefitted from this. My only problem is that I seem to lose tone. Anyone else having this problem ?
Isn't the grip being discussed, Mike Compton's, the same as what was being called Dan's Power Grip a while back?
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Any mandolin style that you need to pick fast and clean will not work (IMO) with the Compton grip. That grip works well for rubbing the strings which is a very true Monroe style. I sometimes use MC's grip (when I am playing the most chordal of the Monroe tunes) but usually use a slightly modified version of MC's grip. My style is not pure Monroe, but a hybrid of modern clean picking and Monroe style (not as clean as Butch Baldassari played, but not as "dirty" as MC (if that makes any sense at all).
Gee! That's always how I held my pick. I must admit it gets a nice pfithwang outta the strings.
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