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Thread: Pick Hold Issues

  1. #26

    Default Re: Pick Hold Issues

    I've recently discovered (2 weeks of cyphering) what works for me after reading the thread about the guy getting his pick hold changed by a famed teacher at a workshop.

    The picture shown on the thread shows the index finger supporting the pick straight across the pick with the nail of the index finger being quite beyond the wrist-side edge of the pick. (I looked for, but can't find the thread.)

    *Edited to add: I'm presuming you hold the pick with the index finger curled or crooked, as opposed to a straight first finger.

    I gave it a try and discovered why that works after a couple of days of trial and error.

    The key points that made it work for me were:

    - Having the first joint of the index finger supporting the pick straight across the bottom side of the pick. This is vital. How much fingernail hangs past the pick is unimportant (the whole nail was visible in the picture). What is important is that your first finger lays straight across the pick.

    - To make the wrist relax, make sure that you're not using a flat thumb on the top of the pick. The thumb needs to support the pick parallel to the index finger with more of its "outside' edge (the side facing you when you make a thumbs-up). A flat thumb will tense up your whole hand & wrist. A thumb on-edge loosens the hand, wrist and other fingers.

    - The pick can be placed anywhere along the length of the thumb and the pick won't slide around as long as your index finger is straight across the pick and you are using the outside edge of your thumb. The farther the pick is away from your wrist, the lighter the sound will be. The closer the pick is to the wrist, the fatter the sound will be.

    Hope this helps.

    Oh, and it will help your tremolo too!

    I would have loved to have this knowledge when I started a year ago.

    Aldon
    Last edited by daLimuHead; Apr-01-2022 at 3:45am.

  2. #27
    small instrument, big fun Dan in NH's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pick Hold Issues

    Best piece of advice I ever got was to turn my pick sideways and attack the strings with the round shoulder. It sounds crazy but I get a much better sound when I pick this way as opposed to using the tip.
    Eastman MD-514 (F body, Sitka & maple, oval hole)
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  3. #28
    Registered User Sue Rieter's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pick Hold Issues

    Quote Originally Posted by phydaux View Post
    Best piece of advice I ever got was to turn my pick sideways and attack the strings with the round shoulder. It sounds crazy but I get a much better sound when I pick this way as opposed to using the tip.
    Matt Flinner showed us this during his Old Time 101 class. I tried it with a similar pick I had, and liked it. It helps me avoid catching the pick in the strings and I can play faster and smoother. Today I just got some Primetone semi round picks. I like these, too, so far.

  4. #29

    Default Re: Pick Hold Issues

    The most important thing about a beginner and holding the pick is to pick one of the good styles to start with! I made the mistake as a self-taught guitarist to hold it a terrible way (thumb and two fingers.) Then sometime in my 20's the guitarist in a housemate's band, a very talented swing guitarist, asked my why I held it that way. "Idunno." He showed me his way, which isn't the way taught these days but does have its advantages. It took me many years to overcome my old habits and relearn how to strum, just about everything changed because it changed the angle of my hand and wrist (from terrible to much better.)

    Here's the recipe. Note that this is NOT advice I'm giving; it's advice I got, and that helped me a lot, but might not be ideal.
    * Make a fist
    * Lay the pick on your first finger knuckle
    * Press down your thumb
    * Relax the other three fingers

    Most guitar experts advise holding the pick closer to the fingertip than above. I find that provides more mobility at the cost of strength/stability. I find I actually use different locations for different results, but rarely (if ever) as far to the end of the finger as I should.

    I've heard some folks on this site say that for mando you want more stability than flexibility (versus guitar) and therefore to hold the pick a bit more toward the knuckle than the fingertip.

    I find it interesting that in the Moondi Klein & Jimmy Geaudreau video above, the guy on the left has two very different pick grips that he uses for different sections of the tune.

    But the second most important thing to know is that it's not a "set-and-forget" thing. The pick is constantly shifting as you play, so you have to actively maintain the correct location. You don't get this by clamping down hard with a static grip. Instead you learn to make tiny adjustments to your grip frequently as you play, to keep the pick where it belongs. Clamping down hard will just cause muscle fatigue and lack of wrist flexibility.

    There are a lot of factors to balance when using a pick. It's not nearly as simple as it looks!

  5. #30

    Default Re: Pick Hold Issues

    I despair of ever playing Manzanita or Swamp Dawg at tempo! I'm happy to get to 3/4 speed or so.

    BTW my link above for David Grisman's Swamp Dawg wasn't the ideal format, so here's an MP3. Definitely worth a listen.

    https://1drv.ms/u/s!AoI2zdBTTs-z4lBC...rC4it?e=94jCTk

    One of these days I'll post my version for some laughs. (I haven't worked out the mando part yet as I've only played it on guitar up until ... soon.)

  6. #31
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    Default Re: Pick Hold Issues

    I played once with a guy who used a paper punch and 600 grit sandpaper to punch out dots that he cemented to his generic music store picks. I’ve no idea what cement he used but he said that they lasted a long time. No doubt one sheet of 600 grit will do several hundred picks. And turn the paper punch into a throwaway item.
    A couple years in, now, and still learning!
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  7. #32

    Default Re: Pick Hold Issues

    Oops, my post above on speed was meant for a different thread.

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