How to Hold a Guitar Pick
If you want to learn how to play guitar, you need to learn how to hold a guitar pick properly, or 'plectrum' as it is sometimes called. Holding a guitar pick and holding ONTO a pick while you play, is often a challenge for beginners. But if you form the right habits early on, it will become second nature for you, and you will excel a lot more quickly than others. This article provides the information you need to properly hold the guitar pick.
There are a lot of different teaching methods that instruct how to hold a guitar pick, but most of them share a common deficiency: they don't take into account the fact that every human hand is made differently. The method detailed below will provide you with the best, most natural way to hold a pick:
The first thing to observe is that there are two ways to hold a guitar pick, depending on what you are trying to accomplish. The first way is typically reserved for playing 'lead guitar', 'soloing,' or, in other words, playing many individual notes in quick succession. The second way is reserved for strumming light guitar chords and is particularly useful for light strumming. Both techniques will take advantage of your unique physiology to form nature's perfect pick grip.
The first step is to form a loose hook shape with your right (strumming) index finger. Notice that by bending the finger ever so slightly, your finger automatically forms three crevices or 'nooks', where the joints are located. The first nook (closest to the top or end of your index finger) is where the pick should be resting when you are strumming chords. The second nook is where the pick should resting when you are playing lead solos or individual notes or playing loud heavy chords.
In both cases, the proper way to hold the guitar pick requires three additional steps:
First, gently place the widest part of the pick (the top of the pick) in the appropriate nook again -- the second nook is for soloing, or the first nook is for light strumming.
Second, place your thumb over the middle of the pick, allowing just a small amount of the tip of the guitar pick to peek out below your thumb.
Finally, bend your index finger in which the pick is placed upward toward the middle of your hand until it is just above the tip of the pick. This will ensure a clean contact with the string.
Now, if you are trying to play lead guitar or solo, as mentioned before, make sure you place the pick in the second nook. If, on the other hand, you are trying to play chords or strum, make sure you place the pick in the first nook. You should have done this step already, but this is just to make sure you are doing it correctly.
Now gently cover the pick with your thumb!
Congratulations! You've done it! You've found nature's perfect grip intended for you.
For the first month or so of practicing, you should go through all three steps slowly each time, in order to form the proper habits. Once you get used to forming the pick grip in this way it will soon become second nature, and you will not even have to think about.
Read more about holding the pick.
There are a lot of different teaching methods that instruct how to hold a guitar pick, but most of them share a common deficiency: they don't take into account the fact that every human hand is made differently. The method detailed below will provide you with the best, most natural way to hold a pick:
The first thing to observe is that there are two ways to hold a guitar pick, depending on what you are trying to accomplish. The first way is typically reserved for playing 'lead guitar', 'soloing,' or, in other words, playing many individual notes in quick succession. The second way is reserved for strumming light guitar chords and is particularly useful for light strumming. Both techniques will take advantage of your unique physiology to form nature's perfect pick grip.
The first step is to form a loose hook shape with your right (strumming) index finger. Notice that by bending the finger ever so slightly, your finger automatically forms three crevices or 'nooks', where the joints are located. The first nook (closest to the top or end of your index finger) is where the pick should be resting when you are strumming chords. The second nook is where the pick should resting when you are playing lead solos or individual notes or playing loud heavy chords.
In both cases, the proper way to hold the guitar pick requires three additional steps:
First, gently place the widest part of the pick (the top of the pick) in the appropriate nook again -- the second nook is for soloing, or the first nook is for light strumming.
Second, place your thumb over the middle of the pick, allowing just a small amount of the tip of the guitar pick to peek out below your thumb.
Finally, bend your index finger in which the pick is placed upward toward the middle of your hand until it is just above the tip of the pick. This will ensure a clean contact with the string.
Now, if you are trying to play lead guitar or solo, as mentioned before, make sure you place the pick in the second nook. If, on the other hand, you are trying to play chords or strum, make sure you place the pick in the first nook. You should have done this step already, but this is just to make sure you are doing it correctly.
Now gently cover the pick with your thumb!
Congratulations! You've done it! You've found nature's perfect grip intended for you.
For the first month or so of practicing, you should go through all three steps slowly each time, in order to form the proper habits. Once you get used to forming the pick grip in this way it will soon become second nature, and you will not even have to think about.
Read more about holding the pick.