In this lesson, you will discover the best way to hold your guitar pick. Now, the best way to hold your guitar pick is what is best for you. I know that sounds weird but it's true. People often ask "Is it better to play with the thumb & first finger, or the thumb & second finger, or is it best to use the fingers & pick together?"
A journey of self-discovery
Well, in reality, all these options are good. How to hold your guitar pick is up to the individual and how they play. But here is an example of a reference that can help you move in the right direction. Then you can take it from there.
There are many different ways you can do it & it's really up to you & how you approach the guitar & what style of music you choose to play. One thing to take into consideration is the type of pick you use.
Pick size and thickness
What is great about playing guitar is that it is such a personal instrument. And being that's the case, you can find guitars and accessories to fit your personality and style of playing, especially with guitar picks.
Guitar picks come in all different sizes, shapes, and thicknesses. There are multiple types of materials to choose from to make sure you find the right one for you and your playing style.
Find the right one and it can improve your rhythm playing as well as improve your ability to play guitar solos. The way you hold the pick and the thickness of it can make a huge difference in how the strings sound.
Once you have that figured out, you can look into different ways you can use the guitar pick. You can use it to strum chords, arpeggiate chords, and also use it to do hybrid picking.
Hybrid Picking
Playing with your fingers and guitar pick, at the same time is called “hybrid picking” and is a widespread technique among guitarists who like to do both. It’s hard to say what fingers it’s best to hold it between. Everybody plays differently and that is what makes learning guitar so cool. You can play it the way you choose.
Playing with a pick does produce a harder sound and can be useful for creating dynamics in your music. Knowing which fingers to hold it with is another story altogether. My recommendation would be to experiment.
A life-long study
Learning how to play guitar can be a lifelong study, and practicing trying out different ideas your mind presents is always a good choice. It will allow you to develop your own, style of playing. It's good to look for guidance by watching other people. It'll give you ideas as well.
The more you study and practice the more aware you will become of your own, playing. You will figure out little changes that you can personally do to make using the guitar pick easier.
Fingerstyle
Fingerstyle is a neat way to play the guitar and although it doesn't use the pick, I thought I'd present it here anyway. It can add some nice variation to your playing outside of regular and hybrid picking.
When it comes to fingerstyle, there are many ways you can do it. You can use all four fingers, or you can use just your index, middle, and ring finger. I recommend you use the thumb to play three bottom strings.
The thing you want to remember though is that what works for one person doesn’t always work for another. So it’s best to try out different things in your approach. Only then will you be able to figure out for yourself, what works best for you.
I, myself don’t do a lot of fingerstyle picking and I congratulate you on getting that style down if that is your thing. If you're still struggling with it, just keep at it and you'll get better.
Additional Help
If additional help is needed, I recommend you check out the book I authored and published on Amazon.
Learn Guitar: Simple Guitar Method For Beginners.
This book is written for the person who is just getting started. In a simple step-by-step method that is easy to work with. Just follow the lessons 1 by 1 and you will quickly see results. Packed with pictures, diagrams, and music notation that is easy to understand. Even if you have no musical background.
You will learn:
What guitar to get started with
How to hold the guitar
How to tune the guitar
What chords are best to get started with
And much, much more. So, if you are serious about wanting to learn how to have fun playing the guitar, I recommend you get this book. Available on Amazon.
Lesson conclusion
The main thing you want to do above all is to keep progressing forward with your studies and follow the guidelines in this lesson. Do this and you’ll soon discover what works best for you.
Good luck with your learning and if you need some additional training that might help you out. Be sure to check out some of my other lessons here on my blog. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me on Facebook, or shoot me an email.
Until our next guitar lesson, take care.
Sincerely, Dwayne Jenkins
