For a beginning guitarist, the proper pick-hold is one of the most important things to master right off the bat. Grip too hard or in the wrong position, and you could wind up tense, in pain, and with a bad sound. Hold your pick too loosely however, and it could fly out of your hand!
Luckily for you, learning how to hold a guitar pick the right way is easy. Plus, once you master your guitar picking posture, it will be easier to learn more techniques down the road. To get started, you’ll want to make sure you have the right guitar pick on hand.
Choosing the Right Guitar Pick
How should you pick a pick? Well, guitar picks come in varying thicknesses or weights. There are also many brands to choose from. If you’re an absolute beginner, you might want to try a few different picks before you settle on what feels best for you.
Beginners typically prefer lighter weight picks for strumming. If you’re working on picking scales and basic riffs, a medium weight pick should suit you just fine. Heavy weight picks are great if you are playing lots of leads on an electric guitar.
Pro tip: when you’re buying guitar picks, buy in bulk! For whatever reason, guitar picks will get lost the instant you set them down. You might also want to choose guitar picks in bright colors so they are easy to spot in case you drop one. Always buy at least 10 guitar picks when you visit the music shop. You don’t want to run back to the store in a couple days because all your picks disappeared!
How to Hold a Guitar Pick with Either Hand
If you are right-handed, you will want to fret with your left hand and hold your pick in your right. Before you pick up your pick, take a moment to shake out and relax your right hand. Next, form a loose fist with your thumb on the outside of your index finger.
Turn your hand so that your thumb is facing you. Slide your pick between your thumb and the middle of your index finger. Keep a relaxed grip on your pick with the pointed end sticking out away from your hand. Your pick should be held under the center of your thumb.
You typically want to leave about a half inch of your pick sticking out from beneath your thumb. If you’ll be strumming your guitar, you might want to leave a slightly larger section of your pick exposed. If you need to pick for accuracy, allow a smaller tip of your pick to stick out. This lets you get closer to your strings.
Related: The Different Parts of Acoustic and Electric Guitars
How to Strum Your Guitar
Hold your picking hand over the sound hole on your acoustic guitar or over the body if you are playing electric. Don’t rest your hand on the guitar; instead allow your hand to hover.
Now, use the pick to strum your guitar from the thickest string down. Don’t move your whole arm to strum your guitar. Instead, let the movement come from your wrist. Practice rotating your wrist like you are unscrewing a light bulb while keeping your wrist straight and your grip on your pick fairly loose and easy. When you strum, you should feel a rotation in your wrist, rather than bending.
You can strum a chord from the top string down or the bottom string up. Try alternating down and up strums to hear the difference between each type of strum. You can try other rhythms or combinations like down-down-up-down to convey different feelings or evoke a genre. For example, punk music will typically use only quick down strums while an old country standard could be slow alternating up and down strokes.
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Alternate Picking Technique
Once you’ve mastered strumming all the strings of your guitar, focusing in on alternate picking technique will help you play notes on single strings quickly and fluidly. Use alternate picking technique when you practice scales, riffs, or solos as this technique will help you build speed and play single notes cleanly.
To get started, hold your guitar pick in the proper position between your thumb and the side of your index finger. Don’t worry about doing anything with your left hand at first and just focus on picking. Start with a down stroke on the sixth string, the uppermost thick string, on your guitar. Next, stroke up on the same string.
At first, practice just alternating up and down strokes on your sixth string. As you feel comfortable, start moving this alternate picking pattern up and down the strings. Pick up and down on the sixth string, then do the same on the fifth string, the fourth string, and so on. Once you reach the first string, work your way back to the sixth string one at a time.
If you know some riffs already, try playing them with alternate picking. If you’re just getting started, try some of these easy guitar riffs and be sure to alternate down and up strokes as you play.
Improving Your Guitar Picking Speed
If you’re interested in playing fast guitar pieces, you’ll need to work on your right hand picking speed as well as your left hand fretting speed. A great place to start improving your speed is looking at the angle of your guitar pick to your strings. You should be holding your guitar pick at about a 45 degree angle to the headstock of your guitar and at a neutral position relative to the strings. If you are holding your pick pointed too far up, for example, the up strokes will be easier and the down strokes will be more difficult, which will slow you down.
Using a heavier pick can also help you to play faster. Light picks may bend slightly as you play a note, which slows you down as you go to pick the next note. A firm pick stays stable and allows you to build speed.
Lastly, make sure you are articulating each note. What does this mean? As you attempt to play without tension in your hands, you might be striking notes too lightly. As you increase your speed, these light strokes may become barely audible. It’s okay to play a little harder (but not too hard!). Just make sure you can hear each note clearly.
Now you’ve got your pick in hand and you’re ready to rock! All you need are some songs, plenty of practice, and a great teacher. Taking private guitar lessons from an expert instructor is a great way to learn proper technique and reach your full potential.
Megan L.