How to keep your pick from slipping
Are you having a hard time holding on to your guitar pick?
In this video, I'll show you several techniques you can use right away.
Lots of guitar players have had the same issue and have solved it with these techniques.
When youre done with this video, you'll be able to strum your heart out without the pick
flying in the air.
Lets do this.
Hi Im Tomas Michaud from Real Guitar Success where I help you to learn guitar and most
importantly to love your journey and to love your journey you really do have to hold on
to your pick.
Its no fun strumming when the pick is flying in the air or worse goes in the sould hole
of your guitar.
Technique #1 is How to Actually Hold your pick in a way that it doesnt tend to slip
out.
Now this is a foundation for all the other techniques that come so lets start there.
First of all, take your right hand and crew your first knuckle a little bit.
Put the pick on the first knuckle and then wrap your thumb around it just sligthly . Now
the pick is going to almost stick out perpendicular to my thumb.
What Im doing is when I angle my hand in Im also pointing my hand in a little bit.
Im not keeping it flat to the guitar.
I used to do that but I found by just angling my hand a little bit it actually helps me
hold on to the pick.
The other thing is when your holding the pick youll find over time that you need to put
a little pressure on the back of the pick more than the front and you can roll your
thumb to do that.
When you put on the back of the pick it tends to move more easily and makes a smoother strum.
When you tighten up more towards the front of the pick it makes it stiffer and its better
if you like playing lead guitar.
This will take practice.
You're not gonna get this by just putting your pick there, trying a few times and saying
"Oh, the pick still flies out."
You have to work it and everything thats worth doing is worth spending time to get it right.
With that said, now Im gonna show you several techniques that will help in addition to holdiing
the pick properly and strumming properly.
Technique #2 is to find one of these textured picks.
Im using a dunlop textured nylon pick.
Its rough on both sides of the pick so it makes it a little easier to grasp especially
if my hand gets slippery from perspiration.
These picks are very available and easy to find and come in different thickness and in
different materials though Im almost always using the ones that are made of nylon.
They have that particular feel that seems to work really well with the texture.
Technique #3 is to put Velcro on your pick.
Yes!
I said velcro so this is actually what I used when I play my flamenco guitar.
I have a pick and the reason I started doing this is I want the velcro to stick to my guitar.
So what Im doing is as I strum with my fingers or play it with my fingers I grab the pick,
use the pick and then put it right back on my guitar but it also serves to make the pick
a little rougher.
Smaller picks are a little harder to hold on to than larger picks so this really helps
me out.
What I do is I cut the velcro to a little small shape to fit unto my pick so it just
covers the pick.
I cut the longest strip to put on my guitar so I dont have to aim too carefully when Im
putting my pick on to my guitar.
I usually put the fussy side of the velcro on the pick and the rough side on the guitar
but I've tried both ways on different guitars and seems to work about equally well.
For now lets say you have a favorite pick and it just doesnt come in a textured version.
Theres a couple of ways you can make your pick a textured version.
One way to do this is to drill a hole in the pick.
What happens is the flesh from your fingers kinda sticks in the hole and makes it easier
to hold on to the pick.
Another way is to take an X-Acto knife and strike the part of the pick that your holding
on to not the tip cause (3:53) but the part of the pick that your holding on to.
I think you have to be careful that you dont strike it too hard so that it cracks the pick.
But it does make it rougher and easier to hold on to.
And finally, I saw a video of one guy who actually sticks double sided tape on his pick
so the pick sticks to his finger.
I thought that was wild.
I havent tried it but if you do and tried it please let me know how it works out.
Do you ever have a favorite technique for holding on to your pick better that I havent
mentioned?
Please let us know in the comments so we can all learn from this.
Also if you like this video please let me know and remember learning guitar is not a
destination.
Let me know how I can better help you to love your journey.
Bye for now.