ive been picking wrong all this time

Pappas

ok so i recently realized ive been playing for 4 years and my picking is wrong. i hold the pick with finger and thumb (common mistakes for newbies) instead of the proper way (i youtubed how to hold pick). so im trying to do it properly now but it feels a bit weird and im not as good because ive been playing 4 years the other way! anyway im determined to stay like this and make it feel natural as im sure there are advantages of holding it the 'proper' way.

also how do you guys rest your hand on the guitar in regards to picking? do you use your wrist or forearm and where abouts do you put it and do you move it as you pick different strings or is it always the same reference point? also i have a habit of using my third or fourth finger to rest on the guitar underneath the strings for stability, is this normal or not? whats the best way? no resting on the guitar at all?

ScrapeMySky

I've never had anyone show me how to do it 'properly', but what I do has worked for me and I suck at changing my habits. I rest my little finger underneath the strings when i'm picking and I know that's probably wrong by any standards, but I've given up trying to change it. And hey, I heard Knopfler does it too... So much for 'wrong'.

Piper At The Gates

I hold my pick between my thumb and bent index finger. I have played that way for 38 years and I can't change now. I don't know a "Correct" way of holding a pick other than what is most comfortable for you as a player. As for where to rest your picking hand, comfort and ease of playing should dictate that, too. When playing my Les Paul, I rest the heel of my hand on the bridge. On my Strat's, I modify that a bit because that can put it out of tune with the tremolo so I sort of hover above it. It's really all about comfort and your own ease of playing.

dunkman

i simply cant hold a pic... its comes from 3 years of practicing at night with a new baby in the house and a wife wanting to watch TV in the same room as me... so now i cant hold a pic.. it feels totally weird to me

now i can practice without a worry about the noise.. should i persevere and re-try using a pic now???

Pauk

I can't believe so many people have filmed youtube videos on how to hold a guitar plec. What the hell?!

FinsburyParkCarrots

I threw my flatpicks away years ago and use my fingers.

dunkman

FinsburyParkCarrots wrote:

I threw my flatpicks away years ago and use my fingers.

do you... so have you just grown your fingernails?.. you know for picking out individual notes and stoof?


i much prefer the feel of playing with just my fingers... i wonder if i should just stick with it?

surfanddestroy

I dont use picks either, much prefer finger picking.

Not that I am any good, not even picked the guitar up this year :oops:

Hitch-Hiker

dunkman wrote:

FinsburyParkCarrots wrote:

I threw my flatpicks away years ago and use my fingers.

do you... so have you just grown your fingernails?.. you know for picking out individual notes and stoof?


i much prefer the feel of playing with just my fingers... i wonder if i should just stick with it?

Stick with it Dunk. You could be the next Mark Knopfler.

I didn't know there was right and wrong way to hold a pick. I just hold it however feels right. I aint too good with just playing with my fingers, unless I'm playing bass,which is a totally different style anyway.

Pauk

I play with fingers mostly too. I find fingerpicking feels much more natural to me than worrying about alternate picking. I really need to practise with a pick more, but fingers feel so nice

Thoughts_Arrive

Thought my technique would be all wrong as I've not had lessons.
Turns out I hold it the correct way!