Part Two of Guitar Crash course – Holding the plectrum
December 31, 2007
How to hold the plectrum for maximum tone and playability.
To use a plectrum most effectively, it’s important not to have too much plectrum sticking out past your fingers. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense. The deeper the plectrum goes into the strings, the more resistance there is and the more difficult it is to play.
Here’s what it should look like. The first picture shows how the plectrum should be placed on the index finger, the second one with closed fingers and the third one is just a side view to give you a better idea.
As you can see from the above pictures, the plectrum, or “pick” as some people like to call it, is held between the index finger and thumb. the index finger is in a curved position with the plectrum resting on the side of the finger. The thumb then comes along to seal the deal.
Entry Filed under: guitar lessons. Tags: how to hold a plectrum, how to use a pick, plectrum.
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John Mackinnon | January 3, 2008 at 9:03 am
A significant amount of resistance can be attributed not only to the amount of pick that you stick down between the strings but also to the “Pick” thickness itself. In general I like to stay away from extremely stiff picks like a Fender Heavy. I find that a Fender Medium serves well for most of my playing needs. Only with the fastest electric guitar solos do I consider using something thinner.