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Single string picking
Trying to work on pick use this year and starting thinking about technique…
When using a pick and playing single strings in whatever pattern, what is the general technique/thought for using a downstroke vs upstroke? For example, the Monday exercise with a pick did a four string pattern of down-up-down-up (I believe).
Is it based on a certain technique/theory/feel/string location/etc.?
Thanks for any thoughts!
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10 Replies
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Though legitimately and regularly broken, one generally picks down on the down beat and up on the up (&) beat. Though I am a native fingerpicking speaker I have added flat picking as a second language and I’ve experienced that after a bit, it becomes intuitive.
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Albert, what are your thoughts on thumb picks? I can’t seem to get the hang of using…or even holding on to a regular flat pick (I’ve been trying to use a pick since 2019). Thanks in advance for your reply.
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@CamiB, curious what pick you are using? Have you experimented with different picks, material types, and thicknesses? I have a few thumb picks and don’t care for them and just use my thumb.
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Skyman, I usually use my thumb, but I told myself that I will learn to use the flat pick.
I REALLY LOVE the fingerpicking sound…that could be what is getting in the way of me learning to use the flat pick. That said, I have many picks of varied thicknesses, Some of them are textured picks that are a little easier to hold onto than the standard pick.
I appreciate your reply. I will keep struggling…I mean practicing with the flat picks.
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I’ve read a lot of opinions about flat picks and many swear by one or another. I assume they must be picking much faster than me as I top out between 100 and 120 BPM on a good day. I like a medium firm pick rather than a thin pick.
My kids gave me a pick punch one year to make picks for a 4th grade Ukulele class I was teaching as a service project (you don’t have to know much). Those were punched out of credit cards, motel cards, used gift cards, cruise cards or anything. I was surprised by the different tones each card would give and none of them were “professional picks”. All that said to say, I’m not a pick elite and just use whatever is close by and I leave them lying all around. If I am really going to try to pick with some bluegrass friends, I’d go find one in the pile that felt good and didn’t slow me down as I’m not that fast. So there is my non answer answer.
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Thanks. I can’t believe I haven’t intuitively thought of it that way. I know I’ve probably heard that too, but I guess it just hasn’t clicked yet. Thanks!
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I’m a beginner player and just finished the 30 days thing and I’m on the third day of the 5 day guitar challenge. So having said that, take what I say with a grain of salt. If you force yourself to use a pick every time you play, you will get “accustomed” to it and before you know it you won’t even think about it. I started guitar many decades ago-never learned the basics and had more formal teaching. I always had long finger nails on my right hand. I hated the pick because my nails were much more “intuitive”. This time around I have decided to actually learn how to play the guitar and so I started my new learning with a pick. I’m telling you if you make it a habit to use a pick, any pick, before you know it you will be doing it and not even realizing that it used to be difficult. Just don’t default to whats comfortable. You can do it!
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Good points, @Coreena !
It’s useful to learn playing with a pick, and it has it’s place. Beginners especially can benefit in a lot of ways and for advanced players it’s also great for strumming.
On the other hand, many great players find the pick very limiting in their style of playing. It’s kind of obvious that fingerstyle has a great advantage. Numerically it’s 5 to 1!
But more notes isn’t always better. Some of best parts of music lives in the spaces! What a wonderful dichotomy music and especially guitar playing is!
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Great comments from a lot of different sources. I’ve always had a problem holding onto the pick. The “recommended” way to hold the pick seems, to me, to be the thumb and index finger at an angle and to learn to hold the pick with a light grip.
Like a lot of you I was always having to adjust and reposition the pick. After many years of fighting this issue I purchased a few Dunlap Prime Tone 1.5, 1.0 and .75 large triangle style picks . The 1.5 I use regularly is huge and I use and thumb and 2, yes 2 fingers to hold the pick fairly firmly.
Because I mainly am a Hybrid style picker, which means that I use the pick for strums and also finger pick a lot while still holding the pick, I have learned to release the 2nd middle finger from the pick to do the finger picking or split double stop spaced string picking.
I have been doing this for almost a year now and have become comfortable with the dual style picking format and the thumb and 2 finger pick hold. No more uncomfortable picking holding issues.
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Great comments! Appreciate all of the thoughts.
Yeah, I’m just going to keep practicing, knowing that it will continue to “click.” I can already tell I’ve improved over the last month.
Interesting anecdote… when I started, I used very thin picks cause I felt that it “covered up” the mistakes a little more. I’m slowly growing accustomed to the thicker picks. I think my favorite right now is a 1.0 Taylor Thermex Ultra.
Thanks, all!
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This reply was modified 2 months, 2 weeks ago by MattTX_24.
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This reply was modified 2 months, 2 weeks ago by
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