I was a decent classical guitar player as a teenager, then like so many of us began picking out pop songs on the guitar, message in a bottle, etc.
Decades later I now have my first electric guitar, and I've just noticed I hold a pick cradled between my thumb and first and 2nd fingertips.
Watching videos and other players this seems to be a bit unusual. I switched to thumb & side of index finger, like in the video posted here somewhere on pick technique....and I have gone backwards 2 months, tone has also changed, for the worse.
Should I persevere, is there any drawback with what I'm currently doing? I feel I'm slowly progressing as I am, struggling with string muting, but I don't reckon that's pick related, any view folks?
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Me look.
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Only been learning electric for 5 months or so, not too late to make the change, imagine how much better a player I'll be.......
You can see it right at the start of this video.
I actually teach hybrid picking from the get go to students who are learning to use a pick .... seems to make more sense to learn it as one then learn to alt pick properly and then add hybrid picking
But different sounds need different approaches, so I'll go "thumb over" with the left hand if I need to, and I'll drop the right wrist onto the bridge to mute strings if I need to. It's hard for me to do a country-picking bassline on an acoustic if I don't flatten my right wrist and use the side of my right thumb instead of the tip to play the notes, for example.
I'm sure I'd play the guitar differently if I'd had a teacher when I converted to electric, but I've been doing this for a long time and what I do works for me. It might be limiting for certain things. It is - equally - just as liberating for others. And now it's just the way I play and that's that!
Still getting used to it, few more hours of practice & it may begin to feel "normal" thanks guys for all the comments & advice
But i can palm mute.
Will try this new-fangled thumb and index only thing and see how it goes
Will this begin to explain why i’m still a terrible guitar player?
The only person who seems to have an issue is Steve Morse who had developed arthritis in his picking hand wrist/elbow. But that’s after a lifetime of seriously fast picking !
In regards to dropping them, that’s good . It shows you’re not holding on to it too tightly . That’s why they call the picks, as you’re always picking them up off the floor!