The question in the minds of many people learning how to play the guitar is how to hold the pick. We hear there are “correct” ways to hold the pick, like putting it between the thumb and the curled up index finger. But does it make more sense to strike a balance between correctness and comfort?
First of all lots of great guitar players depart drastically from the standard way of holding the plectrum. Your hand and arm should be relaxed and you need to have the freedom to place your attention on getting the tone you want from your guitar.
If you have a guitar teacher, you can ask him to watch you play and correct your pick holding if need be. What’s most likely to happen as you gain some experience as a guitar player is that you will adjust the way you hold the plectrum as you get an understanding of how you as an individual want to play.
Here is a detailed video tutorial on how to hold the pick from English guitar teacher, Richard Deyn:
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That’s a great video – just what’s needed for beginners. It’s so important to get the basics right from the outset. A lot of players can find themselves limited in one way or another if they start out with poor technique.
Richard emphasises the importance of relaxation, which goes hand in hand with correct grip on the pick and is crucial for good technique. When I first started I used to get a very tired arm, which was a result of holding the pick incorrectly. Fotunately my guitar teacher identified and helped me correct this problem. If this video had existed back then I would have got it right first time!