Guitar Picking techniques

There are two methods of making music with a guitar in hand. A pick, also called a plectrum, or mere fingers would do. Rock, pop and country music use a lot of pick where the loud guitar sound is desired.

The use of a pick is very important while playing a guitar. The main advantages of using the pick are speed, ease of striking the large chords and also preservation of the fingers, mainly the fingertips.

The reason for using the pick on a guitar, however, is to produce a bright and loud sound from the instrument. All the big stars of rock and pop cannot do without picks. The 1940's stars of United States decided to play with fingers, thus producing the subtle effect in country music.

Overview of the Guitar Picking lesson

Our lessons include an extensive course on holding a pick and picking the strings of a guitar to produce melody. You will be able to learn a few songs through the course. "Holding a pick is such a basic thing", one might say.

Holding a pick might sound ridiculous, however, it involves a set of strategies to make guitar playing easy and comfortable. Picks can help you to play songs quick and easy on the guitar.

Picks are usually made of tortoise shell or any animal bone, but the modern day ones are made of plastic. As a beginner, you will learn to use medium picks in our courses. Though there isn't a thumb rule regarding the size of picks to be used, it will be appropriately recommended in our course.

Our course also provides the luxury of making you choose your own picks to make it comfortable for you.

First Steps

The first steps of holding a pick and picking a string in a guitar needs to be well read and practiced, as this forms the basic of things to come. Clench your fingers onto the palm and place your thumb on the upper part of the first joint of the index finger.

Hold it very firm and strike a few chords to see how it goes. Also, you should not be holding too much of the pick without leaving much space on the pick for picking.

Practice strumming the strings holding the pick in this position and practice the strokes over and over again to get the feel of the playing.

Strumming should be done to produce sharp and clear notes, so pick the strings one by one, slowly upwards and downwards. The grip is very important and the course will teach you to have the right technique.

So with the basic technique of holding a pick and strumming a few strings on the guitar, you are on the right track to become a good guitarist. Use our lessons in the course to be one of the best!