The Guitar Playing Picking, Ideas And Technique

I would recommend that you begin by using a plectrum to strike the strings. This is the easiest way in which a reasonable sound can be produced, and then only practical method for a metal string instrument. Later on, in article fourteen, we will talk about the use of the right hand fingers for striking the strings, in Spanish guitar playing.

The picking should be held between the thumb and forefinger of the right hand, as shown in the above picture. It is important that the forefinger should be crooked, not straight, so that the pick balances on its first joint, held in place by pressure of the thumb. Don't grasp the pick like grim death. Your grip should be firm, but relaxed. The pick should move up and down across the strings, maintaining as nearly as possible an angle of 90' in relation to them. It is as well to practice at first with DOWN strokes only. After this technique has been mastered, you can start practicing UP strokes.

Picks come in fantastic variety of shapes and sizes, and a great deal of personal taste enters into which type you should select. I find the two shapes shown below to be the most practical for me, the one in the left for solo playing and the one on the right for the rhythm accompaniment. Both are steel, which gives clearer, more brilliant tone than composition or plastic. A pick should have a certain flexibility, but not to be too flimsy, otherwise the tone it produces will be corresponding thin.

After a time you will naturally develop a preference for one particular shape, but I would suggest that you start out using the rhythm type illustrated above.