The only right way to hold a pick?
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- Опубликовано: 2 окт 2024
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NB: Claus reads every comment and answers your questions in future videos
How do you hold your pick and is it the best way?
I love learning guitar from Arnold Schwarzenegger Jr.
U got keen eyes
Elon musk
Hahaha it's 2020.
Seems a deepfake
He reminds me of Brad Pitt 🤷🏾♀️
How you explained the differences in how you held the pick is almost exactly what ive gone through with picking ive been playing on and off and not very consistently for a couple of years but the pendulum idea really blew my mind it makes so much sense because ive been trying to be more precise and effective with my picking but i noticed i had to much tension is my right hand and it felt so awkward to try and stay consistent
Thanks for this video! I've been playing for 40 years and this is the way I've always held a pick. I've tried the other pick holding position that is somehow the "right" way and it felt so uncomfortable and unnatural that I couldn't adapt. Thanks for making me feel like I'm not a freak! LOL.
Well, at least I've found one thing I don't need to change 😋
That is the way I like to hold a pick but I was corrected by so many people or "teacher" . You explained it very good. THANKS!
He explained exactly how I hold the pick, and now I am trying this the way he is showing, it is a very awkward feeling. But I will stick at it like he says. Thank You
A lot of great guitar players, including Kirk Hammet, Eddie Van Halen, Marty Friedman, and Willie Adler have very weird ways that they hold a pick. You don't need to abide by some stupid rules. This video is a suggestion
I found for me it is really awkward and clumsy. I just turned the pick 90 degrees, so its perpendicular to my palm and the strings. Instead of twisting my hand all the way.
How did it work out jez
@@behindthen0thing525
Yes, never looked back. This is how I hold my pick now. I forgot about this thread I watched, how cool
@@jeremykemp3782 lol that's great
I have played guitar and banjo for 40+ years and I took up playing Irish tenor banjo 2 years ago and pick hold and movement has been my main problem. Your technique will help me and it gave me a whole new way to look at it. Thanks!
That’s how I’ve always held the pick. I still do and some say it’s the wrong way, but it’s always worked wonders for me
It's not wrong if it works for you!! Some others are not you. Rock on!!
yep i was told i am holding the pick wrong as well but i can do so much more with it this way
same here
only one way ? whether you are strumming or not ??
@@kennethkimbroug8087 yeah
great example of how can a youtuber make an almost 10 minutes of length video out of 10 seconds. Great!
Freedom now maybe you should make a video of your own, til shut it troll
shut aaap!!
Ikr
@@mrmasrawy92 'xx
Ondnbww akiwjq
I have been a 3 finger guy my whole life and just started experimenting the last few weeks with different 2 finger styles.Thanks to your video Claus, I now have another!! I never felt any constraint with 3 finger, and for me seems easier to switch more comfortably between lead/ rhythm playing then 2 finger. With 2 finger I seem to have to do more adjustments when switching my style of play. So far, however, I am finding 2 finger seems to provide me with a bit more accuracy in my lead playing. Will continue the experiment to see if the lead playing dividends will lead to a permanent switch.
That's how James Hettfield does it. I suppose your downpicking is stable XD?
Claus, I found this video tonight and I tried this approach. It worked! I have toyed with two way pick slanting for a while but no speed came. I picked up my guitar tonight and tried it your way, adjust the depth of the pick hitting the string and within minutes I was flying through a scale. But what I soon found was soreness in my forearm from not using the muscle this way. I will work on it some more and keep you posted.
Thanks so much my boss for this lovely lesson
I discovered this myself 50 years ago when started playing mandolin, which requires fast picking & accuracy, then applied to my guitar playing also.. I recommend for beginners to maybe use the second finger for a little guidance until more control is developed..
The grip he shows is ideal for speed and pinch harmonics. Hit the string at a 30-45 degree angle and you’re golden. If these are your goals it’s worth adopting this technique.
whats the best grip for strumming...or can i use the same one in the video also for strumming
3:10
For me that's correct holding the pick especially when you strumming a guitar before I'm a band guitarist and I holding the pick like that for solo and rhythm I salute u sir!
It's all on what's comfortable to u , Steve Morse used the thumb , pointer and middle finger too pick... Eddie Van Halen used that way too but he used the thumb and middle finger sometimes but he also used the thumb and pointer sometimes... he changed it mid playing depending what's he's playing
Very good advice...thanks for posting!
This solidifies my current practice regiment. I'm in the midst of switching how I hold the pick ( from the pointer+ middle finger and thumb version to this one) it's so frustrating, because I've been playing guitar for over 10 years and that style worked great for acoustic rhythm guitar, but now I'm really digging in to becoming a better lead player and this is making such a massive difference. Good stuff
I nickname this style "bird-beaking" the pick. I have no quarrel with it as I agree that it's all about your goals, man. I've only seen one other guitar instructor recommend it: Tom Hess. However, I can't seem to get away from "conventional" pick holding (where you hold the pick with the thumb against the side of your index finger). To make a long story very short: bird-beaking wrecks the hybrid/swybrid picking that I'm attempting to get better at (and I've made some decent progress already). Sure, I could set everything aside for six months to really give it a fair shake, but time is the fire by which we burn.
I'm been playing for a little over 5 months now and I'm still experimenting. I actually recently just made the same transition as in the video to the way I hold my pick. I feel like it gets more control/precision compared to holding the pick on the side of the index. I do feel like I loose some economy of motion for certain things though, but it might just be that I need to practice it more.
As always................ food for thought. Thanks Claus.
Holy shit thank you so much. This feels so much better than anything else I’ve tried
Some fucking idiot told me that the only right way to do it was the first one, watching this makes me happy because I'm used to the third
Though it was a very bold effort from your end to say that your way was the best for learners like us but as a Guitar Teacher you have explained everything clearly.
Malmsteem plays like that
Unlike
Petrucci.
But I as a learner thank you for this video.
Great video again.. Thank you so much. I've been looking for the best solution, I think this could help me from now on.. Respect
Hi. You are obviously a gifted player. In this video you mention you developed your pick grip in part because you saw Paul Gilbert hold the pick as you suggest. I just looked at 8 Paul Gilbert videos, many featured close-ups of his alternate picking, and a couple even had him demonstrating "how to hold the pick". In no videos I viewed did Paul appear to hold the pick the way you recommend, rather Paul seems to hold the pick between his thumb, and THE SIDE of his index finger, NOT on the frontal pad of his index finger as you recommend in this video. If you have a link showing him holding as you recommend I'd like a look.
This style having flexibility is suitable for electric guitar and other one is suitable for Acoustic guitar for strumming Chords.
I love learning guitar from Elon Musk
Claus Levin basically started me on this pick grip. I call it the "Levin" grip, he says it's the Paul Gilbert grip. lol
I found that I kept coming back to this for OVERALL technique. The other grip is fast, but it loses so much finesse and accuracy. Claus is so right on this. I've gone back and forth on both, even tried some weird combo of the 2 which hurt my index fingernail after a while. But this is the right way.
Hello Claus, this is really great. I agree with you 100%. Cheers!
I have always held my pick the way you are saying works best for you. I have seen so many other people hold it with thier index finger tucked inward like you first demonstrated, and one guy says you can use your thumb for muting strings but, you obviously can't really do that very well holding the pick with 2 fingers like your final demonstration. I was messing around with how I hold the pick and noticed that when I tucked my index finger I can't play as fast and I don't have the same amount of control. So I guess I will stick with what I've been doing. I didn't realize Paul Gilbert held the pick that way too. BTW, I use the Big Stubbys too. Lol
I use that third grip, but!.. the pick is reversed, the fat end on a slight angle hits strings. Weird but works for me!
I find the standard way of picking holding that everyone teaches really uncomfortable. I can't pluck individual strings that way.
Thank you!! I was already using that grip but started practicing that other common grip because I’d seen so many guitarists (I’m actually a bassist switching over) using it but it was so unnatural and limiting I thought there’s gotta be a better way. Thanks for the confidence!!
Me tooo! 😭I had a guitar teacher who told me to stop using that grip and learn the other, more common, grip. Now I'm just confused hahahaha
Gosh. Thank you. I think your method works for me. Seems to be a little more accurate.
I came to this video thinking i been doing it wrong all this years, because most people hold it the way you showed first, turns out I’ve been holding the exact same way that you are recommending in this video.
This was so validating because I COULD not for the life of me keep my index finger curled up it naturally wanted to straighten out into this grip lol. Just feels right.
Exactly the same here. I play metal and the curled index finger is what every rock/metal tutor (especially Internet ones) seems to recommend but it is just hellishly uncomfortable for me.
i hold the pick the second way u showed, the 3 fingers ^
it rly works perfectly for me
i guess it's different from one person to another
Sombreboy it seems to work for Hetfield.
I learned the way he does it but it feels weak even though I’ve been picking that way for over a year
that fuckin ebooks lied to me.... I've been doing it correct the whole time...
I rest my arm on outside forearm bone and my movement is strictly up and down, holding pick with middle finger support my index finger and my little finger is curved, I was unconscious about that, im started to think about this when I was asked to teach one of my friends how to pick hard and cross strings without losing timing and tone.
Pendulum aka tremolo picking never worked for me, I'm losing stamina fast with that technique,it's good for one string but for string crossing, just don't work for me.
funny, i went to try this and realized.. ive always held the pick like this haha. although i never actually paid attention how i hold a pick till now
Great stuff!!
Great video that's the way I pick and my picking is faster and my speed is unbelievable but I learned that from watching John Petrucci and watching him pick. The one thing I noticed when you are holding a pic like that it is easy to clear the next string.
In my experience, I've gone in precisely the opposite direction. I started out holding the pick in line with my forefinger and secured by my thumb but I was never able to get good control over tremolo picking or a few other techniques. I observed players I admired holding the pick the way you showed in the beginning of the video, so I tried holding it that way. Almost immediately, my tremolo picking improved.
This was just a few weeks ago, so the new hold is still not perfectly natural to me, but it's becoming more comfortable and my right-hand technique has improved, including pinch harmonics.
It's the same for me. Glad to read this
I'm sure there are wrong and right ways to hold a pick, but i don't think that there is a best way to do it. Everyone's hand is diffrent.
that's exactly what Claus is saying. He demonstrates what has worked for him and a lot of his students and strongly recommends us to try it as well
It really depends on the style you're playing that determines the pick grip you should use, so everyone really should get used to the three basic styles that he had shown in this video, or at least a generalization of each one. The one that he is praising mainly is amazing for alternate picked, fast solos, like something Paul GIlbert would play. But it wouldn't do so well with a style such as tremolo picking, there just isn't enough stability there and it's gonna fly out of your fingers, if it even makes the desired sound to begin with! The general idea of the first style that he showcased is much more apt to give desired results with this.
And then there's stuff that has really fast downpicking, like Metallica. You pretty much need to use the second style he had shown to get it right, the one with 2 fingers and thumb. The first way is too stiff, but the third is too flexible, the second sits right in the middle and works perfectly.
It's not really a matter of what each players hands are capable of, because your average player is capable of using all three of these pickgrips effectively. It's more of a matter of what you're playing.
Quite honestly, I'm fairly certain many people already DO use all three of these pickgrips and don't know it. Your hand and how you grip the pick will change just instinctively to what you're playing. If you record yourself sometime, I'm sure you'll notice somewhere you shift your grip to something a bit different from what you say is your preferred pickgrip.
I think you should hold it the way you first hold a pick when picking up the guitar for your first time. I went back to this way after many years because it just felt right. This way I play more relaxed and easier
Adam Fudalej
My index finger is like a banana, big curve looking from top, not side, so although I do pick like this it is more on the side of my finger. So yes, nature has dictated I vary it to suit.
Yeah it’s not so much that there is a right technique, just common ones. I hold mine like he does because it is the easiest way to hit pinch harmonics. Had a bad habit of two finger grip but I finally broke it.
Can you now explain your picking angles and rotation--pickslanting vs edge picking--or which edge of your pick is making contact with the strings? I've recently reworked my pick hold to this grip you've showed, but I'm reflecting George Benson, Sheryl Bailey, and sort of Santana, using the trailing edge picking technique. I love the newfound accuracy, speed, control, tone and the fact I can use a M - H pick, but I'm having extreme difficult strumming up.
I'm going to try your style, leading edge picking (?). Thanks Claus!
he has several videos on picking technique, some are a bit old and some are really old. Just search his channel for picking videos
Not to mention Jimi, and so,so many funk players. One of EricBlackmon's picking videos on youtube cleared this up for me ('underhand' funk, jazz position) where the upstrum uses more of a light, perpendicular brush. The angle will naturally find itself when I curve the picking hand's forefinger more, rather than the straight Sheryl Bailey/Benson finger 'post' and keep a very shallow depth. I think "Hendrix" or Nile Rodgers rather than "Benson" for strumming.
been playing casually for around 10 years, holding the pic with thumb, index and middle finger....It feels so uncomfortable with only thumb and index, i feels like the pick is sliding out of position and im going to drop it.... that being said after only 1 min of playing with it, string accuracy is so much better.... this old habbit will be hard to kill tho.
It's pronounced alternate not alternate
I have been holding it like Carlos Santana, worked ok for him.
I noticed Eddie Van Halen holds his in a variety of ways depending on what he is doing.
I forgot how good this tutorial was for me. If you are new to guitar, listen to this man
This video was very afirming for me, been playing for about a decade holding the pick like this and have been thinking in the last few months that maybe I should change because i see so many other people doing it differently.
Literally going through this process myself. I played bass for many years and have been playing guitar for about a year holding it via the 2 finger method (middle of 3 techniques mentioned here) as it gave me most stability and accuracy on bass. Started feeling like I was doing something wrong as so many others were holding at the 90 angle as in the first technique. I have been trying this for a couple of days and really struggling but after watching this video i am wondering if I should just give it up and go back to how I have always played with a switch to single finger maybe.
Ive been picking this way since i was 4 years old. Im 58 now. I couldnt pick any other way
35 years this way and i can do a lot with it so i guess its right for me
after watching many of these videos I'm starting to sound like this guy when I talk, lol
I'm having the exact same predicament right now. I've noticed fir single string playing and especially pinch harmonics, Paul's way works, but for 20yrs I've used 2 fingers. The only fault I've found with one finger, is rhythm playing, I have way more control of my texture and Dynamics with 2 fingers while strumming
I use the second grip , I've tried and tried to use 2 fingers but I just can't get the same feeling .
Everybody is build differently. Which pick do you use?
Funny. I'm mostly self-taught and recently one of my friends mentioned that I held the pick in a weird way. So naturally I was worried that I had helt it wrong all these years. Bear in mind that I've never really focused on learning to play the guitar, I just play a bit every now and then. So I started youtubing for pick holding techniques and it really seemed like I held it wrong. Most seem to favour holding it at a 90 degree angle with respect to either the thumb or the index finger. So I tried it and I just couldn't make sense of it. Strumming went fine but any type of finesse or especially pinch harmonics was just impossible. Then I saw this video and it turns out this is exactly how I've been holding my pick since I started playing electric. I think it works fine! Especially when playing on a flying V because the strings are so angled, with a 90 degree pick angle you would have to twist your whole arm to get it to work. But with this technique I just twist my wrist a bit and it works. Same also if I want to use different angles between the pick and string, you have so much control with this grip.
Rick Daly says; Honesty in breaking the old standard " Rules " is extremely refreshing , i believe your so correct when advising there is NO right way or WRONG way to learn other ways that make it comfortable for playing . Too many instructors insist on their way only ! i Like your videos because your " Straight Up " no bullshit ! easy to watch , like Steve Stevens ! Thanks
I’m trying to break out of that two finger way atm after 10 years of playing. Sweeping and hybrid picking have become easier
If Arnold Schwarzeneger and Elon Musk had a baby XD
You can become the fastest guitar picker in the world however it means absolutely nothing if your other hand is not up to par or sink with your picking hand.
its the same way as evh
Thank you Jean Guitar van Damm
Thanks
WTF dude, I´m 3 minutes in and you are still showing like NO TO DO and I´m always thinking: "Aaaah, now THIS is how it goes..." :P
I got a San Dimas in green. Love the JB!
theres no right or wrong way to hold a pick every player is different styles and comfort zones. whichever way keeps your playing smooth and comfortable is the right way to hold a pick.
Thank you so much! I've been struggling with different grips, pick angles and wrist motions and it feels so hopeless sometimes. I'm a beginner with a pick, though, so I'll just get back to experimenting and trust that I'll work it out in time.
tell that to frank zappa (3 finger, looks like he is drawing with a musical pencil, RIP frank, glad I got to see him live) or marty friedman(weird reverse). We are all built differently. Plus, at different times the pick needs to be held differently by the same person. The title should say something like "A Good Way to Hold a Pick"
Actually, it is a useful skill to change the way you hold the pick WHILE you are playing. For soloing, I hold the pick as you demonstrated, but for strumming the "traditional" holding is better. Also, electric guitar and acoustic guitar are rather different. For me the most important point is that the pick is stable, still I can hit the strings in any angle + change grip while I'm playing.
I was wondering about this because when I'm playing fast strumming parts, I find that this method of holding the pick lacks stability, but in every other context I prefer this pick grip.
Y’all know how slash hold the pick right. Index and thumb hold it then the rest of the fingers lay on the strings. I’m trying to get used to that way cuz I think it looks cool lol
Very very interesting..thanks
I'm following another channel that teaches that the correct way to hold a pick is that first way you demonstrated, between the thumb joint and the index finger joint. He asserts this is the only way to have real control. I'm confused lol
That's how I've held my pick since day one. It just feels natural to me. I've been told 1000 times that I'm wrong but it works for me so I've never changed. Nice to finally have some validation :-D
Same dude. Natural asf.
I always hold the pick like that way but my 1st finger also hit the strings. How can I correct it?
How to hold a pick Michael Angelo batio???
I feel vindicated. I hold the pick more with the pad/"fingerprint" area of my index finger but after watching some other "how to hold a pick" videos I was worried I was doing it wrong and that I should be using the side of my index finger instead. I'm still suffering a crisis of confidence in my mediocre playing but this makes me feel a tiny bit better.
That's the way I've learnt to hold it too.. Right now I clicked this video overwhelmed with depression that I've learnt to hold the pick the wrong way through all these years and you show me it's the best way to do so.... Thank you.......
I am in the exact same place as you! I have always been insecure and felt that I was holding it the wrong way and this guy holds it exactly like me!
The whole video is wast don't watch wast of time he is not ready to say how to hold pick with the inclined direction...
You see a lot of players holding the pick in their fist. I don't get it as you can't articulate the pick at all, nor can you use hybrid picking. I found I could hybrid pick, double and triple stops and trills on non-adjacent strings - all impossible with the fist-clench pick hold. You mentioned the pendulum effect - see EVH with his pinky out when trilling.
The way you showed to pick before the two finger grip is how gypsy jazz players hold it albeit with a bent wrist.. Do ya think its cos they're generally playing on acoustics, I ended up playing the gypsy way but without the bent wrist so you can still palm mute on an electric, Its a fascinating topic, thanks for the demo.
Thanks for your video, Claus - the first of yours I've seen. I *think* I pretty much hold my pick in the same way you wound up doing; I say "I think" because of the dark pick and dim lighting. :) What I've wound up doing is making a "plus" with the last segment of my first finger and the last segment of my thumb and the pick goes in between, pointed the way the end of the index finger is pointing. This has the pick touching the first finger partway around to the side.
Hey Claus, but Paul Gilbert also curves the index finger like this (and this is essential): prnt.sc/itcfqd
I'm so annoyed! I was using this method of holding a pick for like the first year of my guitar life, but then a guitar teacher told me to stop doing that, and I spent way too long trying to unlearn it, to learn this other common/more rigid way, only to watch this video and now I'm questioning everything! Grrr! xD
‘In my opinion’, or ‘from my perspective’…oh great God of the guitar 😉😂
But like you say……whatever works for you. Do eet! 😎😁
The only right way to hold a pick? Such arrogance...I noticed you didn't show how you dampen notes by using your palm holding a pick in this way. Using your ridiculous method you cannot dampen notes because your wrist is bent.
I hold my pick that way, but with my second finger for some reason. I think the first person I saw play guitar held it between their thumb and second finger so I’ve been doing it ever since, my first finger just hangs loose.
That's how Eddie Van Halen does it
Yeah I've been playing guitar a long time and never thought about it before but have been working on different picking styles because in a guitar book I seen ur supposed to hold the pick with ur pointer finger closed and the thumb over it with ur hand closed but yeah it doesn't work for everything and it's quite uncomfortable to me but yeah when playing thrash shit like slayer I can't play I like that lol I need my hand open
👌Feels more natural and comfortable for me . Why do teachers not recognise when pupil prefers another way rather than the orthodox !
He he he.... U play really well but there r 3 things for the moment
(1) either u use 3 like slash or 4 like Gilbert or 3 n 4 like yjm marty nuno.... ill come back to the rest 2 next time but indeed u are a super guitarist
For thinner strings I can see how this way of a pick hold is beneficial. But for the thicker strings, and playing fast rhythm stuff (like Slayer, Lamb of God, etc) I feel like I have to have more an aggressive hold to play more aggressive riffs.
White pick would have been useful for demonstration. I kept loosing the pick against his shirt, which was also dark blue. I can't see that well.
I used to hold pick like this for years and strongly suggest you not to do so, yes you’ll have more freedom of motion and more comfort but instead a lot less grip and speed. Specially when you have to stand and play.
How thick is the pick?
Big Stubby Dunlop. Sharp thin tip but fat pick
the way you ended it actually made me laugh and subscribe lol thanks brotha.
Black pick against black background and dark shirt, you’re surely a phuking genius.
Аsshоlе
Everyone has different styles to pick but you’re only used one if you feel comfortable. Thankfully…..
I think each way helps for certain shit like that closed classical pick style I'm a call it helps with economy picking and sweep picking type of shit but like I said playing some thrash fast down picking shit with it like that isn't fun at all lol.
This is one of the two methods I use to hold the pick. Another is a variation that Kiko Loureiro uses where he grips it by the extreme right end of the pick. Sometimes that's the best method when you need to mute a lot.