Friday, July 10, 2009

Pick Hold

I recently decided I really ought to be using a more conventional pick hold. Until a few weeks ago, although I would usually use the standard pick between thumb and forefinger hold for playing chop chords, I would tend to use a three-finger hold for picking single lines. This is mainly because that's the pick hold I ended up with from teaching myself how to play guitar when I was 15, and it does have a few advantages.

I should add that I had been considering doing this switch for a very long time, but I kept putting it off because I was not sure what the result would be, and besides I liked my three finger grip, even though it sometimes felt quite awkward...

But anyway, I decided to do the switch, and here's my diary of the days that followed:

Day 1:
Well, it feels a bit weird, but it does make it easier to play consistently at volume, so I will stick with it. I can always change back to my old hold.

Day 2:
This is terrible, I can't play anything, and I don't even seem able to switch back to my old pick hold. How miserable and frustrating, my whole life sucks (etc. etc.)

Day 3:
Ah, okay, this seems to be starting to work.

Day 4:
This is great, it's so much easier, my tone is way better, and I am never going back to that ridiculous three-finger grip.

2 comments:

  1. lol...as written in my blog, I went through the same thing on the left hand. One difference = my "Day 2" lasted for about 4 days. I was in a sort of technique limbo, as you described...it is a scary place to be....

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  2. yeah, what's that they say? It's take 21 days of repetition to create a habit?

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