Guitar Picking Technique

<h1>Guitar Picking Technique - the Basics</h1>Author: <a title="Ricky Sharples" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/authors/ricky-sharples/48635.htm">Ricky Sharples</a> If you want to do some serious guitar picking you need a fairly heavy pick. I recently read a post on a forum where a guy said he uses a dime for speed picking. This might be a trifle extreme but it illustrates how far you can go in the pursuit of individual style. Whatever you choose for a pick, hold it between your index finger and your thumb. That might seem obvious but we need to be on the same page. And let's get something straight right away - you need to pay attention to how you hold the pick. The sound you get is cleaner if you are holding the pick parallel to the strings. Angling the pick gives a softer attack. You pick guitar strings with the pointy part of the pick, and the idea is to pick clean and fast. But it takes practice. There are a few different ways of looking at developing picking speed. One school of thought says you keep your wrist rigid, starting the movement from the elbow. You can also just use the index finger and thumb in a circular movement but your body is probably going to want to move from the wrist. Any mode of picking you actually use will be a mixture of the above methods reflecting your own body's way of working. Here is a good place to mention pain. Don't play through it, you will injure yourself. If your wrist or hand or arm hurts - stop. If it hurts when you start again tomorrow, maybe you should see a doctor. It's best to look after your body and live to pick guitar another day. For playing fast you need to develop your alternate picking technique. Start with a downstroke and do alternating down and up strokes. Don't try for speed at this stage, you are just getting your muscles used to the picking movement. Many guitar players mute the strings that they are not actually playing so no unnecessary sound is picked up. Place the meaty heel of your hand on top of the strings, in front of the bridge. If you are playing metal guitar, you will be going for the chugging sound that some pressure on the strings will give you. If you want to hear the notes ringing while you are playing fast, lessen the pressure of your hand on the strings. Another consideration for a guitar picker is the dynamics of the sound produced by picking near the neck or near the bridge. You are possibly already aware that you get that Duane Eddy twang by playing close to the bridge, and the sound mellows as you move your picking hand closer to the neck. Of course you are going to be in need of further exercises for getting your up and down strokes flowing automatically. You can get these from a teacher or from an internet search. For practicing muting and experimenting with different sounds, you should already know some songs you want to fool around with.About the Author: Do you want to learn to play the guitar? <a href="http://playaguitarforfree.com/" target="_blank">Learn How To Play A Guitar For Free</a> is a constantly updated blog which contains all the resources you need for: learning to play solo guitar, how to learn guitar chords, how to learn to read and play easy acoustic guitar tabs, finding a free online guitar tuner, looking for free guitar lessons online, and how to learn guitar scales.Article Source: <a href="http://www.articlesbase.com/">ArticlesBase.com</a> - <a href="http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/guitar-picking-technique-the-basics-752623.html" title="Guitar Picking Technique - the Basics">Guitar Picking Technique - the Basics</a>

If you want to do some serious guitar picking you need a fairly heavy pick. I recently read a post on a forum where a guy said he uses a dime for speed picking. This might be a trifle extreme but it illustrates how far you can go in the pursuit of individual style. Whatever you choose for a pick, hold it between your index finger and your thumb. That might seem obvious but we need to be on the same page. And let's get something straight right away - you need to pay attention to how you hold the pick. The sound you get is cleaner if you are holding the pick parallel to the strings. Angling the pick gives a softer attack.

You pick guitar strings with the pointy part of the pick, and the idea is to pick clean and fast. But it takes practice. There are a few different ways of looking at developing picking speed. One school of thought says you keep your wrist rigid, starting the movement from the elbow. You can also just use the index finger and thumb in a circular movement but your body is probably going to want to move from the wrist.

Any mode of picking you actually use will be a mixture of the above methods reflecting your own body's way of working. Here is a good place to mention pain. Don't play through it, you will injure yourself. If your wrist or hand or arm hurts - stop. If it hurts when you start again tomorrow, maybe you should see a doctor. It's best to look after your body and live to pick guitar another day.

For playing fast you need to develop your alternate picking technique. Start with a downstroke and do alternating down and up strokes. Don't try for speed at this stage, you are just getting your muscles used to the picking movement.

Many guitar players mute the strings that they are not actually playing so no unnecessary sound is picked up. Place the meaty heel of your hand on top of the strings, in front of the bridge. If you are playing metal guitar, you will be going for the chugging sound that some pressure on the strings will give you. If you want to hear the notes ringing while you are playing fast, lessen the pressure of your hand on the strings.

Another consideration for a guitar picker is the dynamics of the sound produced by picking near the neck or near the bridge. You are possibly already aware that you get that Duane Eddy twang by playing close to the bridge, and the sound mellows as you move your picking hand closer to the neck.

Of course you are going to be in need of further exercises for getting your up and down strokes flowing automatically. You can get these from a teacher or from an internet search. For practicing muting and experimenting with different sounds, you should already know some songs you want to fool around with.

Do you want to learn to play the guitar? Learn How To Play A Guitar For Free is a constantly updated blog which contains all the resources you need for: learning to play solo guitar, how to learn guitar chords, how to learn to read and play easy acoustic guitar tabs, finding a free online guitar tuner, looking for free guitar lessons online, and how to learn guitar scales.

Rate this Article:

0 / 5 stars - 0 vote(s)

Re-Publish

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/guitar-picking-technique-the-basics-752623.html

Article Tags: Guitar, Guitar Picking Technique

Related Videos
Related Articles
Ask / Related Q&A

Play

How to Choose your Guitar Pick

Play

How to Play Jazz Guitar - Picking Techniques

Play

How to Play Using Down Stroke Picking Technique

Play

Learn Sweep Picking Techniques on Guitar - Arpeggios - String Skipping

Play

How to Play Flamenco Guitar: Picking Techniques

Latest Music Articles
More from Ricky Sharples

iTunes Delete Duplicate Songs For My Friend The DJ's iTunes Library

By: Peter Built | 03/01/2010
iTunes delete duplicate songs for my friend the DJ's iTunes Library. This is my probably the best program for this task that I have seen, and we have tried a lot.

Best Guitar Lessons On Video ©

By: Steve I Roulette | 03/01/2010
When you watch the best guitar lessons on video your going to learn a lot of new riffs and chords.Whether your a complete beginner or someone who already knows how to play guitar and is just looking for some new guitar chords having guitar lessons on video is the absolute best way of learning to play guitar hands down! 1000's of people from UK,Australia,USA and Canada all agree when learning to play guitar it should be watched and not read.

Best Video Guitar Lessons ©

By: Steve I Roulette | 03/01/2010
Look no further you have found the best video guitar lessons on the internet.Learn how to play insane guitar overnight with these HD video guitar lessons.Whether your a complete beginner or someone who already knows how to play guitar and is just looking for some new guitar chords having guitar lessons on video is the absolute best way of learning to play guitar hands down! 1000's of people from UK,Australia,USA and Canada all agree when learning to play guitar it should be watched and not read.

Nashville Concerts - Music is the Soul of Life

By: Gregory Ortel | 03/01/2010
Life and music are two inseparable terms. The joy of music can only be enjoyed by the living ones. And this sweet feeling is mixed up in the nature. The path of Music is sound. Music can be concluded as an art. The common parameters of are rhythm, pitch; timber, etc. Pitch has got the special place in the music. It makes melody and harmony, and it is attached with meter and tempo. The quality factors are also very much effective.

Guitar Solo Lessons - Being the Ultimate Lead Guitar Player

By: Todd Kittering | 03/01/2010
Do you want to be a true rocker? You have heard them, you have seen them and now you can do them... The most awesomist guitar solos on the Earth. All you need is to have solo lessons. What is so good about guitar solos? Come on, you gotta be joking! Everybody loves a mind blowing guitar solo...

Tube Guitar Amps Have Got The Optimum Sound

By: Jeffrey Veal | 03/01/2010
There's no question about it, tube guitar amps produce the best sound. This not only goes just for the guitar, but this applies to the bass guitar as well.

Review of the Carvin Bolt-T: Building a Better Stratocaster?

By: R. S. Rasnick | 02/01/2010
The Carvin Bolt-T is a great playing and sounding instrument, but its principal feature might just be the cost. We asked for numerous upgrades (including a flamed maple top), and the instrument was still less than $1,000 (shipping included). Other guitar makers (including Fender) should take note of what Carvin offers for such an affordable cost.

Brief Review of the Breedlove C25/CR Herringbone

By: R. S. Rasnick | 02/01/2010
Even though the C25/CR isn't a custom Breedlove, it's still an incredibly high-quality guitar. Just because it doesn't have the same custom options as more expensive Breedlove models doesn't mean it's not a solid instrument. It might be one of the finest acoustic instruments you'll ever play and is one that we recommend highly. The Breedlove Pro Series is worth every dime.

Acoustic Beginner Guitars

By: Ricky Sharples | 03/12/2009 | Music
Acoustic guitars are great to play and very family- and neighbor-friendly but beginner acoustic guitar players need to be careful when buying their first instrument. This article covers the main points you need to think about as a beginner guitar buyer.

Tab Guitar Software - Some Choices

By: Ricky Sharples | 26/11/2009 | Music
If you have started composing your own guitar music you are probably looking around for some way to write your own tabs. There are programs that generate guitar tab and even play them for you as MIDI files.

Learning How To Play The Guitar - What You Need In Your Head

By: Ricky Sharples | 23/11/2009 | Music
In your transformation from a guitar enthusiast to a guitar player you need to acquire some knowledge. Becoming an authority on the guitar and guitar music is not stricly necessary in order to learn how to play the guitar but this knowledge will help you on the way to finding your direction as a guitar player.

Learning How To Play The Guitar - Muscle Memory

By: Ricky Sharples | 19/11/2009 | Music
Muscle memory is a term we use to describe the process our body uses to learn new skills. So as guitar players we can improve the learning process by taking a special kind of care when we practice with our guitars.

Guitar Notes Made Easy - How To Make Sense Of Guitar Notes On Tabs

By: Ricky Sharples | 15/10/2009 | Music
This article is for beginner guitar players who want to sort out the confusion they feel when they are confronted with guitar tabs. The notes on the guitar tab are not hard to learn once you learn the basic principles involved.

Popular Acoustic Guitar Songs

By: Ricky Sharples | 06/10/2009 | Music
Popular acoustic guitar songs do not always start out being acoustic or popular. It takes a guitar player or singer who can bring something special to make the song appeal to an audience.

Tab For Spanish Guitar - What To Look For

By: Ricky Sharples | 06/10/2009 | Music
Despite the growth of many other guitar styles over the years, Spanish guitar music still has a hold on music lovers' imaginations. If you have some experience as a guitar player and want to try your hand at playing Spanish guitar, this article will help you with the names of some artists who are renowned for their interpretations of Spanish music.

Country Tab For Guitar

By: Ricky Sharples | 01/10/2009 | Music
If you are a country music fan who wants to learn to play your favorite songs, this article recommends some great sources of tab for country guitar music. Whether you just want to strum along to cowboy songs or if you want to learn some nifty guitar licks. you will find what you need here.