When I'm playing quarter or eight notes, it's not really a problem ... but then when I get to sixteenth notes, or playing something with a really fast rock beat I notice that on the upstrokes I tend to get "caught" in the strings a lot, which of course sounds like crap and throws of my timing.
Is this just something that works it's way out with time? Or is there a technique I should try? When holding my pick, I've got about a little less than a third of it sticking out.
The problem gets more pronounced when I use medium and heavier picks.
Thanks
logan5
There are 10 types of people in the world ... those who know binary ... and those who don't.
It is something that does work out over time but there are a couple of things you can do to compensate.
1) Make sure your hand is not tense. If you tense it up the pick (or your hand) will not flex at all and you will get hung up due to the angle of the pick. Try to keep your strumming hand as relaxed and flowing as possible.
2) On the upstrokes don't try to catch all the strings in the chord. Just try the bottom 2 or 3 and see if that helps. This is no big deal in sound since the top strings are still probably ringing from the down stroke.
EDIT: Stick with the thin picks until you feel good about the strum.
Try turning your pick and choking up on it.
If the flat side of the pick is parallel to the string you will encounter a lot of friction on the upstroke.
By twisting the pick so that it is 45 degrees or more to the string, the string will actually slide under the pick as the pick moves across it.
By choking up I mean leave less pick showing, less pick showing is less pick hitting the strings, less friction, less time on each string, faster notes.
Give it a try.
Michael
Playing an instrument is good for your soul
I had the same problem but only when playing real fast. It seemed to be a roadblock to playing some of the faster peices.
I then noticed I was holding the pick pretty tightly. I loosened my grip (took a concious effort) and the problem went away.
