I have only been playing for a short time now, and everything I have learned so far has been without a pick. Sounds like most people here use picks, so I started using one and I'm having alot of trouble. It seems much easier for me without the pick, but am I narrowing my choices too much by not using a pick? I do like the sound with the picks, when I accidently hit the correct notes. Any suggestions? :)
i think it is in your best intrests to be good at both styles. try using real thin picks. i think they make things a bit easier. but that is a personal preferance
"I got a woman, stay drunk all the time!"
-Led Zeppelin-
Well, I think your best bet is to just learn the best posture for picking with a pick, and then just practice at it.
The way I like to hold my pick is to have it placed to where my thumb and index finger run horizontally over the top, and the point comes down under that. I usually rest my palm behind the bridge, and just pick by moving my thumb and index finger downward. It's nice to play like this for me because palm muting is pretty easily done like this.
Thanks Waltaja, and Sagaciouskjb2, both of your suggetions help, I did'nt realize the pick I had was so hard. Resting my palm behind the bridge really helps with mutting. I was having a tough time with that too. Now for some practice time.
It is just a matter of getting used to it. I learned all my scales originally without a pick and now can them both ways.
For strumming you gotta just find what works for you. I use .88's and 1.0's. I've seen some guys using the white almost paper like pics but I don't like the noise they make.
If it was easy it wouldn't be worth doing.
