How to play a guitar pick?

There are a large number of musical instruments from which sounds are extracted with a wide variety of objects: wooden sticks, hammers, bows, thimbles, and so on. But when playing acoustic and electric guitars, special heart-shaped or triangular plates are used, called "picks". These small items of accessory for sound production began their history in ancient times when playing many musical string instruments around the world. But the pick gained particular popularity with the advent of electric guitars, which is explained by the fact that there simply does not exist a more effective way of playing them, except as a pick.

In more ancient times, the mediator was called "plectrum", and it was a bone plate. It was used to play the lyre, zither, and cithara. Later, they began to use the plectrum to extract sounds from the lute, vihuela (the progenitor of the modern guitar) and mandolin. By the end of the 18th century, playing with the fingers had become mainstream on many stringed instruments, including the guitar. I must say that the name "plectrum" has survived to this day. Among rock guitarists, the name of the pick with the word "peak" has stuck.

A modern pick looks like a small plate, the shape of which can be very different. Now the main material for the manufacture of this guitar accessory is plastic and metal, and initially the plectra were created from horns, animal bones, and dense skin. Rare, but still on the market are turtle shell picks that are considered particularly valuable by guitarists.

In order for the sound of the strings when playing with a pick to be of high quality, and to place it securely and comfortably in the hand, it is necessary to learn how to hold it correctly. Of course, most guitarists have their own special grip, but you need to know that there are optimal ways of placing the right hand in the guitar picking technique, as well as recommended rules for holding the pick with your fingers. This is especially important at the initial level of the game, when the guitarist is just learning to use the instrument and additional accessories to it.

The plectrum in the form of a triangle is taken by bending the palm of the right hand as if you need to hold the mug by the handle. The plate rests on the lateral surface of the index finger with the center directly on the border of the last and penultimate phalanges, and from above it is pressed with the thumb. The sharp (working) end of the pick is turned to the inner side of the palm at approximately 90 degrees to the longitudinal line of the hand. As for the rest of the fingers, it is better to straighten them when taking and finally fixing the pick so that they do not touch the strings.

Holding a pick while playing an acoustic guitar is not much different from the one described above. It is important that the pick does not protrude too much, but at the same time it hooks the strings well. This method of holding the plectrum can also be used on a classical guitar, but it is better not to do this - nylon strings will not endure such an abuse for long: they will very quickly become unusable due to rapid abrasion.

It should be borne in mind that when playing the guitar with a pick, only the wrist should work. The rest of the arm remains at rest so as not to get tired. For the correct position, you must place your wrist (back) on the body of the instrument above the strings. In this case, the pick should easily reach each of the six strings. As a rule, the plane of the plectrum is held at some angle in relation to the strings to avoid hitting its tip. They play not with the tip, but with the edges of the plate: the downward strike on the string is performed at the expense of the outer edge of the pick, and the blow from the bottom upward - with the inner edge (closest to the guitarist).

In this position, you can play for a long time and use a variety of techniques. It is advisable to develop a habit and keep your hand in this position in order to avoid quick fatigue of the hand and hand, mistakes, and unnecessary noise.

As soon as the hand gets used to picking the pick correctly, you can start exercises in various playing techniques. To do this, it is important to find a quiet place where nothing will be distracted. It should be understood that playing the guitar with a pick will be quite awkward the first time. It will take a lot of exercise and repetition to bring everything to automaticity.... You need to tune in to this, not worrying about your abilities ahead of time.

Before learning to play the guitar by brute force (arpeggio), you first need to learn how to comfortably hold the plectrum in your hand, securely fix your wrist and train sound production on separate strings. You need to hit four times with a pick slowly down, and a little later, with a good result, with a variable stroke (down-up). These steps must be repeated on each string, starting from the bottom.This exercise should be repeated until everything is done automatically and without errors. As a result, you need to learn to play brute-force, that is, play exactly and without stopping one time on each string, alternately and smoothly moving from one to the other. You should gradually increase the speed, and for convenience, you can use the metronome.

After successfully fixing this stage, you can connect your left hand. Now you can focus on the melody itself, but at the same time pay attention to the correct extraction of sounds. Another exercise is to hit with a pick not on each string, but after one. This allows the muscle to remember the location of a particular string, which over time will help the hand to easily find them even with closed eyes.

After mastering the alternate hook of the strings, you can move on to a more complex technique. To make the busting look beautiful, you will have to learn complex combinations of picks - here the previously studied string alternations will help. Gradually it is necessary to increase not only the speed, but also the distance. In this case, it is worth starting with simple chords.

The game using brute force is required to be mastered by the alternating stroke method. It turns out that the subsequent strike on the string should be performed in the other direction. You cannot always hook the string only downward or only upward. For example, if the first string was struck down, it means that the next string will be struck from the bottom up, then down again, then up. You should start the game by hitting the string down.

When playing with a brute-force movement, it is necessary to perform exclusively with a brush. The amplitude should be small, and the hand should feel freedom. Ideally, it should be resting on the body of the guitar for optimal relaxation. It is important to ensure that the sound is smooth and clear, without any glitches or pauses.

Placing individual strings with a pick is considered more difficult than striking. With this technique, you will not be able to ignore your right hand when playing. It is constantly necessary to observe what position it is in and what the fingers are doing. The plate should not tilt to the side or become parallel to the lines of the strings, let alone slip out of your fingers.

To increase the speed of searching with a plectrum, you can learn a special technique. It consists in the fact that the first string clings from bottom to top, and the next - from top to bottom. Further, this order is observed on all strings. In this case, fewer movements are performed, and the speed of the game increases.

Fighting with a pick on the strings of a guitar has a great variety of options. For beginners, the simplest up and down kicks are fine. Gradually, you should increase your speed, fight at a pace only downward or only upward. In this case, you must carefully transfer your hand to the working string so that the wrist makes movements in the form of a semicircle. The exercises used must be fixed until the sound is clear, without unnecessary noise, without involuntary muffling, without the pick from falling out of the hand.

Fighting with a pick is almost the same as finger fights. The only exception is that the plectrum moves up and down without additional "helpers" (there is no division into blows of the thumb and other fingers of the right hand). All the touches that are known can be easily reproduced using the plate. In this case, the most important thing is to properly hold it.

Among the combat there is a special type called "downstroke". It differs in that you only need to hit downwards. This technique calls for emphasis in the form of harder strikes on the strings. This will keep the rhythm and feel the melody better.

When playing with a fight, it is worth considering that the blow should be carried out not from the shoulder, but from the wrist. It is necessary to try to keep unnecessary movements as small as possible. In addition, an adequate impact force should be selected. When played correctly, the forearm should remain motionless. It's better to practice these skills right away on songs.

Fighting techniques are performed with fingers or with a palm with a little more tension. At first, the pick may catch on extra strings or slow down, but with practice this goes away. When moving your hand down, it is advisable to slightly raise the tip of the plate so that it moves along the strings at an angle. When the brush goes up, the pick tip should change its position to the opposite. You should get movement in the form of a wave, producing harmonious sounds.

For more information on how to play a guitar pick, see the video below.