Hey Friend,

Don’t you hate that!

Something I struggled with for a long time was the question "Am I doing "x" correctly?"

There are plenty of people out there who are more than willing to tell you you're doing something wrong, or you should change what you're doing to "do it like this."

But I learned that if something works for me, there's really no need to change it unless I find a better way - for me.

Have you seen where one instructor will tell you you have to hold a guitar pick in a certain way to do it “properly,” but another will tell you to hold it in a different way?

But I say, what exactly is proper?

Just because someone says to do something in a specific way doesn't mean it's necessarily the best way.

It's just one way. And in case you hadn't noticed, we're all made a little differently. What works for me might not work for you. 

So who am I to tell you the best way to hold a guitar pick is "this" or "that" way?

However, I do understand the need for guidance, and that’s where I can help you. 

Whether you pinch the pick between your index finger and thumb pads (like me) or you lay your pick on the edge of your index finger and hold it there with your thumb (the supposed proper way), there are scores of guitarists that hold it the same way.

That’s one thing I tend to pay attention to when watching another guitarist play - how do they hold their pick? 

Part of that is to validate to me that it’s still okay to use my method (yeah, there’s some insecurities…).

The other part is to see if there’s anything I can adopt to make my playing cleaner and faster. 

I am NOT a shredder, nor have I played one on TV, although I AM one badass air guitar player, LOL!

Here are my criteria for determining if someone is holding their pick correctly:

And the main determining factor…

Your picking hand is comfortable with no pain or strain.

That is the real key - making sure your picking and and fingers are comfortable. Nowhere in that list did you see anything mandating a specific way to hold the pick...

Holding a pick should not be painful. If you find yourself gripping it too hard, you may need to adjust to find a more comfortable way.

Of course, when your just starting out, there’s no avoiding a little bit of muscle strain as they get used to holding a pick. A little daily exercise (practice) will take care of that.

And as you get better, you may find yourself switching between pick holding techniques based on what you need to do. More on that tomorrow...

Peace~

Dave