My Music And Song's

Some blues players don’t use a pick, but the majority of electric guitarists who play lead do. A pick provides force, precision, and speed that fingers can’t muster as easily and efficiently. If you’ve never played with a pick, try following the suggestions in this section.

Hold the pick in your right hand between the index finger and thumb. The point of the pick sticks out perpendicularly from your thumbnail, and only the top third of the pick shows. Don’t grip the pick too hard when playing lead, but don’t let the string push it loose from your fingers either. Play the notes lightly at first to get the hang of playing notes with a pick.

Picks come in different gauges or thicknesses, so if playing with a pick is awkward for you at first, play around with different gauges until you get a feel
that doesn’t fight back as much (thinner or medium gauge picks are more flexible). As your playing develops, try to play with a stiffer (heavier gauge) pick for the fastest response from the string and for the strongest sound.

When starting out with a pick for single-string playing, many people wonder whether they’re exerting too much effort, going too far past the string, or not going far enough. Really, these problems work themselves out without  thinking about them too much.

Generally, as long as you don’t accidentally hit the adjacent string in your single-string picking, you’re not going too far. And after you clear the string and it rings out clearly, you’ve gone far enough. However, your pick strokes do become smaller and your wrist motions more efficient the more you play. Also, the tempo dictates how closely you need to restrict your strokes: Fast songs require a small range, but slow songs don’t require you to turn-aroundon- a-dime, so you can be a little more expansive.