For all the newbies or people who have just started to play guitars Rock On :rockon: Hold the pick firmly. Use the very tip of the pick when going after individual notes. Less pick contact with the string equals less resistance. Keep the wrist loose. Strum lightly when chording, don't "dig in."
i used to hold my pick with my middle finger....then i got a new guitar teacher...and he told me to change...told me to use index finger....which is a lot better....took me a while to get used to it im surprised that my old teacher didnt correct me :S
You should see the way i hold the pick. It's a completely new style, but i pick faster and better, so it's fine with me. Whatever works for you, you cant expect the conventional method to work out for you each time.
Picking Technique ok there are two attachments here, the first (pic4) is the right way to hold a pic (i think) the second (pic 5) is the way i hold my pic if u look you can see its almost completely sideways, ive been playing for two years now, for most of the sweep stuff i do i use the proper way but for alternate picking i've found that the second way offers far greater speed because there is no resistance from the strings, you almost dont even pluck them you just glide over them my way... but it is the wrong way to hold the pick so theres probly something bad about it, like i'll end up with tenonditis or something.
The problem with angling the pick while sweeping is that you will not get the best sound possible because you're not striking the strings with the full face of the pick. You can hear it if you angle the pick too much, you get a strange sound.
I read somewhere that your picking should sound like a plastic card thru the spokes of a bicycle, not like trampling over dried leaves.
