How to Hold the Guitar Pick

If you want to learn to play guitar, you need to learn how to hold a guitar pick, or 'plectrum' as it is sometimes called. Holding a guitar pick and holding ONTO a pick while you play, is often a challenge for beginners. But if you form good habits early on, it will become second nature for you, and you will excel a lot more quickly. This article provides the information you need to properly hold the guitar pick.

There are a lot of different teaching methodologies regarding how to hold a guitar pick, but most of them share a common deficiency: they don't take into account the fact that every human hand is different. The method detailed below will provide you with the best, most natural way to hold a pick:

The first thing to note is that there are two ways to hold a guitar pick, depending on what you are trying to accomplish. The first way is typically reserved for playing 'lead guitar', 'soloing,' or playing many individual guitar notes in quick succession.  The second way is reserved for strumming guitar chords and is particularly useful for light strumming. Both techniques will take advantage of your unique physiology to form nature's perfect pick grip.

The first thing to do is to form a loose hook shape with your right (strumming) index finger. Notice that by bending the finger slightly, your finger automatically forms three crevices or 'nooks', where the joints are located. The first nook (closest to the top or end of your index finger) is where the pick should rest when you are strumming chords. The second nook is where the pick should rest when you are playing lead solos or individual notes or playing loud heavy chords.

In both cases, the proper way to hold the pick requires three additional steps:

First, gently place the widest part of the pick (the top of the pick) in the appropriate nook (the second nook for soloing, or the first nook for light strumming).

Second, place your thumb over the middle of the pick, allowing just a small amount of the tip of the pick to peek out below your thumb.

Finally, bend the index finger in which the pick is placed upward toward the middle of your hand until it is just above the tip of the pick. This will ensure a clean contact with the string.

Now, if you are trying to play lead, as mentioned before, make sure you place the pick in the second nook.  If, on the other hand, you are trying to play chords or strum, make sure you place the pick in the first nook.  You should have done this step already, but this is just to make sure.  

Congratulations! You've done it! You've found nature's perfect grip.

For the first month or so of practicing, you should go through all three steps slowly and methodically, in order to form the proper habits.  Once you get used to forming the pick grip in this way it will soon become second nature, and you will not even have to think about it ever again.

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