Very Different Flatpick Technique

Shiny McShine

Member
Messages
9,493
than what I learned on my own...

OK, I'm taking lessons from a guy I've known for a long time. He holds a pick different than anyone I've ever seen and it goes against every video and how-to I've seen to date. He's really reticent to talk about it but it's obviously superior. It took me almost a year to unlearn the traditional way and start handling it like he does. He's been doing it for 40 years and he has amazing control. For reference, he studied at GIT in 1980 and has had some amazing teachers in his lifetime including Ted Greene and Pat Martino.

So here goes...

Hold your hand out palm up fingers extended. Lay the pick on your index finger so it's parallel with your finger nail and lying flat. Bring your thumb onto the top of it to hold it. It's basically in the same position that you would pick up a pin.

If you do this right and put it up to the guitar, the pick angles up rather than down. In other words, you'd need a left-handed bevel if you're a right-handed player. Get my drift. This turns the pick into a writing instrument and brings way more precise control.

Next he uses really heavy picks. I'm using a Blue Chip 40 or Gravity Axis 1.5.

The challenge is that at first the pick was jumping out my hand because you're supposed to hold it really lose and constantly be squeezing and unsqeezing your thumb and finger as you strike notes.

Just running a scale was near to impossible at first. After a month, it started to feel right on a couple of things. Now a year later, everything's working way better.

I don't know how this will work without a video so I guess I'll have post one eventually but I wanted to share the experience.
 



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