Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

[Young Angus]

I hold my pick like this, i always have since i saw my guitar teacher doing it when i started guitar. I cant really compare properly to holding a pick with two fingers like most people do because ive always been much better at three fingers simply because its the way i did it from the start.

Who else holds their pick with three fingers and what do others think about this?

 

[Nightburst]

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

Hehe these are the little interesting things that distinguises one player from another. I Sometimes hold the pick with 3 fingers but that's only when I feel my pick slipping out of my fingers. Most of the time it's 2 fingers but I hold my pickup the way the pointy side is facing the bridge of the guitar, so the dull side hits the stings. And, you know, I think this is part of what makes my tone mine.
If you like to hold it that way, why not. It's part of your style, your tone.
I think James Hetfield holds his picks with 3 fingers as well.
And really I'm not ****ting you there is a tonal difference in holding a pick differently! I've been experimenting with that a lot but I always come back to holding the pick how I think is most comfortable, with the pointy side aimed at the bridge.

 

[Distollica]

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

i held it like this one year (my first year of playing guitar) cause it came naturally to pick it like this.
i realise that it was more difficult to play rythm espacialy fast run like heavy metal with that position.i has been very hard for me to hold it with only 2 fingers, but trust me, it s the work of 1 week and then you ll never come back!!with that position for example i can know play fast solo with my little finger (i don t know how to say that in english ) on the wood just after strings so i can have a support for my hand

 

[some_dude]

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

Yeah.

I'm trying to learn how to use just two fingers to help inprove my lead playing, but for heavy riffing and muting I always find myself using three fingers out of habit (plus I can dig in harder).

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

Always two fingers, used the "scapelgrip" ever since I started using a pick.

 

[Nightburst]

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

Always two fingers, used the "scapelgrip" ever since I started using a pick.

Scapelgrip?

 

[Scott_F]

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

I"m a three fingers guy, but I seem to have a problem hanging onto it anyway. I use the gator grips.

When I was at the Duncan factory a few weeks back, Everly has given them a bunch of everly pics. These pics have a little cut out in the middle. The shpae of the cut out is like a circle with some small points pointing inwards. LIke a reverse picture of the sun? Something like that. It creates edges and give you something to get a grip on. Very good idea.

 

[Pandemonium]

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

I hold the pick with my thumb and index finger. I use my middle and ring fingers too much to tie my middle finger up holding the pick. I use pick, meat, and nail.

 

[y2stevo]

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

i held it like this one year (my first year of playing guitar) cause it came naturally to pick it like this.
i realise that it was more difficult to play rythm espacialy fast run like heavy metal with that position.i has been very hard for me to hold it with only 2 fingers, but trust me, it s the work of 1 week and then you ll never come back!!with that position for example i can know play fast solo with my little finger (i don t know how to say that in english ) on the wood just after strings so i can have a support for my hand

Yeh thats about the same for me too..although i could play very fast rhythm like that anyway but once i tried to play with index & thumb i'd never go back...

 

[MikeS]

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

I originally held the pick with my middle finger and thumb. Did that for about the first year I played. Then I began taking lessons and was more or less forced by my instructor to use the index and thumb. I'm pretty grateful of that, because I eventually learned to pick with my middle and ring fingers, and would have had a very difficult time readjusting to a new pick grip at that point.

 

[Dime59hum]

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

Playing with those 3 fingers is wrong and would only lead to problems in your future. The longer you have been playing like that, the harder it is to break. Use the side of your index, lay the pick on it, and plant your thumb on it, and make a loose fist. Thats the best I can do without giving you a picture. If you think about it, thats the way everyone uses it because its natural to them. Thats why its so hard to break, people fill there heads with crazy ideas about how there "different" and they will adjust to playing that way when its wrong and will hurt you in the long run. And if your guitar teacher holds it like that, I would learn from someone who is more "reputable" if you would say. Does he use tab to teach you? Then you dont need a teacher for that, but thats just me IMO.

 

[darkshadow54321]

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

I mainly grip the pick with my index and thumb, and I use the middle finger to support the pick. So I'm a three finger kind of guy!

 

[Hot _Grits]

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

I hold mine with thumb and first two fingers. It's a throw back to being nuts about fingertapping as a teen. With the two finger grip, I could release the index finger to tap without palming my pick.

Most of the pressure to hold the pick comes from my middle finger, but that changes to the index if I play with pick and fingers.

 

[Hot _Grits]

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

Playing with those 3 fingers is wrong and would only lead to problems in your future. The longer you have been playing like that, the harder it is to break. Use the side of your index, lay the pick on it, and plant your thumb on it, and make a loose fist. Thats the best I can do without giving you a picture. If you think about it, thats the way everyone uses it because its natural to them. Thats why its so hard to break, people fill there heads with crazy ideas about how there "different" and they will adjust to playing that way when its wrong and will hurt you in the long run. And if your guitar teacher holds it like that, I would learn from someone who is more "reputable" if you would say. Does he use tab to teach you? Then you dont need a teacher for that, but thats just me IMO.

Precisely what is wrong with playing with three fingers? -please enlighten me. I'd also like to hear from you about how it 'hurt' players like myself. Has anyone got Steve Morse's number? -I need to warn him that his picking grip is wrong...

 

[Young Angus]

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

Precisely what is wrong with playing with three fingers? -please enlighten me. I'd also like to hear from you about how it 'hurt' players like myself. Has anyone got Steve Morse's number? -I need to warn him that his picking grip is wrong...

Haha, exactly what i was thinking :laugh2:

 

[Young Angus]

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

And if your guitar teacher holds it like that, I would learn from someone who is more "reputable" if you would say. Does he use tab to teach you? Then you dont need a teacher for that, but thats just me IMO.

And no my guitar teacher never teached me from tab, he worded out everything by ear from super fast hammet solos to john fogherty complicated country licks with all sorts of weird bends and stuff that werent in his everyday arsenel...yet he got them spot on. He is one of the best guitarists in the world and would quite happily get up on stage with morse,vai,satriani and co. and sound just as good, even better in some cases in my opinion (not than morse ). And for all those thinking to yourselves "yeah sure", this is no exaggeration. You never know, one day you might all be able to see what im talking about.

 

[chcjunior]

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

Precisely what is wrong with playing with three fingers? -please enlighten me. I'd also like to hear from you about how it 'hurt' players like myself. Has anyone got Steve Morse's number? -I need to warn him that his picking grip is wrong...

I'm curious to hear the answer as well. It's ultimately what works for you as an individual. I started off using just my thumb and pointer finger. And by "started off" I mean for the first eight years! I had occasional problems with the pick slipping and with the clarity of attack. One day I decided to bring in the middle finger. It resolved all issues I had.

 

[Young Angus]

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

And i forgot, my teacher didnt actually teach me to hold my pick like that. The majority of his students, in fact probably all of them but me, hold their picks with just their thumb and index. When i started my teacher encouraged me to develop my own style and to just hold it whatever way feels comfortable, and thats what i did and have been doing ever since.

 

[chcjunior]

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

And i forgot, my teacher didnt actually teach me to hold my pick like that. The majority of his students, in fact probably all of them but me, hold their picks with just their thumb and index. When i started my teacher encouraged me to develop my own style and to just hold it whatever way feels comfortable, and thats what i did and have been doing ever since.

That's what I was talking about. I held the pick the way everyone else did for years just because that's the way I always saw the pick held. There was a TREMENDOUS difference between the two fingered and three fingered approach.

Do what works for you!

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

Re: Does anyone else hold their pick with three fingers (thumb,index and middle finger)?

Wow, I'm surprised at how many people hold their pick like that! Then again, if you talk to any classical guitarist, they'll ask you why you even use a pick, or why your guitar's body isn't on your left leg! I dunno, I kind of agree with Dime59Hum on this one. Using a thumb and two fingers reminds me of looking at a person that doesn't know how to play, picking up a guitar. I definitely wouldn't say that to Steve Morse, or any other person who plays just fine using that approach, but I see it as a bad habit that never got broken. I use my middle and ring finger on my right hand to claw, grab notes, and fingerpick, so holding it with 3 fingers sounds foreign to me.

I guess there's more than one way to play a guitar.....ya think?