Pick Technique

[Chip Stewart]

The Youtube videos I watched on pick technique indicate that the pick should be perpendicular to the strings when you strum. I've been trying this, but it doesn't seem to be working for me. I seem to do much better when I roll my wrist slightly so the pick is angled at about 10 degrees from vertical when it strikes the strings. I roll down toward the ground on a downstroke and up toward the sky on an upstroke.

Is this bad technique? Should I keep working to strum without rolling my wrist? Please help this finger style bass player learn how to use a pick.

[BradKlein]

It's confusing talking about pick technique, because there are two different axes that the pick rotates around. But your goal should be to hold the pick at approximately the same angle on both the up and down stroke - so if the 'leading' edge strikes the string on the down stroke, the 'trailing' edge does the same for the upstroke.

There are a number of good videos on youtube that will help. Look for the ones by Mike Marshall or Chris Thile. The most complete discussion of the subject is probably in the video by Thile at the top of THIS recent thread, followed by a bunch of commentary...

[BradKlein]

I see now that the OP's question is relating to tenor guitar(?) and strumming more than picking. And so my advice may be a bit off. There is certainly a wealth of technique developed around the tenor banjo that I know nothing about!!

[Bertram Henze]

If I understand this correctly, you are moving the pick like a paintbrush, the tip of the pick always trailing behind the hand. For strumming with low to medium volume this may suffice, but to explore the possibilities, you could try a slight turn around a different axis (there are several as Brad mentioned): Difficulties with a constant angle on up/downstroke indicate that your pick tends to get "hooked" under the strings. This can be avoided by choosing a different so-called attack angle, i.e. looked at from above, the pick does not point parallel with the strings but slightly across, so a string is hit with one edge of the pick on the downstroke and the other on the upstroke.

So, not like this: <-- | -->
but like this: <-- / -->

Tremendous gain in volume and sound can be gained this way, and pick choice makes much more of a difference.

[Chip Stewart]

If I understand this correctly, you are moving the pick like a paintbrush, the tip of the pick always trailing behind the hand. For strumming with low to medium volume this may suffice, but to explore the possibilities, you could try a slight turn around a different axis (there are several as Brad mentioned): Difficulties with a constant angle on up/downstroke indicate that your pick tends to get "hooked" under the strings. This can be avoided by choosing a different so-called attack angle, i.e. looked at from above, the pick does not point parallel with the strings but slightly across, so a string is hit with one edge of the pick on the downstroke and the other on the upstroke.

So, not like this: <-- | -->
but like this: <-- / -->

Tremendous gain in volume and sound can be gained this way, and pick choice makes much more of a difference.

Thank you for this. I was moving the pick like a paintbrush but I'll try holding it perpendicular to the strings and twist around the vertical axis like you show in the "but like this" description. Advice like this is exactly what I was hoping for.

[BlowingRockNC]

I'm mostly a banjo player, so I play tenor guitar using the same odd-ball three-finger up picking that I use on banjo. It's sort of an Old Time 3-finger style...not a Scruggs style by any measure. I use finger picks.