7 Ways To Help You Use A Guitar Pick

Using a pick is essential if you want to become a better and meaner guitarist. Why? Playing fast notes aren't possible without the help of a guitar pick. Generally, you would want to use a larger and thinner one if you will be using it to play simple chords, and smaller, thicker ones for playing fast songs with lots of riffs.

Angle It

Slightly angle your pick when doing fast solos, this greatly lessens that tension and recoil between the string and the edge of your pick, therefore making it easier to play VERY fast.

Practice

Learn a few songs out of your comfort zone while using a pick, this will definitely help you get used to holding that piece of plastic. One song that I can recommend is Bruno Mars' new single called Young Girls, get the chords at: http://chordsworld.com/bruno-mars-young-girls-chords/ usually, it takes a minimum of 2 weeks to get used to it.

Use Your Wrist

If you want to strum or do a lead properly, be sure to use your wrist not your arms, why? Using your whole arm will tire you more and it will sound robotic. Remember to relax your whole arm.

Gentle Grip

Don't squish your pick like you are trying to pop a pimple, instead hold it kinda "loosely" but, be careful because holding it to softly will sometimes make you drop the pick. Imagine playing in front of thousands of crowds and all of a sudden, you dropped your pick off the stage and you are going to do a killer lead in 10 seconds? Sends shivers down my spine every time... Which brings us to.

Spare Picks

Always carry a spare pick in case of emergencies, trust me, your non-guitar oriented audiences will never understand why you can't play Van Halen's Eruption without a guitar pick, that's why it is important to carry at least 2 or 3 pieces. You can get a headstock pick holder which will solve all your problems. This will also reduce the amount of picks that you lose.

Scales

Practice using different scales, this is a guaranteed way to get used to this. A good one and easy is the A Minor Pentatonic scale. Google it and you will find out, patience is the key on this one so don't give up easily! This will also enhance your overall guitar playing for sure.

Shiny vs Matte

With my experience, I find it best to use matte styled picks, shiny ones tend to break easily and get jagged edges in just a couple of playing time. It also has awesome grip compared to plastic. Next time your at a guitar store keep your eyes peeled for this matte styled picks.

What NOT To Do

Never buy steel or stainless picks, these are just for decoration and will severely damage your strings. Also, when you notice that the edges of the pick is kinda bumpy, then that is the perfect time to replace it with a new one. Also, don't always do a pick scrape, it may sound cool especially on electric guitar but it damages your pick with just a single go, so unless you have a bunch of these lying around then it's best to use your left hand.

Those are the simple do's and don't. Start using a pick as soon as possible, you'll thank yourself later for doing so ;)