Friday, May 31, 2013
What Kind of Guitar Pick Should I Use
Whats the difference in picks?
There are tons of choices when it comes to guitar picks. Different thicknesses, shapes, materials, themes, and who knows what else. Ive seen picks made of metal, plastic, tortoise shell, wood, rock, and even had students use a piece of a milk carton or a coin! Well cover the important differences, then its up to you to decide. Since picks are extremely cheap, the best advice is to buy an assortment and see what you like.
Shapes and sizes. Triangles, teardrops and ovals. Those are the basic shapes and there are variations. A lot of people use a triangle shaped pick with rounded corners except for the point. The main thing is to not get one thats real big or real small. After youve experimented with different picks youll probably find one that you like more than the others.
Thicknesses.
There are almost as many thicknesses as there are shapes and sizes! They vary from simply light, medium and heavy, to thousandths of an inch. My personal favorites are Jim Dunlop nylon picks with a .073 or .088 thickness. They have little bumps on them to help you grip them which is great if you play outside when its hot and humid. Plastic picks tend to slip and become more pliable in the hot weather. Again, try various picks to see which ones you like best. My advice to my students is to not get one thats real thin or real thick to start with. The thin ones tend to make a slapping sound when you play and the real thick ones can cause your wrist to hurt.
Pictures, cartoon characters, famous people. There are lots of people who collect picks since theyre inexpensive and its fun to find something different. Weve had Star Wars, The Simpsons, South Park, Elvis and many other souvenir type picks. A personal favorite that I own is from Chuck Berry. It has a picture of Chuck on one side and "Roll Over", in honor of his song Roll Over Beethoven on the other side. Finger picks and thumb picks. If you play banjo or use your fingers to play, youll also need a couple or 3 finger picks and a thumb pick. Like their flat pick counterparts they also come in gauges and different materials. Again, theyre relatively cheap so see what you like best. Most people use a plastic pick on the thumb since metal on the thicker, wound strings tends to sound raspy. So take a trip to your local music store and let the experiment begin. If youre in doubt ask your guitar teacher or a guitar playing friend for advice, but be warned that youll get lots of different opinions.
There are tons of choices when it comes to guitar picks. Different thicknesses, shapes, materials, themes, and who knows what else. Ive seen picks made of metal, plastic, tortoise shell, wood, rock, and even had students use a piece of a milk carton or a coin! Well cover the important differences, then its up to you to decide. Since picks are extremely cheap, the best advice is to buy an assortment and see what you like.
Shapes and sizes. Triangles, teardrops and ovals. Those are the basic shapes and there are variations. A lot of people use a triangle shaped pick with rounded corners except for the point. The main thing is to not get one thats real big or real small. After youve experimented with different picks youll probably find one that you like more than the others.
Thicknesses.
There are almost as many thicknesses as there are shapes and sizes! They vary from simply light, medium and heavy, to thousandths of an inch. My personal favorites are Jim Dunlop nylon picks with a .073 or .088 thickness. They have little bumps on them to help you grip them which is great if you play outside when its hot and humid. Plastic picks tend to slip and become more pliable in the hot weather. Again, try various picks to see which ones you like best. My advice to my students is to not get one thats real thin or real thick to start with. The thin ones tend to make a slapping sound when you play and the real thick ones can cause your wrist to hurt.
Pictures, cartoon characters, famous people. There are lots of people who collect picks since theyre inexpensive and its fun to find something different. Weve had Star Wars, The Simpsons, South Park, Elvis and many other souvenir type picks. A personal favorite that I own is from Chuck Berry. It has a picture of Chuck on one side and "Roll Over", in honor of his song Roll Over Beethoven on the other side. Finger picks and thumb picks. If you play banjo or use your fingers to play, youll also need a couple or 3 finger picks and a thumb pick. Like their flat pick counterparts they also come in gauges and different materials. Again, theyre relatively cheap so see what you like best. Most people use a plastic pick on the thumb since metal on the thicker, wound strings tends to sound raspy. So take a trip to your local music store and let the experiment begin. If youre in doubt ask your guitar teacher or a guitar playing friend for advice, but be warned that youll get lots of different opinions.
