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Topic: Learning picks report |
Jeffrey McFadden
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 16 Feb 2018 9:54 pm |
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There may be some other beginners to whom this is interesting.
I used to play bare fingered. I committed to picks on the first Monday in January because I was dissatisfied with my music.
So it's been about six weeks.
They feel like they belong on my fingers.
I can hit the specific string I'm aiming for more often than before. I rarely get the pick tips caught on the strings any more.
I really like them. They have made me a better player.
So if you're struggling with them, hang on. It's worth it. 
_________________
Well up into mediocrity
I don't play what I'm supposed to.
Home made guitars |
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Ian Rae
From:
Redditch, England
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Posted 16 Feb 2018 11:15 pm
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Well said, Jeffrey. We live in a world of instant gratification where we risk losing the art of perseverance.
_________________
Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs |
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Fred Treece
From:
California, USA
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Posted 16 Feb 2018 11:49 pm
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Only 6 weeks and you are already comfortable with them? Hats off to you!
I have played guitar and lap steel with thumb pick and barefingers for 40 years, and started with fingerpicks on pedal steel a little over a year ago. They still feel weird and I am still a hack, but I rarely practice without them. Still play guitar the same old way though. |
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Ken Boi
From:
Arizona, USA
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Posted 17 Feb 2018 5:50 am
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| Good encouragement Jeffrey. I am still struggling with the picks to really get to that comfort stage (2-years and counting). But it does get better. I probably just need to practice more. I do feel picks are the way to go and have no plans to go to fingers. |
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Jeffrey McFadden
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 17 Feb 2018 8:45 am
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One thing I did to improve my adaptation was to spend quite a bit of time with a pair of needlenose pliers fiddling the shapes of the picks to make them fit the shapes of my fingers. I got them to where they aren't always trying to slip up or off.
_________________
Well up into mediocrity
I don't play what I'm supposed to.
Home made guitars |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 17 Feb 2018 8:57 am
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| Jeffrey McFadden wrote: |
| One thing I did to improve my adaptation was to spend quite a bit of time with a pair of needlenose pliers fiddling the shapes of the picks to make them fit the shapes of my fingers. I got them to where they aren't always trying to slip up or off. |
That's exactly what you gotta do. Then, once you're satisfied with their shape, make a few pairs of duplicates and alternate between them, constantly tweaking as you go. Eventually the different sets will become more alike than different, and your comfort level will improve exponentially. |
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Allan Haley
From:
British Columbia, Canada
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Posted 17 Feb 2018 9:54 am
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Needlenose pliers were the key for me to get the fingerpicks to fit well. I'm five years in, and it has only been the last while that the fingerpicks have stopped hurting.
Another aspect of the fingerpicks is getting the blade of the pick right. I've gone from the extreme of having them stick out like claws to the opposite having the blades follow the curve of my finger tips.
That's were the needlenose are invaluable.
Lots and lots of messing around with tiny alterations as to how the picks fit around your fingers so they stay tight and don't fall off, all without cutting off the blood supply or hurting too much. |
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Fred Treece
From:
California, USA
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Posted 17 Feb 2018 10:35 am
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Make sure you cover the pick or the needle nose pliers with something to prevent nicking and scratching the metal. That pretty much toasts the whole operation. I have found bending them back to the contour of my fingertip works pretty well, and that can be done to the Dunlop’s I use without pliers.
I don’t blame my picks for being a hack. I will be looking into Perfect Touch picks, though:
https://www.perfecttouchpicks.com/store/c5/Finger_Picks.html
Just to see if spending a ridiculous amount of money for picks actually makes a big enough difference. |
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Jeffrey McFadden
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 17 Feb 2018 11:10 am
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| Fred Treece wrote: |
Make sure you cover the pick or the needle nose pliers with something to prevent nicking and scratching the metal. That pretty much toasts the whole operation. I have found bending them back to the contour of my fingertip works pretty well, and that can be done to the Dunlop’s I use without pliers.
I don’t blame my picks for being a hack. I will be looking into Perfect Touch picks, though:
https://www.perfecttouchpicks.com/store/c5/Finger_Picks.html
Just to see if spending a ridiculous amount of money for picks actually makes a big enough difference. |
My picks are definitely not why I'm a hack. I'm a hack because I'm a "jack of all trades, master of none." I love music and playing, but I have never given it the sort of focus that better players do. I practice, and I give it my best, but music is but one of several interests I give my time to. The best spend more of their time on this one skill.
Back to the main point - I too have bent my picks to more-or-less follow the curvature of the ends of my fingers. They are probably 1/16" away from the meat of my fingers at the tips of the picks.
_________________
Well up into mediocrity
I don't play what I'm supposed to.
Home made guitars |
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Fred Treece
From:
California, USA
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Posted 18 Feb 2018 10:49 pm
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| Jeffrey, rest ye assured, I was only referring to my own hackedness, which may indeed have something to do with the way I shape and use my picks, but can also be attributed to various other shortfalls in my overall technique. I thought I played pretty okay at the gig last night though, and am getting to the point of actually expressing myself musically and not just navigating my way around the song on the instrument. |
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