Fix Your Picking Technique in 6 Minutes (Most Guitarists Do This Wrong)

Whether you’ve been playing for 6 months or 20 years, there’s a high chance you’ve developed a bad picking habit that’s limiting your speed, accuracy, and tone.

Luckily, it’s usually a quick fix for most, so let’s unravel the ins and outs of great picking technique to identify what’s been holding you back.

Optimal Picking Technique

After almost 20 years of playing and teaching guitar, I’ve noticed the same setup used again and again by players with great technique.

I’ll teach you how to practice that, but first it’s necessary to briefly show you what I teach absolute beginners. Now don’t skip ahead thinking you’re beyond that, because even many of my advanced students miss this core foundation after years of developing bad habits.

1. Karate Chop Technique:

Holding the pick properly is one of the core techniques that many players struggle with. Here are the steps that I recommend you take for a firm accurate grip:

1. Karate Chop your picking hand in front of you, keeping it stiff.
2. Balance the pick on your index finger so that the point is facing the same direction as the face of your nail.
3. Curl your fingers 180 degrees, so now the pick is facing the opposite direction.
4. Place your thumb on top of the pick.
5. Loosen up, relax your fingers, find comfort, and try to create a relaxed loose oval shape between your index finger and thumb.
6. Ensure all knuckles are bent so that you have picking range.

Now the pick is secure and in the right place, rest the heel of your palm above the bridge, and line up the side of your palm parallel to the bridge.

Your anchor and pivot point is now firm. Remember to look out for a loose oval shape between your thumb and index finger, all knuckles should be bent, and ensure that the pick is resting at an approximate 45 degree angle to the strings.

If your picking feels tense or inconsistent, I’ve put together a series of exercises for you to try in the video lesson.

Which Pick Is Best?

I need to make a quick note on this, because a lot of guitar players seem to begin their journeys using a large rounded Tortex pick. I find these very scratchy-sounding, and not at all helpful for precise dynamic movements.

My go-to pick that I use for absolutely everything is the RED Jazz III. Not Black, not Ultex, not Tortex, but the plain Red variant (Nylon). It sounds good, it’s nice and small, it’s stiff, and has a sharp tip, which collectively means that I feel full control throughout everything I play.

Don’t just take my word for it – the Jazz III is one of the most popular choices amongst professionals for good reason!

Summary

Here’s a rapid-fire overview of the most overlooked techniques from what I taught you in this lesson:

1. Aim for a relaxed oval between the thumb and index finger.
2. Try to keep all knuckles bent.
3. Pick with a roughly equal effort between the wrist and fingers.
4. Accent notes come from the wrist.
5. Subscribe to Fretwise if you want to make leaps of improvements to your guitar playing.

You’ve now got the strong foundation you need to rip through your favourite songs and enforce good habits here-on.

Speaking of good habits – I recommend that you get into the habit of visiting getfretwise.com to access my greatest instructional classes – including my best seller, the CAGED Fretboard Visualisation Masterclass, which teaches you how to demystify and visualise the guitar neck so that you can finally understand everything you play and learn on a much deeper level.

If you want to break free from patterns and know how to move freely anywhere on the neck, then this is for you!