Angle of pick when flatpicking

[Rosewood99]

Do you hold the pick angling up towards you, down away from you or exactly straight?

[HHP]

At about 45 degrees to the string, tip pointing down.

[DukeX]

On the up stroke or down stroke?

[HHP]

Originally Posted by DukeX

On the up stroke or down stroke?

Both, the angle is the same in either direction

[DukeX]

Originally Posted by HHP

Both, the angle is the same in either direction

Sorry, I was just being silly and responding to the OP. I've actually never even thought about it myself...

[jessupe]

watch and learn

[archerscreek]

That video was definitely worth the watch, and it addressed something I had thought about regarding picking speed. That is, how far past a struck string should the pick travel for fastest speed. My conscious reasoning told me that short pick strokes should deliver quicker speeds, but actual playing showed otherwise. The video demonstrates that a longer, shallow curve works great for blistering speeds. It also blows the commonly held notion that the tighter the string spacing at the bridge the faster the flatpicking the guitar is capable of out of the water. If the strings are situated too close together the pick has to travel more vertically than it otherwise would. And the more vertical the curve of the stroke the slower things go. Awesome study!

[morfi]

The way that utilizes the least friction and has the cleanest and most define sound is straight picking. The wrist should be straight too. You don't want the pick to get "in" the strings, it has to float on top.
With an angle it's like rubbing the pick and makes for some very nasty squeaky pick sound that's irritating the ear (mine for sure).
The video is irritating as well, personally I wouldn't rely on electric guitar techniques for the acoustic.