Help with strumming technique, please.

[mpaul73]

So I'm 44 and recently got back into guitar after a looooong break. One of the things that is driving me nuts is my ability to strum without the pick moving around in my fingers. I am trying to strum more with a relaxed hand and more wrist motion rather than big motions up and down from the elbow. I see many great guitarist and their hand appears to not much outside the width of the strings. You can see their hand is very relaxed/floppy, if that makes sense. Trouble is when I try to achieve this I feel like I need to hold the pick lightly to keep the hand relaxed, but then the dam thing moves so far out of position that I have to stop and "reset it". Any suggestions of what I can do to improve this?

Here is an example of something I am working on. How do I stop that pick from moving all over the place?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONmuwrwtWL8

[Mystery123]

Practice...
And get pick that has some holes or grip.

I'm in the same boat but it's getting better.

[JackB1]

Relax your arm and wrist, but keep a firm grip on the pick. Takes practice to separate the two.

[Rev Roy]

Practice, practice, practice. Wish I could give you a shortcut...but if there is one I never found it.

[Silvereagles]

First off congrats and welcome back! The first I would do is see how he has his pinky anchored to the body. I started doing that when I was trying to flatpick. Others anchor back by the bridge, either way I think it will tighten up your strumming. For me I not only had dry hand which made the pick move when I started playing at 44 but also went with a Dunlop max grip pick. Both have helped with keepin the pick where it should be....

I started playing at 44 also, about 6 1/2 years ago....

Dennis

[mpaul73]

Originally Posted by JackB1

Relax your arm and wrist, but keep a firm grip on the pick. Takes practice to separate the two.

I guess the problem is I am holding the pick too lightly then? Seems to move more often out of position on the up strum.

[Mystery123]

Originally Posted by mpaul73

I guess the problem is I am holding the pick too lightly then? Seems to move more often out of position on the up strum.

If that's the case, then you are not hitting strings from the same height/depth on up stroke.
After down stroke, the pick may have dipped further down so adjust the angle/height.

Btw, this topic maybe moved to play forum.

[lowrider]

Use a thicker pick. When I started, I got really thin picks and I couldn't hold them at all. As I thicker ones, they became easier to hold. 1.0 Primetone is now perfect for me and I use up to 2.0

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by JackB1

Relax your arm and wrist, but keep a firm grip on the pick. Takes practice to separate the two.

What he said.

[ii Cybershot ii]

Besides technique, I highly recommend two things:

-A pick that you enjoy the grip of. What I do is add clear tape to my picks (I use the yellow Dunlop Tortex). Don't use tape with a matte finish like scotch tape, but just regular clear tape. This adds lots of grip for me, makes them kind of sticky. "Cool" picks make all of their picks with grips on them.

-A thinner gauge pick. Thicker picks require a much stronger grip to hold them in place due to their rigidity. The force of the pick stroke is transferred directly to your hand. A thinner pick will flex when it hits the string and much less grip strength is required because the force is dispersed in the flex.

[ADG]

As someone mentioned earlier dry (overly) hands can exacerbate the problem of pick twist. While being mindful to approach the instrument with fairly clean hands, I stopped washing them before playing. It immediately helped the issue tremendously.

[Goodallboy]

Originally Posted by mpaul73

So I'm 44 and recently got back into guitar after a looooong break. One of the things that is driving me nuts is my ability to strum without the pick moving around in my fingers. I am trying to strum more with a relaxed hand and more wrist motion rather than big motions up and down from the elbow. I see many great guitarist and their hand appears to not much outside the width of the strings. You can see their hand is very relaxed/floppy, if that makes sense. Trouble is when I try to achieve this I feel like I need to hold the pick lightly to keep the hand relaxed, but then the dam thing moves so far out of position that I have to stop and "reset it". Any suggestions of what I can do to improve this?

Here is an example of something I am working on. How do I stop that pick from moving all over the place?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONmuwrwtWL8

You could use a pick that would stay in your hand better.

I'd suggest a Traditional Ultra Light , from V-Pick. It's one of the best for that purpose. Even some great picks from top companies will tend to slip in my hand and I've been playing for over 40 yrs.. A V-Pick is less than $5 and will help you, I'm sure.

There are other suggestions being offered for strumming, that are relevant and helpful but if the pick is slipping, technique can't improve.

I hope this helps.

[1neeto]

Dunlop gator grip. Bought a bunch on amazon a few years ago, they wear out fast but they are very grippy.

[JimCA]

I find the big triangular picks wiggle around less for me.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/61d2rbycq5...pick.jpeg?dl=0

[mpaul73]

thanks for the help, lots of good suggestions. I'm starting to feel some hope, at least without the guitar in my hands!