Strumming with pick...

[Mystery123]

When I strum with my fingers, it's somewhat consistent but when I strum with pick, it sounds messy.
Some strums are even while some are hitting hard on bass while some on highs.
Switching chords also adds more undesired notes/strings during transition.
How to improve it?

[paulp1960]

Years of practice worked for me. You won't get good overnight.

[Frankieabbott]

Originally Posted by Mystery123

When I strum with my fingers, it's somewhat consistent but when I strum with pick, it sounds messy.
Some strums are even while some are hitting hard on bass while some on highs.
Switching chords also adds more undesired notes/strings during transition.
How to improve it?

Don't know what thickness pick you are using but generally the thinner the pick the smoother the strum. Or maybe rotate your pick slightly downwards (so it's less perpendicular to the strings) and the pick 'glances' over the strings smoother. Lastly try showing less of the pick to the strings by holding it with more of your thumb and first finger contacting the strings just before the pick does. These techniques can be found on Y** Tube.

[JerrysGuitarBar]

Make sure you're holding it very loosely. If you grip it too hard you will get a harsh and inconsistent tone.

[paulp1960]

I have found that over time I prefer a thicker pick. I just went up from 1.00 mm nylon to 1.14 mm nylon and I love it.

Thinner picks might suit beginners more I guess. If you want to play strumming and single note runs it is harder with a thin pick due to volume issues.

[JonPR]

A thin pick is best for strumming, because you can grip it as tight as you like, and hit the strings as hard (or as soft) as you like. The pick won't break and neither will any strings.
0.73 down to 0.60 is about right, IMO. Even thinner will work as well, but the thinner you go, the thinner the tone.

Anything thicker, it won't bend enough (or maybe at all), so you should hold it more loosely so that it can flap as it hits the strings. With a rigid pick, it's much harder to control dynamics. It's also harder to be rhythmically consistent, because you can't be as relaxed (IMO).

Whatever the thickness, the pick should be held with its flat surface parallel to the strings, and at 90 degrees to the strings - i.e. pointing directly into the guitar, not sloping up or down. It's common for beginners to stroke the strings, the pick pointing upwards as it passes downward across the strings - which then requires you to rotate your wrist to stroke the strings in the other direction. Don't do this! (Watch pros, you never see them rotating their wrists.) Just keep the pick at the same angle (90 degrees) up and down, and let it bend or flap as it crosses the strings.

Experiment with different grips. The conventional one (commonly recommended) is not the only one that works.
I disagree with Frankieabbott about thumb and/or finger contact with the strings. I never do that myself. In fact, I grip the pick in a way that enables me to avoid any flesh contact when strumming, so I can strum freely without risking injuring myself.
Of course, there are many different techniques, from free strumming (wide forearm swings, keeping time) to more detailed flatpicking, picking out individual strings between strums, typically in the bass (common in country and bluegrass).

The secret - of course - is practice: finding what works, and working on it. There's a reason why one's good hand is at the picking end and not the fretting end: it's all about control, of time and dynamics.

[Puerto Player]

I'm not sure about pick width, but I use a 3mm pick. Just keep playing Pinball Wizard until you can play it cleanly. I've honestly never hear anybody play it correctly, so it's a good mark to try and get to.

Regarding never hearing anybody play it correctly; slow the original Tommy version down and hear/listen to what he's actually strumming, there's a lot more than you think.

Other than that, keep playing, then play some more. Some people can't strum though, they just don't hear it.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by paulp1960

If you want to play strumming and single note runs it is harder with a thin pick due to volume issues.

Yes, there is an issue if combining strumming with single note runs. I wouldn't say the main issue was volume, it's more that a thin pick is harder to control for rapid alternate picking - because of how it bends as it crosses the string. A rigid pick is much easier for precise control of single notes. The tone is also generally better (as is volume on an acoustic of course).

Personally, I can't strum comfortably with even a 1.00 pick, let alone anything heavier. It sounds clumsy. But I guess that just means I need more practice!

[jstegeman]

Originally Posted by JonPR

Yes, there is an issue if combining strumming with single note runs. I wouldn't say the main issue was volume, it's more that a thin pick is harder to control for rapid alternate picking - because of how it bends as it crosses the string. A rigid pick is much easier for precise control of single notes. The tone is also generally better (as is volume on an acoustic of course).

Personally, I can't strum comfortably with even a 1.00 pick, let alone anything heavier. It sounds clumsy. But I guess that just means I need more practice!

I used to use picks in the .5-.7mm range, but now that I've had some practice, they feel flimsy and inaccurate to me - I'm using pretty much exclusively 1.0mm and greater now.

[Mystery123]

Thanks for comments. I'll try suggestions.

I'm using pretty stiff pick.
I have some soft/thin picks but they make noise hitting strings.

1. Even the thick ones make noise hitting strings that's distracting.
It's like clickers, lack of better word to describe. Just mute the strings and you'll hear the pick clicking through the strings and it's there all the time.
I think it's not as apparent to others listening but as I'm right next to the pick when it hits strings, the noise is very noticeable.

2. I'm holding pick between thumb and first bend of index finger. I watched some youtube videos and some have pick blocked by 2nd bend of index finger.
That I find very odd to strum with. Where do you hold pick?

[paulp1960]

Are your picks hard plastic? I use nylon as they last quite a long time and don't make much clicking noise when they make contact with the strings.

When playing with thicker picks you don't want to expose too much of the pick proud from your grip. Just a few mm of pick should be enough and keep your wrist relaxed.

I have also noticed that thicker picks give you more feedback so that you can feel the strings and after a while your accuracy improves.

[SunnyDee]

Originally Posted by Mystery123

1. Even the thick ones make noise hitting strings that's distracting.
It's like clickers, lack of better word to describe. Just mute the strings and you'll hear the pick clicking through the strings and it's there all the time.
I think it's not as apparent to others listening but as I'm right next to the pick when it hits strings, the noise is very noticeable.

I'm really sensitive to the noise, too. So, far I've never found anything that didn't do that. I even tried a felt one at one point. I don't use any amplification, but so many people do, I wonder if people partly just don't mind the noise because the guitar is louder for them.

[jseth]

Well, no matter what thickness pick you choose, I can tell you what's gonna make that little sucker behave and play the way you want...

REALIZE YOU ARE IN CHARGE OF YOUR PICKING HAND!!!

If you want the pick to hit all the strings, then MAKE IT HIT THEM ALL... if you want to emphasize the bass registers, then do that... (I have to say, it is a VERY rare occurrence to actually need to hit ALL the strings at once while strumming; there are usually areas to emphasize and others to diminish.)

It really is that simple... just realize that YOU are the one in charge; there is no 'secret formula" for getting better, save for becoming more and more adept at using the tool in your hand to get the sounds you want, and developing the technique to accomplish them.

There are a multitude of layers to the technique of using a pick... just like playing the guitar or learning different chord shapes, it is all just a part of the journey of being a guitarist...

"Pick noise" can be lessened by making very positive strikes on the strings (as opposed to "kind-sort-of" attempts at strumming.)... strumming nearer to the bridge produces one effect; nearer the fretboard, another. Holding the pick firmly sounds one way; light grip, another. You get the idea...

The good news is that you have to realize "something's not right" before you can even begin to correct and refine it. You've just begun the quest...

So, congratulations! Good luck!!!

[jfq722]

I recall having that same issue - like strumming with the pick was a crapshoot.

The way I resolved it was to buy one of those 'Crossover Picks' - this kind in particular was a Velcro strap that you wrap over your thumb and through a slot in the middle you insert your own pick - I used thin ones.

Then loosening the strap so the pick 'gives' a little took away that harsh unpredictable sound.
It also removed any variance introduced by holding the pick, which for me was considerable.

After a while I got used to the even, percussive, strumming sound that should be made.
That combined with using barre chords and lifting off them at the right time to provide a little muting enabled me to return to using just a pick eventually.

Having a strumming song you love and can play many times in a row doesn't hurt either.
For me it was 'Workin at the carwash blues'.

Slightly off topic - but in addition to a great strumming exercise, in the video below Jim shows a grab bag of great things:
.....1. Lifting index finger off and on the barre chord - to provide a bassy sound
.....2. 'Flattening' a barre chord - rotating your fret hand so that the side of pinky quickly hits one fret up from where the middle finger is.
.....2. Sliding into the barre chord from the fret before
.....3. Sliding into the D7 shape at 3rd fret - from the C#7 shape at the 2nd fret.

Here you go, Jim and Maury want to help you:

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


good luck

[B3N]

Originally Posted by JonPR

With a rigid pick, it's much harder to control dynamics. It's also harder to be rhythmically consistent, because you can't be as relaxed (IMO).

.

I think exactly the opposite. I find hard to bang on a flatop with a super thin pick... But you can get a wide dynamics with a thick pick just by control of the pick pressure. Low pressure and it will go the string like butter.
Relaxation has nothing to do with pick thickness. I play with 2mm and never had dynamics issues related to the pick.
Some gypsy jazzers play with 5 mm thick picks and they sure can strum !

http://www.wegenpicks.com/#fatone

Originally Posted by JonPR

Whatever the thickness, the pick should be held with its flat surface parallel to the strings, and at 90 degrees to the strings - i.e. pointing directly into the guitar, not sloping up or down. It's common for beginners to stroke the strings, the pick pointing upwards as it passes downward across the strings - which then requires you to rotate your wrist to stroke the strings in the other direction. Don't do this! (Watch pros, you never see them rotating their wrists.) Just keep the pick at the same angle (90 degrees) up and down, and let it bend or flap as it crosses the strings.

I'm sorry, but the pick can be held effectively in various ways.
If you hold a thick pick firmly and parallel to the string, as it won't bend, you will strum the first strings you touch harder than the next - the low strings when you go down, the high ones when you go up.
This is maybe the reason you think thick picks don't strum well. A thin pick works best with that approach on that I agree with you.


I find that a good balance between arm and wrist motion provides a effective strum, flexible yet powerful.

On a more personal opinion, about tone, picking the strings completely parallel provides the thinnest tone. Pick at a 45 angle and you will fatten tone drastically. Unfortunately on wounded strings, the more angle, the more scratchy noise.
I'd say then, from parallel on the bottom strings to a certain angle on the high strings. Just follow the circular motion of the arm instead of a straight line.

I invite you to check Tuck Andress website about picking techniques, angles, rotating wrists and stuff.

https://www.tuckandpatti.com/pick-finger_tech.shtml

This is an incredible source of information, written by a master of control, time, and dynamics. And tone

Here is a video from Julian Lage. How flexible that guy is. Amazing player.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Adsdj66MyyE

As you said,

Originally Posted by JonPR

The secret - of course - is practice: finding what works, and working on it. There's a reason why one's good hand is at the picking end and not the fretting end: it's all about control, of time and dynamics.