How much do you choke up on your pick?

[Chas007]

How far do you allow your pick to stick out past the edge of your thumb?
Do you hold it differently for strumming than you do for picking?

[DukeX]

I'm always shifting the pick, depending on the piece I'm playing.

[B. Adams]

Back when I used thin picks, I'd choke up on them a lot when doing anything but strumming. Eventually I realized that such a thin pick was hurting my technique and tone and I went to much thicker picks. It was a bit of a learning curve, but now I don't need to change finger position on my pick depending on what I'm playing. A thicker pick also plays and sounds better for me.

I probably hold the pick about halfway down.

[Rev Roy]

I use a thin pick so I choke up a bit when picking and back off a bit when strumming. Tiny adjustments. So natural for me now I don’t even notice I’m doing it...

[s2y]

I don't expose much of the tip. I can pick directly over a Strat middle pickup without hitting it.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by B. Adams

Back when I used thin picks, I'd choke up on them a lot when doing anything but strumming. Eventually I realized that such a thin pick was hurting my technique and tone and I went to much thicker picks. It was a bit of a learning curve, but now I don't need to change finger position on my pick depending on what I'm playing. A thicker pick also plays and sounds better for me.

I probably hold the pick about halfway down.

Ditto this. It's exactly what I would have written.

Large triangle Primetone 1.4mm smooth picks make my life easier.

[rstaight]

Can't move around much with a thumb pick. But when I'm using a flat pick I'm all over.

[srbell]

It depends on what/how I'm playing. Sometimes choked up, sometimes not. Grip is sometimes tight, loose, or anything in between. I'll use the pointy end of the pick and also the more rounded top corners of the pick. All of these things affect the tone and I change what I'm doing as needed while playing to change the tone and dynamics. I've found that pick material, thickness, and technique can change the sound of your guitar even more than different strings, and will allow you to do so on the fly.

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by DukeX

I'm always shifting the pick, depending on the piece I'm playing.

Same here. As there’s been a general migration to heavier gauge picks, there’s been a corresponding loss of pick choking and loosening techniques. But with light, medium and medium-heavy picks, there’s just SO much tonal variety that can be found simply in the way and the places you hold the pick.

Hope that makes sense.


whm

[guitar george]

For strumming I use a light pick with only about 1/4 of the pick sticking out beyond my index finger. Unfortunately, I often find that the pick slides around in my fingers and I have to adjust it when it gets out of place which is not always easy to do while strumming.

[Ray175]

Strumming, I leave quite a lot of the pick exposed. For picking, and particularly fast runs I leave very little exposed and angle the pick at about 30° in relation to a line parallel with the strings -this way the pick encounters less resistance and faster, more accurate picking is easier.

[beatcomber]

Not only do I adjust my grip depending on the desired tone, I also slightly rotate how parallel the pick surface is to the strings.

[guitararmy]

For lead work, I barely have the tip exposed (good for pinch harmonics on the electric stuff)
For strumming, about 1/3 exposed. I still drop picks a lot!

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by Rev Roy

I use a thin pick so I choke up a bit when picking and back off a bit when strumming. Tiny adjustments. So natural for me now I don’t even notice I’m doing it...

About like this.

[fazool]

Im primarily a fingertip player so when I use a pick I choke way up and actually have a style that uses my fingertips to control/mute the strings depending on what Im playing. sort of like palm muting with my fingers while picking (hard to describe)