Those finger pick things.

[BluesyRob]

Any advice on using finger picks? I've been a bare-finger picker for years now, but I'm digging the sound of fingerpicks, however I'm really sloppy with them. I'm ok on dead-thumb blues but when it comes to alternating thumb I'm dead in the water. I found using plastic rather than steel finger picks (National thumb pic) yields some improvement but it's all really just messy, messy, messy! Any thoughts? Thanks!

[islandguitar]

Rob,
Check out the Pro Pick Finger Tone pick which is listed on a thread just a little bit down from this one. I've transitioned to them from old Nationals and find that they do well and might serve you too as you emerge from flesh fingers to picks. Some of the plastic ones IMHO don't really shape themselves to your fingers in a natural way and that may be part of the issue. Other brands may give you more comfort and help that break in period where it's hard to get them to feel "right".
As others will say, more practice and time will get whatever picks you decide on more comfortable for playing. It's certainly a feel which is acquired over time .....sometimes a fair amount of time, sometimes not.
Best of luck with your transition to picks!

[verstft]

Get the dunlop plastic thumb pics and a nail clipper.

Fit them using this technique:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpDOuaFM0HQ


Then file one down to where it's barely protruding from side of your thumb. Call that one your thumb pick "training wheels". Get comfy with it then do the same thing with another pick but give it more length and so on.


Once you get use to them, you can pretty much adjust your attack and thumb motion to fit the pick..but when you are just getting started, fit is more critical. Best way I can describe it is: playing violin with boxing gloves.

Once you feel good with that, try your thumb pick and finger picks. Those require a lot of practice to get a clean strike without the brushy metal sound. You either have to retrain your right hand position a little bit or try to really understand the angle at which your are striking the string and bend your pics with a pair of pliers so they come in perpendicular.

I just went through a similar dilema so I thought I would share what worked for me.

Good luck! remember it only gets better.

[Fngrstyl]

Its new to you, so...Practice practice and practice

[BluesyRob]

Originally Posted by verstft

Get the dunlop plastic thumb pics and a nail clipper.

Fit them using this technique:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpDOuaFM0HQ


Then file one down to where it's barely protruding from side of your thumb. Call that one your thumb pick "training wheels". Get comfy with it then do the same thing with another pick but give it more length and so on.


Once you get use to them, you can pretty much adjust your attack and thumb motion to fit the pick..but when you are just getting started, fit is more critical. Best way I can describe it is: playing violin with boxing gloves.

Once you feel good with that, try your thumb pick and finger picks. Those require a lot of practice to get a clean strike without the brushy metal sound. You either have to retrain your right hand position a little bit or try to really understand the angle at which your are striking the string and bend your pics with a pair of pliers so they come in perpendicular.

I just went through a similar dilema so I thought I would share what worked for me.

Good luck! remember it only gets better.

Thanks! Already considering the Pro Pick Finger Tone pick!

[StringMeUp]

I prefer using my nails, but ProPik Finger-Tone are a good choice. I also used my bare fingers for years before I got the hang of using finger picks. Good luck and have fun. :-)

[Picking Moose]

Originally Posted by BluesyRob

Thanks! Already considering the Pro Pick Finger Tone pick!

I have been using the ProPicks for years. They are indeed great.

Some suggestions... for best possible tone and string attack you will need to shape them around your fingertips, also adjusting the whidth of each pick for each finger for best comfort.

Depending on how you position your picking hand you might also consider turning the index pick slightly sideways (towars the thumb). That will help to avoid a grasping noise when the pick slides on the G string if your picking fingers attack the strings slightly sideways, like most classical players do.

A final thought on the thumbpick.
In my experience this is the driving force. It is also the 1 pick which greatly affects the way you pick with the whole hand (fingers position in relation to strings, attack, picking strenght, speed, comfort.. the lot).
Get this pick wrong and the whole picking collapses. Ideally you should try as many shapes and sizes as possible before committing to a specific one.

Think of picks as shoes... you've got to find the type/style/shape that fits your feet and the way you walk.
It might take a while....

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by BluesyRob

...Any thoughts? Thanks!

Hi B-rob...

After a spell with them about 3 decades ago I said to myself "I don't want to handicap myself by requiring that I have to carry stuff in my pockets everywhere I go so I can easily and successfully play guitars which happen to be anywhere I go."

I play without any 'aids' at present (and for the past 35 years)

That's probably just me.

[Picking Moose]

Personally I sort of "had to" learn to use them because I have very fragile fingernails which, no matter how much I look after them, break easily.

As it happens I too did not want to use them until that day...
I woke up early that morning because the excitement to finally get the new guitar would not let me sleep.

The Yamaha FG360 was waiting for me in the shop.
As I did the bed my right hand thumb hit on something and the nail broke!!! Disaster.
But I did go to the shop and I did buy the FG360... but I could not play it properly for nearly two weeks (which is what it took for the nail to grow any usable lenght) apart from a few strummed songs.
Those must have been the two longest weeks of my life and during that time I decided to give fingerpicks a chance.

At first try I took them off after a few seconds and binned them... next day I went back to the bin....

What I would suggest to anyone wanting to use fingerpicks is to keep also using your own fingernails. I did and I can play equally with and without them.

I find that for me, with certain music, picks work best than fingernails, like strong driven blues, bottleneck or 12 strings guitar picking but for smooth jazz or classical stuff (for example) natural fingernails are, obviously, a must.

[Joie2800]

It's all well and good that a particular style finger pick works for a particular style player. You need to try lots of different picks and practice, practice, practice! Have fun!

[ljguitar]

Hi BR...

I notice someone mentioned fragile nails. I have those too, and when I tried all flesh I preferred it to nail or fingerpicks personally.

If you want the edge that finger picks bring, then you need to find the ones which work for you and learn the discipline it takes to procure, prepare, install and use them.

I have a great friend who uses them quite well. He puts them on and out-comes-the-music.

I have another friend who wishes he could use them, and his playing is more fumbling when he tries to don them (which he's been doing for the better part of a decade). Personally I think he'd be better off and more musical without them.


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[Picking Moose]

Just to remain on the subject... anyone here using Alaska Picks? (http://alaskapik.com/)
I have been considering those for quite a while now...

[Silly Moustache]

Buy Pro-pics -http://www.guptillmusic.com/

ONLY play when wearing them - you get used to them.

[Fngrstyl]

Originally Posted by Picking Moose

Just to remain on the subject... anyone here using Alaska Picks? (http://alaskapik.com/)
I have been considering those for quite a while now...

Just my thoughts here.............as far as picks go, these are second best to nails/acrylics. They mimic your nails. You can still brush down the strings with the back of your nails with these. I do this a lot when strumming, and it would be impossible with other picks (banjo type picks) They would catch on the strings for sure.

[Scotch]

I personally love having short nails, with thumb pick or not really matters what im playing.

Also another thing that isn't too big well dont see many people use is Alaska Picks. They are picks but they extend the length of your finger nails but still a pick. Very hard to explain so 'll just post a picture