pick or no pick?

[R.C]

hi... do you play with a pick be it strumming or not.... will it sound different and which will sound better? i usually don't play with a pick but my music director encourages us to use a pick when we play...

[shane]

i use a pick unless i need to fingerpick.... however i cant get alternate picking down perfectly for some reason... sigh. not that im a great fingerpicker at all

[R.C]

what is alternate picking? mmm... i'm now learning to play with a pick which is kind of difficult for me after so many years of playing without one....

[patriot]

One way is not better than the other. They are two different styles. I have been mostly playing fingerstyle for the last two and a half years. It opened up a whole new world to me. If you want to learn to play with a pick that is fine but don't let someone force you to do it.
Is there a difference in sound? Yes. In my opinion playing fingerstyle is more subtle . A more mellow sound to my ears. You can control the tone of the instrument by simply changing the angle of your wrist. Just my opinion

[halikarnas]

Pick or no pick?! Well for about 5 years I resisted using a pick being mostly a fingerpicker; however I do play a lot of songs with strumming as well. In the end decided to bite the bullet and persevere using the pick.

The first three months were horrible as I was droppping the pick every where (inside the sound hole too of course#@!!) Then the results started showing; I religiously practised cross picking and all so after a year and a half!! I rarely drop it and have become pretty good at it; though there is much more progress to be made. But I can proudly say I can play the intro to Hotel California with a pick if I wanted to. Certain songs definitely sound better with a pick. The nice thing is to have that in your toolbox if and when you need it, makes you a more of a complete player in my opinion.

So there is my pick story.

[JedimasterPaul]

Originally posted by R.C
what is alternate picking? mmm... i'm now learning to play with a pick which is kind of difficult for me after so many years of playing without one....

I think alternat epicking is where you alternate between downstrokes and upstrokes on successive notes.

It is an economy of motion - for instance. Whenever you do a downstroke, in order for you to do another downstroke you first have to bring the pick back up (an upstroke!) so why not play a note during that motion.

Also do it when you are picking successive notes on different strings.

and of course sometimes for effect you may want to do successive downstrokes.

[R.C]

Originally posted by halikarnas

The first three months were horrible as I was droppping the pick every where (inside the sound hole too of course#@!!) Then the results started showing; I religiously practised cross picking

So there is my pick story.

haha... me too... i kept dropping it into the soundhole and often ending up on the floor too... anyway, what's cross picking? wow.. all these picking terms... cool....

[R.C]

Originally posted by JedimasterPaul
I think alternat epicking is where you alternate between downstrokes and upstrokes on successive notes.

It is an economy of motion - for instance. Whenever you do a downstroke, in order for you to do another downstroke you first have to bring the pick back up (an upstroke!) so why not play a note during that motion.

Also do it when you are picking successive notes on different strings.

and of course sometimes for effect you may want to do successive downstrokes.

oh... now i get it... thanks

[matt]

ive always used a pick, but am fingerpicking more and more lately...

i practiced alternate picking so much that i can do it in my sleep and when im doing it a lot of times i dont even know im doing it...but that was back when i did nothing but play guitar all day long...now that i want to learn to fingerpick im just not that disciplined...

[Ninjato]

BOTH..I use what I need depending on the situation and needs.

[aggie182]

always a pick. rarely finger pick. might try one day, but as of yet, i rarely rarely do. tortex .50 for me.

[freestyle]

For the last 27 years I have fingerpicked. Now I am learning the flat pick.
With the pick is usually louder and crisper. Without is, for me, still the preferred method.
However, I do like to use fingernails, and that sound is pretty much like flatpicking, only much faster ( for me, at least).
Whatever the song calls for, I reckon.

[Ninjato]

I also wanted to say, when I say BOTH, it can also mean that while flatpicking, I can still use the middle, ring, and pinky fingers to pick some strings while the pick is hitting the low E and A strings.

All these "skills" will require time to develop. Just take it one step at a time. Some people pick it up faster than others....I'm one of the slow learners.

[SparkyMark]

I mainly use a pick for strumming but if the song is quiet and needs occassional strums I use fingernails to strum. There is a different tone. Depends what style of song you're singing.

As stated above, be able to do both. It gives you more versatility

[crowdedstr]

i use a pick almost exclusively....