old habits....sigh

yeah so they say old habits are hard to break...
is this one THAT bad?

I dont hold the pick between my thumb and pointer ( index ) but instead I hold it between my thumb and middle finger...

I first started playing guitar when I was 16 ish? and that was 20 years ago....not like I played for 20 years...picked it up and put it down etc...but have always held the pick this way

so is holding the pick like this going to dampen my ability to do other things?
should I totally retrain myself and hold it the way it is typically taught...wow that will be so hard
20 year old habit....well maybe not a habit....20 year old method I guess

opinions?

I don't see how it really could dampen your ability in any major way unless you find that your index finger keeps bumping on the strings but I doubt that is happening if you have been doing it for 20 years. I used the 3-finger grip (index, middle and thumb) for 10 or so years and managed to train my brain over to the index+thumb method fairly quickly.. the thing is, I can play both ways just as easily..

Playing rhythm, it shouldn't make much difference, but lead or hybrid picking would be much more difficult to do. In hybrid picking you use the pick, and the middle, and ring finger on the right hand.

Playing lead riffs, you could use a flat pick only, but when it comes to rolls, and other speed techniques you may find it hard to do.

I know all about retraining, I was a flat picker for 17 years. I always used the flat pick only, and then took a road gig with a country band. I still use a flat pick, but had to train myself to use my fingers too. Most of what we were playing had double stops, and they just sound better played with the fingers.

Your situation may be different, and it's really up to you how you play. You have to do what makes you the most comfortable, so hold the pick any way you want. The music we play is a way to express what we feel, and if it sounds the way you want it to, then it's fine.

JD

Lots of good information here, but here's some more anecdotal: supposedly that's how EVH plays, so his index is free to tap.

yeah I started realizing that I might need that finger to picks with...
I dont finger pick but I want to learn....
I have a friend who doesnt play with a pick...hes all acustic and it drives me buts when I go there so I started hole punchhing my picks and keep about 5 on my key ring so I always have one on me....

hes talking about getting an electric....
can you even play electric regularly without a pick? seems odd

Originally Posted by: Itsmesillyyeah I started realizing that I might need that finger to picks with...
I dont finger pick but I want to learn....
I have a friend who doesnt play with a pick...hes all acustic and it drives me buts when I go there so I started hole punchhing my picks and keep about 5 on my key ring so I always have one on me....

hes talking about getting an electric....
can you even play electric regularly without a pick? seems odd

Depends on the style you want to play but guys like Mark Knopfler, GE Smith, Steve Cropper, Jeff Beck, Chet Atkins, Lindsey Buckingham and Derek Trucks play most if not all the time without a pick. So, given that company, yes ;)