Let Your Love Flow - trouble with my pick


edithb
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Joined: 10/30/09
Posts: 97
edithb
Full Access
Joined: 10/30/09
Posts: 97
12/29/2022 10:07 pm

Hi, Mike.


I didn't see anybody else asking about this lesson so maybe I'm just lan old hippie, living in the past!  This has always been one of my favorite songs.


No trouble feeling where the accents belong.  In fact, when I'm not playing my guitar (just reading or doing stuff around the house), I tap out the sixteenth notes or at least hear them in my head.


It's hard for me to keep up with you on the full performance (even if I dial the speed down to .9).  I know speed comes only from a relaxed hand and wrist, but then my pick starts to rotate, slide around and tries to escape from my finger and thumb.  If I grip the pick firmly enogh to keep it from sliding around, then I lose that relaxed feeling.


Any ideas?  Are there picks with a textured, matte surface that don't slide around so easily?


I haven't made much progress in all the years I've been with GT.  Probably because nobody else in my household plays, and I don't hang out with people who play.  Just keep taking lessons with many of your instructors.  Have gone through the fundamentals tutorials (with both Lisa and Anders) and now and then exlore the songs.


You're a great instructor.  Thanks for the variety of songs you teach for beginners and your approach.  Very understandable.


 


# 1
snojones
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Joined: 04/17/13
Posts: 694
snojones
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Joined: 04/17/13
Posts: 694
12/29/2022 10:26 pm

The way I solved that problem was by using larger picks that are triangular in shape (all 3 sides the same).  The larger size helped make it easier to hold onto.  If the pick slipped in my fingers it was easy to just rotate (in either direction since they are all the same) just a little bit and I was back to good with the pick.  It can be a slow process getting the pick to stay put.  I have watched other people go years before they finally got a reliable, relaxed grip. 


Try diffrent shaped picks.  Try picks that varry in thickness, this can make a diffrence in how your effective your grip is.  


Also try you might benifit by physically picking softer.   If you are banging on the strings, it is going to be harder to get the pick to stay put. 


Play with these varriables until you get it right, eventually you will find the right combination of technique and pick size/shape/ stiffness.


Captcha is a total pain in the........

# 2
Mike Olekshy
Guitar Tricks Instructor
Joined: 09/21/10
Posts: 1,050
Mike Olekshy
Guitar Tricks Instructor
Joined: 09/21/10
Posts: 1,050
12/30/2022 2:21 pm

Hi edithb! Thanks for the kind words.  Snojones beat me to it with some solid advice - thank you snojones!!


I'll add that there are some picks that indeed have grooves/indentations that can help with this a little.  I switched to Dunlop Prime Grip picks that have ridges that help hold the pick in place a little better.


And just to echo snojones here, spend a bit of your practice time being intentional with your grip - maybe a few minutes of some easy strumming where all your attention is focussed on a relaxed but firm grip of the pick.  It takes time to burn it in so you don' t have to think about it as much, so keep at it!


Let me know how it goes!


Mike


Keep rockin!
Mike Olekshy
GT Guitar Coach

# 3
Rumble Walrus
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Joined: 12/30/20
Posts: 501
Rumble Walrus
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Joined: 12/30/20
Posts: 501
12/31/2022 12:20 am

Edithb - I have a bit of arthritis in both hands and started using Dava picks.  For me, they have a really positive grip.  I pick up mine at my local music store but here's the website https://www.davapick.com/ .


By the way - I love The Bellamy Brothers.  I've seen them live a few times and they sounded every bit as good live as on record.


Happy New Year,


 


Rumble


# 4
edithb
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Joined: 10/30/09
Posts: 97
edithb
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Joined: 10/30/09
Posts: 97
01/05/2023 7:42 pm

Thanks to everyone for their great suggestions.  You insipired me to stop whining and get to work on things. 


I took a day off from playing my guitar.  Then I started over again with lesson 1 and all the following lessons pertaining to Guitar 1 (acoustic).  


Using the very lightest pick I have (Jim Dumlop .46 mm), which conveniently has raised lettering on both sides, I played along without dialing back the tempo.  I didn't lose my grip on the pick and by strumming very lightly there wasn't a lot of clicking sounds, which I sometimes get with this very light pick.


I also have learned to adjust the video quality to the lowest possible setting.  My internet service is so horribly slow that at high quality there is a lot of buffering, which makes playing along nearly impossible.  This is especially true if my husband is downloading something on his XBox.  And the lower video quality is good enough.  It's like watching TV that isn't hi def.


After doing all the slow plays of the verse and chorus, I decided to go right to the full performance.  Amazingly, everything seemed easier and more natural playing at the correct tempo - I didn't dial it down at all!  Hearing the vocals was really helpful.  Because I'm so familiar with the song, the chord progressions just came naturally without having to think about chord changes.


I also use a hint that Anders suggested.  Sometimes in the last measure before a chord change, it's okay to lift off all strings on the final sixteenth note while you make the switch.  It's more important to hit the new chord solidly.


All in all, today was successful.


Thanks again for the encouragement and great ideas.


 


# 5
Rumble Walrus
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Joined: 12/30/20
Posts: 501
Rumble Walrus
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Joined: 12/30/20
Posts: 501
01/05/2023 7:49 pm

Woo hoo edithb!!


# 6
Mike Olekshy
Guitar Tricks Instructor
Joined: 09/21/10
Posts: 1,050
Mike Olekshy
Guitar Tricks Instructor
Joined: 09/21/10
Posts: 1,050
01/06/2023 1:54 pm

EdithB - awesome update!  Great work!!


Mike


Keep rockin!
Mike Olekshy
GT Guitar Coach

# 7

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