Pick grip tension

Playing Technique
#1

By looking closely at Martin Miller, Steve morse, Anton Oparin etc…
You see that they have a very light pick grip when playing fast most of the time. You can see that the pick moves slightly between the thumb and index finger ( middle and index in Steve’s case).
I find that to be a huge part to play acurate at higher speeds.
Since i loosened my grip things are going much, much better!

I use a Blue Chip TAD 60 pick at the moment, which is not flexible at all.

Please share some thoughts on this?

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#2

Never understood how they do it to be honest. How does the pick not fly away? :thinking:

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#3

I think it partly depends on the rest of your technique. In particular I’m thinking of Michael Angelo Batio, who while he doesn’t have a death-grip on the pick, certainly plays at incredible speeds with less “pick wiggle” than somone like Morse or Albert Lee.

And I think this idea is part of the reason there are some famously fast players who happen to use relatively flexible “thin” picks: Where a technique is conducive to “wiggling”, that wiggling could come either from looseness of the grip, or from bending of the pick itself within a firmer grip.

I definitely think there’s enough evidence out there to debunk the idea that an inflexible pick held firmly is “always necessary” for fast playing.

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#4

It probably depends on a lots of things, like, the kind of stuff you play, the type and strength of pick, how deep you pick, personal preference …

To me it kind of self-adjusting sometimes. But for some stuff it’s more conscious. For example for funk strumming or similar stuff I like to have the pick firmly hold … except for occasional raking which I find better with a more loose grip. For crosspicking 1nps stuff I think a firm grip is better too. But when it comes to alternate pick like 3nps in 2wps mode a lighter grip that allows a little wobbling is better for me.

It’s hard to figure out that stuff actually, even with slow motion clip, because sometimes you hold the pick in a way that it has a flexible way and is more rigid the other way. This might have to do with pickslant … and also with edge picking. If you have a lot of edge too much of a light grip can cause the pick to fly away

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#5

It is practice, pactice practice.Also the material where the pick is made if can help a lot. But that is not the same with every person. For me the material where the Blue Chip nis made of sticks a bit to my fingers, but to a student of mine it slips out more then his pick does, which slips out more of my fingers.

So try different materials and practice to loosen the grip.

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