Pick keeps getting snagged

Technique Critique
#1

I’m at wit’s end with this one; I’ve had this problem my entire 15 year journey of playing this instrument. What’s the cause of my pick snagging on the strings? The problem is somewhat mitigated if I introduce an extreme leading edge, but only slightly, and I have no idea why this is. The strings just feel like these tough tree trunks that just will not yield. If I grip the pick hard, it gets snagged, and if I grip the pick loosely, the pick flops unpredictably, and I still feel a lot of friction.

I have less of a problem playing with thicker picks like the Dunlop Flow, so I don’t know if that lends any clues. You might ask “well why not just play with the Flow?” and the thing is, I still sometimes feel these problems with that pick too, although less so. I’m using the Jazz III in this video because it better demonstrates my problems. I have no idea how so many players play with this thing.

#2

Does this feeling of being stuck occur in both directions? I think the problem could be how you orient the pick while playing.

To me, it looks like some garage-spike problem has snuck into your upstrokes. It looks like you keep the pick slanted downwards when you perform upstrokes, which would make the pick “dig under” the strings. Here’s an explanation of the problem in the original Cracking the Code series:

To fix it you’d need to adjust the pick to slant upwards on upstrokes, while keeping the downslant on downstrokes. This makes the pickslant match the picking or strumming direction. Here you can find some additional information:

It also looks like your playing with the side of the pick. I’m not saying this is wrong, but it will create more surface area for the pick to contact the strings with, which could lead to the picking strokes feeling resistant or snagged.

To address this you could try playing with more of the point of the pick. You could then dial in some edge picking for a smoother pick attack. You can achieve this by rotation the pick along its axis, keeping the point of the pick in the same place. You can think of it like this: If you balance the pick on its point on the body of the guitar between the strings, rotate the pick while keeping the point stable, you’ll achieve more edge picking the more you rotate the pick.

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#3

I’m confused - from what I understand, you can pick upstrokes with a downward pick slant, as that’s what gypsy guitarists do. Are you saying I need to upward pickslant during an upstroke, and downward pickslant during a downstroke? Because, from my understanding of what pickslanting is, that would look like this video. I’m not being sarcastic, I think I’m just misunderstanding what you’re telling me.

Also every time I try to introduce the point, the road spikes get much worse

#4

PS do you do online lessons? I’m just extremely thick when it comes to this stuff and need someone to explain it like I’m five, with a video.

Here’s a video of me not encountering many snags. Have absolutely no idea what I’m doing differently.

#5

Ah, sorry, I should have asked you before I answered. Are you looking for help on your single string playing, sweeping, strumming, or something else?

Yes, you’re totally right! When playing lines on a single string at a time this is correct. Gypsy guitarists as you mentioned often play with a picking motion where the pick is slanted downwards and their upstrokes rise above or escape the strings. The downstrokes on the other hand rest or are trapped between the strings. This makes it possible to change to a higher or lower string after an upstroke, as the pick is in the air, so there’s obstacles in the way. After a downstroke, you’re trapped between the strings but can change to a higher string by sweeping down, the same direction as the pickslant. If you try to switch to a lower string after a downstroke, you’re pick will dig under the string, causing a garage-spike type of problem.

I based my answer on multi-string playing as you did in your first video. When performing motions that cover multiple strings your pickslant needs to follow the direction you’re going. For example, if you’re strumming or sweeping down towards the floor, your pick needs to be slanted downwards as well. When going back up your pick needs adjust to the switch of direction, i.e. slant upwards. Having a mismatch between the picking direction and pickslant causes the “garage-spike” problem where the pick digs under the strings.

#6

Ah I see. I was attempting to do a metal chugging riff. But it all honesty, particularly when using that pick, I feel string resistance playing just about anything. Actually pretty much the only thing I can do without getting the pick stuck is a semi-gypsy technique. As it happens, I do tend to change slants when I’m sweeping!

Now I’m still confused about changing the pickslant when strumming. Is that what Joscho is doing here? https://youtu.be/sp-Kai8Z1ck

It just seems impossible to rapidly change pickslant if you’re trying to strum quickly, or do any kind of tremolo technique. I’ll just post another video to demonstrate how I’m understanding your instructions, coming in a minute.

#7

Here we go

#8

My first impression is you’re holding the pick in a way thats exposing a lot of pick on the upstroke.
Have you tried holding the pick more perpendicular in your fingers?

#9

Yeah, I have, doesn’t seem to yield any different results

#10

My random input: looks like your thumb is very straight, almost ever so slightly curving up. Have you tried bending your thumb down a little bit? I do so by bending my index finger more, so the pick feels like it’s rolling over the side of my index finger. Should make the pick strike more along the edge and be smoother.

#11

I thought about that too! I’m definitely edge picking in the first video, and I’ve tried many degrees of edging. This is what you mean, right?

#12

Can’t tell too much from the video because only the last 2 seconds seem to be working for me, but that looks like what I explained.

Other than that, the 2 things that stand out to me are:

  1. Your picking speed (the time it takes to move through the top of the motion to the bottom and vice versa) is noticeably slow. Not the “notes per second”, does that make sense? If I were to pick that slow, I would feel things catch more, as there’s more time for you to feel the pick’s surfaces scraping across the strings.

  2. To a lesser extent, your pick depth might be too much, but I would address #1 first.

#13

Ah yeah had to reupload. That’s interesting, I haven’t thought about the speed aspect. I’ll give it a look.

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#14

Hmmm, I don’t know. It just seems like I’m getting stuck at different speeds lol

#15

Can you take a shot looking down the neck at your picking angle? Idk if it’s the angle of the video or the way you are holding the pick, but something looks odd to me.

#16

The angle that you are holding the pick with your thumb and index finger looks like its to pointed out, rather than down. Try holding the pick more like a T and less like a /. You have too much leading edge, so you are only edge picking, rather than using the ‘nose’ of the pick.

If that is uncomfortable to have the pick pointed down, rather than away from your fingers, you can try the Andy James signature picks, they’re a little larger, but have rounded edges, which would reduce the edge pick ‘scratch violin bow’ sound.

#17

How did the single-string playing feel at the beginning of this video? Still jagged? To me, it sounded good and clear and I think – a bit hard to see from the video – the upstrokes were escaping! :slightly_smiling_face:

If you still feel jaggedness you could experiment with straightening the pick or having it tilted to the other direction (are there any CtC terms for this angle @Troy?).

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I don’t think neither side is better than the other, but for me, the angle in the second picture feels more natural for my USX picking motions, making the pickstrokes a bit smoother. For DSX, I tend to favor the angle in the first picture for some reason. :upside_down_face:

You seem to be playing with the leading edge of the pick, i.e. the one towards the headstock. You could try varying the degree of edge picking for that side and see if that helps.

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Note that these pictures might show the extremes of the variations, experiment with something that feels good to you! :wink:

#18

The pick slides back into your usual position in this video. You start with better form and have less leading edge, edge picking noise, but the pick slides in your fingers as you go a long and revert back to your norm.

As I suggested in my other post, try a different pick, Jazz iii XL or the Andy James or new John Petrucci (burgundy colored) picks with beveled edges. Even if you have a full sized pick lying around, see if that has the same issue.

#19

Another idea to make things more chaotic: experiment with your forearm angle. The last video it looks like you might be closer to perpendicular to the strings, as opposed to parallel. This would cause the pick to travel more “up and down” the string, as opposed to across it (causing more pick noise and feel more noticeable).

#20

When you strum up and down, it’s generally easier if the slant of the pick follows the strumming direction. Simplified, this can be achieved in two different ways.

You can keep your grip and the pick steady and change the picking motion so the pickslant corresponds to the strumming direction:

or you can keep your motion constant but change the slant with pick flop by holding the pick relatively loosely:

When strumming for real you’ll probably make some combination of those two variations depending on the situation. A third factor could be the pick itself bending to match the picking direction if you play with a lighter pick. That’s probably partly why some prefer a lighter pick when strumming.

I shot some examples of two strumming techniques I use, both played with a heavy pick that doesn’t bend. I can definitively feel pick flop in both examples, but I can also feel a change in the strumming motion itself depending on the direction.

I hope this clarifies things a bit! :slightly_smiling_face: