playing without a pick

I really like playing acoustic without a pick. I have an experienced player friend who continually finds fault with that. I'm not loud enough, doesn't like my strumming. I know there are others that use no pick. Love to hear any thoughts on this. I'm left handed and play right handed. I believe this is why I am not that comfortable using a pick.
Emily

I would recommend checking out some of our acoustic finger picking lesson:

http://www.guitartricks.com/search.php?search.x=0&search.y=0&input=acoustic+fingerpicking

-GT Admin

Without actually hearing you play, we can't say that your friend is right or wrong. You can't do everything with your hand. You need a pick sometimes. The reverse is also true in that you can't do everything with a pick and need just your fingers for certain things. In the end, it all depends on the style of music you play.

Emily,

I bet if you and your friend walked into a guitar store to by new acoustic guitars you two would buy guitarts made from different woods. You seem to like a deeper, richer tone. Your friend likes brighter tones.

A pick gives brighter crisper tones wheather your picking strings or strumming chords. It also limits the amount of tones you can get from your guitar.

Using your thunb and fingers will give more mellow tones, but you can make your guitar have so many different tones you can't get from a pick.

Depending on what part of your finger you use to hit the string you can make the srting(s) sound different. Use the front of your finger, side of your finger, use part of your nail as you hit the string. You have more fingers to use to pick with grab strings with and pull off of while your thumb strums other strings.

Don't throw away your pick, but never feel you have to have one to play acoustic or limit the tones you can create by always using one.

Hey,

It totally depends on what you want to do - there are no rules really. Listen to how it sounds!
Check out Paco de Lucia, John Williams, Lindsay Buckingham, Jeff Beck, Mark Knopfler - different guys and styles all playing fingerstyle.
If you decide to go into that direction - lots of stuff to explore!

I use hybrid picking - pick and the remaining three fingers - check out Danny Gatton on YT.

Best wishes!

Hi Emily

It really is all about the technique. Go with what you like, and yes you can get a perfectly loud guitar sound without a pick. Many players and more mentioned in this forum post have done so with pretty good success.

Also, experiment with hybrid picking (hold a pick with your thumb and pointer finger while fingerpicking with the other three) or using a thumb-pick. These are great ways to split the difference while also not straying too far from what you are already doing.

Best of luck! :D

i always find fault with people who find fault with how someone plays... techniques are guidelines and not laws of guitar playing.

with that said, it's still a good idea to learn both with a pick and without a pick... personally, i rarely ever play with a pick. i use my index finger as the pick - to the great dismay of my index finger. in recording and song situations you might find it hard to get the sound you want without using a pick. as someone said earlier, you get different tones with different plectrums.

i'd say keep practicing with a pick but also do what is comfortable to you and what gets the tone that you want.

I used a pick for absolutely everything and never bothered with my fingers until I saw a video of Eric Johnson doing hybrid picking and realised that's how he got half the cool stuff I couldn't figure out how to do just by listening to the CD's I had of his stuff. Two years ago I went to see Martin Simpson live playing his acoustic folk music and got the same wow-effect several times over again, only he was using a thumb-pick and all four fingers to back it up. For the next three months I only played my acoustic guitar and ditched the pick altogether (I couldn't get the hang of the thumb pick, I found I preferred just using my thumb as normal.) As a teenager when half my practice was Metallica and the other half was Iron Maiden I'd never have imagined myself being open to any of that. I wonder if your friend will have a similar experience at some point, albeit possibly through different players to those who inspired me in finger style.

Oh and while I think about it, I remember watching a documentary on Deep Purple and the making of Smoke on the Water in which Richie Blackmore demonstrated how that opening riff is actually played by plucking the 5th chords on just the A and D strings finger style and not with a pick, because he thought it sounded better. I ran straight up to my guitar and tried this and holy ****, I wondered how I'd never realised it was played that way before. I've seen so many cover bands play it, heard it played by people in guitar stores so many times but not once have I seen it done Blackmore's way, without the pick. Funny, isn't it?

Originally Posted by: continuemI have an experienced player friend who continually finds fault with that. I'm not loud enough, doesn't like my strumming....

Is that so? I would recommend you watch and listen to Kaki King - especially Playing with Pink Noise.

She's a very impressive acoustic-guitarist who rarely uses a pick. Notice how her strumming hand has very prominent finger nails.

Best of luck.

Michael :=)

I'd just find a new friend to jam with :D

I've always had a hard time with the pick. I can't hold onto to it any way to make it as comfortable as using my thumb. When I really want to enjoy strumming and playing with music, I use my thumb. But, I make myself use the pick when I practice because I'm trying to learn and get better.

I've tried every pick from .33 to over 1.0 plus the stubby with the place for the thumb. Still can't get it comfortable enough to strum, especially up and down; keep hanging up and getting frustrated.....

Ideas here are welcomed, but short of picking lead, I can't seem to find a good use for my picks

thanks

Try using the search box and search "holding a pick"..
There are a few lessons there that might hold a clue of what you may have missed in an earlier lesson..
I usually hold my pick with and 1/8 inch to 3/16 inch exposed.. It may be more in your wrist then in the way you hold your pick..
Stay loose and relaxed..
Good luck..