Is there something in your technique holding you back?

This question was posted by Lightweaver on the Metal Method Message Board:

So I've been doing a fair bit of looking and asking around, and I have yet to find a satisfactory answer to my question.

For nearly all my guitar playing I have held my pick in what I felt was a comfortable albeit unorthodox way. Instead of pressing the pick against the side of my curled index finger with my thumb and the "front" edge (the edge nearer the neck) angled slightly downward, I have always held my pick with the pads of my thumb and index finger, with the front edge angled slightly upward. Lately I've been trying to find an answer to the question: "Have I been holding my pick wrong for the last 14 years?"

Obviously, changing my technique at this point is going to be difficult, but I will do it if it's actually better for me. On the other hand why bother if there's really no difference (i.e. limitation) to my playing by holding my pick the way I have been for so long. I do feel that the "standard" method of holding a pick is more positive and offers slightly more control, but I need feedback.

So far I have only found one person who even comes close to holding their pick the way I do, and that's one of the guys from In Flames. As for the rest of the videos I've seen and people I've talked to, 98% of them use the standard method.

Facts, figured, physics, logic, and experience are all welcome and encouraged, as I would dearly love to settle this debate with myself.

-Lightweaver

My Picking Grip Revelation

A few months ago, when I was editing the new Metal Riffology DVDs, I had noticed that i was holding my pick in the way described above and it was quite a revelation. In music we usually use audio recordings to check our progress. In sports it is common to use video to check a swing or stroke.

Could my technique be holding me back?

I applied Michael Angelo Batio's "Potential Picking Speed" test from Speed Kills and realized that I could pick faster if I changed my grip. I also looked at a lot of videos in my library to see how other players held their picks. I didn't see anybody shredding with the grip I had been using for over twenty years! I thought I had pretty good technique; how had I developed this odd grip?

The answer was TONE. I can get better tone with this grip, at least right now. It allows a large area of skin on my thumb to brush the string and shape the sound. I can get killer harmonics with this grip! But I can't pick as fast as I do with the "new" grip. I also spent a long time studying the angle at which the pick strikes the string and how that affects the tone. I seemed to lose the sharpness of my attack with the new grip. My Dunlop Jazz IIIs sounded dull and felt "rounded". I tried some sharper picks (Dunlop Stubbies) and that helped.

Learning to Pick Again!

When I changed my grip I felt a bit like somebody who has had a stroke or been in an accident and has to relearn basic movements that were mastered long ago. It took about a month to begin to get comfortable. I wondered if I was wasting my time, but decided that I had to try to learn the new grip, at least for speedy picking. It would be a new tool in my toolbox. It still feels a little awkward but I'm sticking with it!

Update- The grip gets more comfortable each day and I am now picking better than ever. It took several months to get my fine motor control reprogrammed. I even had a hard time hitting the rights strings- just like a beginner! But the switch was definitely worth the time and effort.
-Sarah