How to Play Guitar for Beginners: How to Pick a Pick (How to Choose a Guitar Pick/Plectrum)

I have to come clean. I am most comfortable playing guitar without a pick. I grew up in the folk era and I am much more comfortable finger picking than doing just about anything else. To me, the feel of the string on my finger gives me the most accurate and expressive guitar experience.

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And yet, the sound of the fingers, while wonderful for softer folk, bossa nova, and other more subtle styles, is not as clean, rich, loud, and bell-like as the sound of a pick.

And if you're playing electric, well, the argument for a pick is pretty strong.

So, if you are like me and you prefer using your fingers, let's leap out of our comfort zone and jump into the wonders of the plectrum.

And if you're not like me and you've always played with a pick, you prefer a pick, and you have no idea what I'm talking about, well, you can come along too. Let's look at how to pick a pick.

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Since I started out talking about finger picking, let's begin our exploration with a less common kind of pick: the finger pick.

As a kid I was sure these things were supposed to go on like fake fingernails. There I was, 10 years old, sporting tortoise shell fake nails and wondering why they were so hard to use on the guitar. And the metal ones got all squished out of shape and sounded awful as they grabbed the strings. They didn't look so great either.

I finally gave in, twirled them around, and realized that they did indeed work much better covering the pad of the fingertip rather than the nail. So, lesson one: wear your finger picks so that they do not grab the string but so that the convex part of the pick hits the string.

Personally, I ended up using a thumb pick for years when playing and performing with an acoustic guitar, but leaving the rest of my fingers bare for direct contact with the strings. The thumb pick gave a nice emphasis to the alternating bass and yet my other fingers kept their freedom to feel the strings. But I must say, a wave of admiration involuntarily floods my system when I see someone playing with picks on all their fingers.

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Lately I have been exploring the world of electric blues, so I have a whole new appreciation for the quality of the sound of the pick. There is simply nothing like it.

So let's talk about the weight of the pick.

In my acoustic days, I enjoyed light picks exclusively. I was annoyed that they were not the default pick that every player had in their pocket. I liked them because they gave me more feeling of the string and more sense of control of the sound. They felt more like an extension of my hand.

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Recently I bought a big package of picks so that I could have some in every room. They were supposed to be all light, but as it turned out, many of them were really medium. I was disappointed but since there were so many, it was no big deal. One day, I decided to give a bunch of the heavier ones to a friend's son, a teenage boy learning guitar. These were basically the ones I didn't like. Some were very big and triangular, which was uncomfortable in my hand, and they were all heavier than I like them.

He was thrilled with the big ones and commented that these were great because he "hates those thin ones." He scrunched up his face with such an expression of disdain for the picks I prefer that I got, in a flash, how different we all are and how personal even pick selection really is.

Then something weird happened. The more electric I was playing the more I found myself digging through the picks looking for the heaviest ones I could find.

The sound of the harder pick on the electric guitar took hold of my ears and I couldn't get enough of it.

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People change -- or -- buy a mixed bag of picks because you never know.

Ok, I know, this was not the most didactic presentation of pick variety you'll find. But hopefully my little stories will help you the next time you stand at the pick counter, like a kid in a bakery, wondering which cookie to buy. Ultimately you've got to try them to see what you like. And then try them again because you might change. It would be nice to do that with guitars, too, wouldn't it? But for now, picks are still affordable enough to treat like cookies. Enjoy "tasting" them and finding your favorites.

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