So I've been playing the guitar for about a month now and I can't get enough of it, but I'm finding strumming it extremely difficult.
My problems:
1. If I strum with a pick, as the song progresses the pick slips in my fingers until it's rotated with the point away from the strings. I've tried to fix this by gripping the pick harder but it wrecks the sound of the strum and hits some strings quite violently D:
2. If I use no pick and just use my hand, it sounds fine, but I've sort of ended up with a bloody thumb from when I strum upwards. It's taken layers of skin off of the back of my thumb, until it's too sore to play or I have to play with a plaster over it ;)
How can I fix this??? Thanks!
"There's no such thing as perfect. You're beautiful as you are Courage. With all your imperfections, you can do anything."
1. I'm guessing you're gripping the pick with just the tips of your index finger and thumb. Try to use a bit more surface area of your finger and thumb and hopefully it should stick better, or use your thumb, index and middle finger. Alternatively, go to a music shop and look for a better pick. You can get one made from a more high-friction material so it's easier to grip, or an equilateral one ie. all sides are the same length and all corners are the same angle, so all can be used to strum.
2. Don't use the back of your thumb to strum upwards, use the tip of your index finger. Also, when strumming upwards (with your finger or a pick) you don't need to properly strum it, just lightly brushing the strings on the way up is enough, and you don't even need to hit all of them, depending on which chord you're playing.
Also, remember to take lots of breaks when your fingers start hurting. I know when I first started i wanted to play all the time, but it's good to just take a break when they do start hurting :)
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Trust yourself, you know more than you think you do.
Also, remember to take lots of breaks when your fingers start hurting. I know when I first started i wanted to play all the time, but it's good to just take a break when they do start hurting :)
That's true, and also keep in mind that your fingers will toughen up eventually if you practice regularly.
The pick or plectrum rotation is an age old problem for guitarists. As someone else pointed out try a different selection of picks. I remember buying some that felt as though they were covered in talcum powder, it wasn't talc i hasten to point out it just felt like it which made it more grippy in your fingers. If i remember correctly they had a crocodile printed on them so maybe look out for them. Dunlop do a nice selection of picks that have a grippy texture to them. I would suggest going to a decent guitar shop and just asking to look at the selection and feel a few in your fingers. It will take you a while to get the one you feel right with.
Also there are quite a lot of different gauges (thickness). Obviously the thicker ones have less give in them and the lighter gauges bend more easily as you pick or strum. Which you go for will depend a lot on what style of music you want to play, generally go for a heavier gauge if you want to play metal or rock because you'll want to give it a bit more umph, don't go too heavy though because you'll find they have no give at all and as you improve you'll want to experiment with different pick techniques. One of my faves is the pinched harmonic, this one is great if you play rock or metal. The technique is to hold the pick between your index finger and thumb but hold your thumb right to the edge of the pick, the pointy edge that is, the bit that comes into contact with the string. The idea is that when you hit the string with the edge of the pick you are simultaneously hitting the string with the tip of the pick and the edge of your thumb, you'll need maxium distortion for this but you'll find when you get this technique down you'll get a really high pitched scream from the string, great if you are playing loud rock.
As for your fingers being sore, that happens to all guitar players, you just have to stick it out and your fingers will toughen up after a while. Another tip for the problem of the pick rotating is to actually not grip it quite as tight. I know that probably sounds counter intuitive but it does actually work, you want your hands to be as relaxed as possible, when your first start playing the tendency is to tense up a bit and hold on too tight, your playing will come a lot easier and sound a lot more natural the more you can relax your hands. Also it's much easier to correct the alignment of the pick when it rotates if your hand is relaxed and not gripping too tightly. After you become more proficient you'll find you'll be able to re-align the direction of the pick in the blink of an eye.
Good luck, remember practice makes perfect. When you see all those guitarists who make it look so damn easy remember they were a beginner once and they had to spend hours in their bedroom or garage practicing their arse off, stick with it and you'll get there.
