Going from pick to fingerstyle in the same song

[punkbassistfc]

Hey everyone, my band has written a song in which i fingerpick the intro because its mellow, but then i have to quickly change to a pick to smash out a punchy chorus. Where should i keep the pick? Is there a proper technique for this or is it just each to their own.

Cheers

[Traver]

I don't have any experience with this myself, but I've seen a lot of people holding the pick between their lips when they don't use it. But that's mostly people who use the pick the majority of the time and then switch to fingerstyle now and then.

[Time Consumer]

i did that with my old metal band, i just held the pick in my lips and grabbed it when i needed it again.

[matskull]

I saw a guitarist who holds his pick with his index only. If you need two finger to play it won't work though but I use my lips and could probably squeeze it between my bass and the pickguard...

[beyondhairy]

i usually end up just letting go of the pick and letting it fall when i want to go TO fingerstyle... but then im kinda stuck there.. lol

but i have this clip on my strap that holds about 5 or so picks and i can just pluck one off there when i need to...





just like that, they are in a bucket at sam ash for likr $3 each or something...


and wow... check out what i just found on my google search for those clips...

[Deacon_Blues]

Do you have a pickguard on your bass? In that case, stuff your pick in between the body and that one on some place where you can access it easily.

Another way could be to thumbpluck the mellow parts and keep the pick in your hand while doing it. This is probably how I would do it, if I ever faced the same problem..

[crazyguy832]

Learn how to play with your ring and middle fingers. Additionally, learn how to play with your pink as well. It will take a few months to get decent at it but, after a while, you shouldn't have any trouble playing mellower parts with these fingers. It's what I do and it works great (as a bonus, you now have one--or even two--extra fingers when you just play fingerstyle; as a second bonus... hybrid picking!).

fyi, hybrid picking is playing with a pick and your ring and middle fingers at the same time... guitarists have been doing it for years.

[MarkTAW]

Yeah, if it's slow enough for you to thumb pick it, do that. You could also pseudo pick by holding your thumb & index fingers together and using the nails to strike the strings. You don't get quite the articulation as when using a real pick, but you get close.

I also keep the pick between the pickguard & bass, at least on the bass that when I got it already had a gap there. But it's still not fast enough for some of the fast changes I would need.

[scourge]

Hold the pick between your thumb and middle finger and pluck with your index finger ala EVH.

[Xanthyr]

Depends on your right hand and how you anchor it. I would fold the pick in with my thumb and just play from there.

[Loel]

I play mostly fingers country/blues now,
about 20 years ago i played in a blues rock
band that required me to use a pick,what
i use to do put a rubber band on my wrist with a
3 to 4" string tied to it,drilled hole in dunlop pick
and just let it dangle,it was always there
when needed,only put it on for songs that
need a pick..

[Sammy_L_D]

Mouth, nearby surface, pick holder, microphone stand pick holder, tuck between pinky/ring...whatever works easiest for you.

[Tenma4]

I have deep set eyes, so I can just close one eye, put the pick on my top eyelid, then open my eyelid so that the pick is caught between it and my eye socket skin. Works great.

[matskull]

Originally Posted by beyondhairy

and wow... check out what i just found on my google search for those clips...

where did you find that? looks cool

[Nick Kay]

If you use a 2-finger technique, you can put the pick in your palm at the knuckle of your ring finger and hold it down with your ring finger. Release your ring finger and it'll fall roughly into playing position.

[Jazzdogg]

A buddy of mine Wraps the back edge of his picks in epoxy putty creating a cross-sectional shape similar to an airplane wing, which makes it easier for him to hold on to his picks when playing normally; when he plays something mellow, he plays with the pick held backward - with the end he normally uses to pluck the strings pinched between his thumb and forefinger, and the fattened end striking the strings. All he has to do is flip his pick end-for-end and he has two distinctly different sounds. Seems to work well for him.

[beyondhairy]

Originally Posted by matskull

where did you find that? looks cool

just found it on a random google image search, never seen it before outside of that

[Lesfunk]

You could try using a thumb pick. I first saw Mario Cipollina from Huey Lewis do this and thought it was a good idea. You can seamlessly alternate between pick and fingerstyle.

[Marcury]

hold the pick in your curled pinky and ring fingers. Practice moving it in and out.

[bassrique]

Double sided tape:

http://www.myclassiclyrics.com/artis..._Biography.jpg

Put the pick back when you're done or just drop it, as you have many more.