Gah pick is hard...

[kr0n]

I'm trying to learn Parallel Universe by RHCP and decided to learn proper alternate picking while at it. I'm running at 80bpm cleanly, I believe album version is 124, which is my target.

Anyways, the problem is that pick just feels awkward. It always feels like I have to make a compromise between the picking hand and fretting hand with bass position and angle.

Bass sideways, easier picking but can't fret properly.
Angled bass, easier fretting, picking becomes inconsistent.

Am I holding the pick wrong or what, should I just angle the bass for easier 16ths and just forget using LH pinky?

</rant>

 

[ProfFrink]

Try shortening your strap. Slap, picking, thumb-plucking all become a bit easier

 

[MalcolmAmos]

With out seeing you it's kinda hard giving what we think would work.
Pick thickness -- I like a 1.00 to 3.00 mm pick with the 2.0 mm being my go to pick.

I started on rhythm guitar so I started with a pick. Coming over to bass the pick came over also, however, I did increase the thickness. Rhythm guitar we strum, bass we play individual notes..... So.....

….With the pick run your scales up and down the neck and see if that helps you develop a feel for the pick.

Good luck.

 

[kr0n]

Hmm, yeah have to get those really REALLY thick ones then to try out.

I have only 1 hole left on my storebought strap, but it makes headstock go even further making first position awkard. I'll try. What really would help would be a strap that kept the bass more in upright DB position.

As for feel, yes it takes like 30mins+ to get and tiring with improper technique, so more practice it is...

Trying to keep the hand perpendicular to strings and pick parallel moves the bass a little further away for fretting

 

[Lobster11]

I'm trying to learn Parallel Universe by RHCP and decided to learn proper alternate picking while at it. I'm running at 80bpm cleanly, I believe album version is 124, which is my target.

Anyways, the problem is that pick just feels awkward. It always feels like I have to make a compromise between the picking hand and fretting hand with bass position and angle.

Bass sideways, easier picking but can't fret properly.
Angled bass, easier fretting, picking becomes inconsistent.

Am I holding the pick wrong or what, should I just angle the bass for easier 16ths and just forget using LH pinky?

</rant>

I hear you. I also find the ideal picking position to be with the bass higher and more horizontal than when playing with my fingers. When I started adding pickstyle to my repertoire I shortened my strap just a little to find a compromise position in between.

A couple other things that help alleviate the problem for me when using a pick: picking closer to the neck (rather than near the bridge), and angling the bass neck slightly outward (toward the audience) rather than straight across my body. Here's a pic of my personal hero in this position -- note how the bass body sits on her hip rather than her stomach:

Julie Slick at Beardfest 2015

• Lobster11
• Jun 17, 2015

 

[Russell L]

You might get some additional input from JimmyM's thread about the Carol Kaye picking method, too. It's a good method.

 

[kr0n]

I've read it, several times.
I thought I had a heavy pick, but guess not. And I need a sponge or scrunchie for muting I guess, my RH tends to open up and fingers float freely, then pick comes loose. Pick also tends to be a little sideways and not aligning with the string (and I need to turn my wrist into an angle or hold pick a little awkwardly.

I need a scrunchie or sponge...

Angling the bass sure made picking a tad easier but you can forget any 4 fret stretches.

Thanks guys, got frustrated with it but there is some improvement already.

 

[Jeff Bonny]

How long have you been working on it? How much are you practicing? Percentage-wise how much time are you spending vs fingers? It took me a couple of years of not using my fingers at all to start to get comfortable enough to play anything I could with my fingers. After 5-6 years I was getting about equal with the pick as with my fingers. After over a decade of only using the pick I've surpassed in some ways what I could do ever with my fingers. Learning the pick after you've gotten it together with your fingers is difficult for EVERYONE. You can talk about technical stuff like strap height or pick angle or up vs down strokes but all that will come if you practice and study the greats like Carol Kaye, Bobby Vega, Steve Swallow etc. The only magic bullet here is long term hard work.

 

[RustyAxe]

Most of us who started on guitar have trouble understanding the difficulty bass players have with picks. I started guitar and bass almost simultaneously at 13, so using a pick on the bass was just natural, and in my classic country band I use a pick, almost all the time. The most common thing I see is holding the pick "incorrectly". Find a flat picker (think bluegrass) and note how the pick is held and the angle of attack on the strings.

 

[Lobster11]

Most of us who started on guitar have trouble understanding the difficulty bass players have with picks. I started guitar and bass almost simultaneously at 13, so using a pick on the bass was just natural, and in my classic country band I use a pick, almost all the time. The most common thing I see is holding the pick "incorrectly". Find a flat picker (think bluegrass) and note how the pick is held and the angle of attack on the strings.

Funny -- those of us who didn't start on guitar have trouble understanding the difficulty bass players have without picks.

After playing exclusively fingerstyle for almost 15 years -- which I did because it came naturally and easily to me from the beginning -- it's taken me several years of practicing with a pick to get to a point where I'm almost as comfortable with a pick as without one.

 

[RustyAxe]

Ironically, i play acoustic six string almost 100% fingerstyle, yet continue to use a pick on bass in the country band. In other projects I use fingers. Go figure ...

 

[Tottery]

There is no wrong way to hold a pick. The right way is whatever is the most comfortable for you. That's all I have outside of keep practicing at a slower tempo and increase the bpm when you are comfortable.

 

[richntiff]

Personally I have no problem playing with a pick - it’s far easier than fingerstyle for me (ESP when singing!!!!!) but I’d chalk it up to playing some thrash metal guitar in my youth. That being said - I never play bass with a pick ( been clean for 4 years) I enjoy the challenge of singing a vocal over a finger style riff. I suck at it, but I enjoy it!​

 

[RustyAxe]

There is no wrong way to hold a pick. The right way is whatever is the most comfortable for you.

Sure! You run with that ...

 

[Jeff Bonny]

There is no wrong way to hold a pick. The right way is whatever is the most comfortable for you.

There may be no one right way to hold a pick but a bad grip probably frustrates more inexperienced pick players than any other mistake..

 

[RustyAxe]

I’m glad my doctor doesn't think like some musicians. “No need to learn technique, i’ll just do it the way most comfortable for me.”

 

[Tottery]

I’m glad my doctor doesn't think like some musicians. “No need to learn technique, i’ll just do it the way most comfortable for me.”

Not really comparable situations. I wouldn't say x bassist is more talented than y bassist because they hold a pick a certain way.

 

[Stevorebob]

There is no wrong way to hold a pick. The right way is whatever is the most comfortable for you. That's all I have outside of keep practicing at a slower tempo and increase the bpm when you are comfortable.

Oh, there are plenty of wrong ways to hold a pick. I’ve employed most of them.

Learning how to hold a pick and how to use a pick correctly will improve speed, clarity and evenness, as well as prevent injury. But go ahead with that comfortable thing if it works for you.

 

[Jeff Bonny]

Not really comparable situations. I wouldn't say x bassist is more talented than y bassist because they hold a pick a certain way.

So you're saying if the music is good then the technique must be good...even if the technique is bad? There are lots of players making good music with bad technique. Often artistic talent and good technique go hand in hand but they are not the same thing.

I'd agree that sometimes if you want to sound like players who don't have great technique you have to play the way they do. But using inefficient or sloppy technique should be an informed choice to get a particular sound not because some guy on an internet forum led you to believe you didn't really have to think about it a whole lot much less actually do the work.

 

[Element Zero]

It takes time. I’ve been playing for 25 years and only started dabbling with a pick for the last 2. It’s super awkward at first but with much trial and error you’ll be able to find that comfortable position where it “makes sense”.

For me, I find working on phrases of riff and whatnot help me dial in my technique and then I’ll work in other parts of the tune. Then obviously I play the whole song, flubs and all. Play through it. Over. And over. And over. And over again, and you’ll get it.