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Why is playing with a pick so frowned upon?

#223
jd56hawk said:
Surprisingly few people are aware of this excellent rubber pick.
Wonderful tone...as close to a finger as you can get.
Lasts an incredibly long time, too.
I wouldn't leave home without one.
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OK, but when I use a pick, the difference in sound between pick and fingers is what I am going for.
 
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#231
Playing with a pick is not frowned upon by those with musical intelligence. However Jazz is traditionally and predominantly played with fingers. I think I have hit the best of both worlds with my acrylic nails on my three picking fingers. They don't break and give me the benefits of finger style with the clarity and attack of a pick, only they sound better than the picks. I still use a pick on 15% of tunes as certain tunes lend themselves to a pick. Get the nails, you will love it.
 
#232
I regrettably was one of the aforementioned frowners of pick-players. I have certainly changed my tune lately and found the it offers a unique challenge to me. More importantly, it just sounds great in the right mix/setting. I am by no means great at playing with a pick and it took me a couple of weeks to play some of the Zeppelin tunes like Good Times Bad Times and Black Dog with a pick but I'm glad I did. I especially hold players in high regard when they come out playing with a pick and great tone and go in and out with finger-playing, slap and pick use during a set.

Interestingly, playing with a pick connects me to the bass in a different way. I began to enjoy songs that I thought were overly simple and mundane much more and find myself moving around on stage much more during those songs. I blame the pick.
 
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#235
A pick is just another tool, as others have said. Foolish to dismiss it when so many great players use one. As one who comes to bass from guitar, playing with a pick seems a natural thing (just ask Paul McCartney). Though I mostly play both guitar and bass with fingers (and thumb) at this point ... but I spent a lot of time learning guitar with a pick, and it's certainly a useful thing to have in one's arsenal, for bass as well.

I would agree with the theory that a pick is associated with guitar, while fingers are associated with standup double bass, so therefore some feel a prejudice on the matter (even though Leo Fender came up with the bass guitar, with frets and pickup and all like that ...).
 
#236
I got to the point where I didn't like using a pick for guitar so when I switched to bass it was just more natural for me (and I didn't have to explain why I wasn't using a pick). I got tired of other guitarists trying to give me a pick of theirs, like I was sitting on a freeway offramp with a sign saying "I will play for picks." Of course, if I was doing some wild rhythm or playing a lot I needed a pick to protect my fingers. Mark Knopfler used to play exclusively sans pick but started using one because the more he played the more he bled (perhaps that explains the red Strat he favored). I can see that there are some songs where the bass would sound better with a pick so I hope no one frowns if I play it with my fingers.
 

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