Source
r/guitarlessons•
CaptainSplat

Need help with upstrums and pick holding

Question

Been playing for about 2 and a half months now, and my upstrums are all over the place. I can't seem to find a comfortable angle to hold the pick and stop it from slipping out of my grip, and I also can't hit more than 1-2 strings on an upstrum. When I do hit those strings they are jarringly louder than my downstrums.

I have a handful of questions regarding your experience with pick placement and upstrumming.

  1. Regarding the information above does anything immediately strike you as something wrong on my end?

  2. Do you actively change the tilt of your pick in real-time as you strum? (i.e. tilting your pick up towards yourself on a downstrum to make it glide easier among the strings and vice versa)

  3. Does the angle of the pick matter when strumming, for instance, should the pick be parallel with the strings or should I rotate my grip forward so that one of the pick sides points more to the ground and the other torwards the group (weird description but I'm just trying to help yall visualize the concept)

Posted Jan 22, 2022, 3:17 AM UTC

14
thiago326•

Try loosening up your wrist. It might seem weird at first but everything in both arms should be pretty relaxed.

2
rabbitacolypse•

Honestly just takes time and practice but the way I hold my pick is typically very loose in my fingers, so the pick angle can adjust as it travels over the strings. For single note runs, I pinch the pick harder so I have more control of it. Try focusing on touching the strings as lightly as possible while strumming. Upstrumming is one of the things I struggled greatly with as a true beginner, but it all came with time and repetition. I do still struggle upstrumming with some chords (like D Maj), but I’m also getting better with muting with my left hand more. There’s a LOT of seemingly simple things like this that are going to come up in your journey, man. 100% of it takes time and practice.

An exercise I would repeat very frequently is keeping my rhythm, while trying to play louder and softer based upon how I hold the pick. That then opens up playing accented beats within strumming patterns to give extra depth. It’s a rabbit hole for real.

Edit: Typo

2
The-Duderiest•

Try this lesson.

2
gavinbrooks100•

The angle of the pick can absolutely effect things. But maybe even more important is the angle at which you are moving your hand to strum. If the range of motion of your arm/wrist/hand is parallel to the guitar strings, it should be relatively doable for up and down strums. But if your slicing at it at a 20 degree angle downwards, it may work for downstrums, but wont really work for upstrums.

You should feel lose when you're strumming. Hold the pick firmly. If you feel like you have to have a death grip or the pick will slip out of your fingers, it means your picking depth is too deep. You only need the VERY tip of the pick to go through the strings, not the whole meat of it.

2