Alternate Picking - Preventing the tip of the pick from getting caught

[scook]

Glad to hear it's working for you.

In the grand scheme of things, picks are relatively inexpensive. Even the boutique picks aren't too bad when you know someone who plays violin and find out how much they pay for a bow.

Find and try some picks that have rounded points instead of using the side of your current pick. It might give a little extra reach like the pointy pick gives you with the ease of play and sound that the round side gives you. If the round edge of your current pick works best for you stay with it.

Picks with speed bevels can help smooth out your pick stroke too. If you've ever been able to keep a pick long enough, they will eventually wear naturally into one of these patterns. The newer synthetics not so much but the old T-shell picks definitely wore down on one edge and look similar to what's now termed a "speed bevel".

[AlsoRan]

For your information (FYI),

I went back to using the point of the pick a few weeks ago.

I seem to be faster and it feels good using the point again. I now grip the pick closer to the tip and I am using the Stylus.

The instructions explicitly say to practice with the Stylus using the picking exercises and then you can go back to using your conventional pick, keeping in mind the form you used with the Stylus.

The damn thing is working!

I still like to use the side of the pick for some rhythm work, like DocBop.

[woland]

Why not simply buy a V-pick - sth like Dimension or Dimension Jr - they are thick but the tip is pointy and shaped in such way that overall tone is dark and pick does not catch on strings at all. Best picks I ever played.

[woland]

Here's a lesson my ex-guitar teacher posted on YT:

[AlsoRan]

Thanks for the V Pick recommendation. Below is the website for the curious. V-Picks / Guitar & Mandolin Picks From Nashville USA

For now, I will continue to enjoy my recent gains and see how far I can take it.

Always good to have alternatives.

Also thanks for the video. I found his takes on alternate picking vs. rest strokes to be the most interesting.

[christianm77]

Keep an angle between the pick and the strings, so that the pick is inclined slightly with respect to the top of the guitar. Troy Grady describes it well on his cracking the code site, and now I've watched it I notice everywhere. It seems to work for my playing too!

[Reg]

The pick and the strings etc...are not the secret. There is more than one way to hold a pick and play. Some are just mechanically easier than others. You should match up all the parts or aspects of picking, to work together. You need to decide how you want to pick and articulate the notes you pick. Again some styles work easier for different articulations and dynamics.

It's pretty simple really... the least amount of friction and movement generally works best.

When you hold a pick with too much of the pick showing... you loose some control.

When you have conflicting angles, you create tension which has reaction. With too much reaction... again you lose some control.

And obviously with too much movement anywhere... again you lose some control.

Great players can make anything sound great and any technique work. Most of us are good players at best.

When you run... do you turn sideways, hit the ground flatfooted, keep your legs straight etc... sorry, but you need to decide if you want to change everything or adapt what you have and clean up the conflicts.

Generally speed is not the biggest problem with most guitar players. If your really going to get all the other aspects of guitar musicianship together... OK, get your picking perfect. But like I said... generally why most guitarist can't play at fast tempos is not the picking... it's because they don't know what their playing, they can only play what they have memorized. That's a different subject.

[sgcim]

I agree with this (as with most things Reg says); if being able to improvise great, creative jazz at a fast tempo were simply a matter of being able to pick fast, then Al DiMeola would be considered a great jazz improviser, which he is not (he has even stated that jazz is a non-creative music that just uses old cliches).
It takes years of acquiring vocabulary, swing, taste, chops, and timing to be able to emulate the masters: Martino, Farlow, Pass, Raney and Montgomery, and there's not much of a reward once you do.
I can understand players taking another route for that reason.
Critics and most of the audience either ignore you, or accuse you of being historically insignificant, non-creative, etc...