Music: Practice & Theory Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for musicians, students, and enthusiasts. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
Check out these tabs. It's for the song From The Sky by Gojira.
The intro (0-0-0-0-0-0-3-3-3-3-3-3-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2, etc) are down/up down/up strokes. And it's pretty fast(for a beginner like me). I've no problem with down strokes but my pick gets stuck behind the string almost every time on an up stroke. I am not having any trouble when I play it slowly, but it happens when I try to increase some speed.
What am I doing wrong? Not enough "loosening up"? Wrong angle? Please help!
Several things to try. Holding the pick so there's only a tiny tip showing. Trying a thicker/thinner pick. Holding the pick more gently so it can 'feather' each way.Start slowly and build up gradually to speed. Practise just using the open string. Use a metronome to keep track of speed.Relax the wrist. Rotate the picking hand rather than use an up/down movement. Get your arm in line with your hand instead of having one at an angle to the other. Report back, please !
I used to have this trouble too - as a result I didn't use a pick (on a strat) for ages.
I got around it by ..
1) using flexible picks - the Nylon Dunlop 60 grade work for me (lightish grey). This allows the pick to flap over the strings a bit more. That's personal choice of course.
2) Hold the pick not perpendicular to the strings (so that it hits the string with the flat edge of the pick), but at a slight angle, so that the strings run across the edge of the pick. Works for doen and upstrokes.
That way the pick can glide over the strings easily.
hope this helps!
