How to hold guitar and pick

Fundamental Techniques for Electric Guitar

Introduction

Hi, guys! I just wanted to share with you some of the fundamental techniques for electric guitar.

Holding the Guitar

• We're going to start really basic, beginning with how to hold the guitar.
• Most of the time, electric guitar players will sit the guitar across their right leg, with the neck going across the body.

Important Tips:

• Maintain Neck Position: Be careful not to let the neck of the guitar descend towards the floor.

  • We want to keep it nice and level, maybe even slightly upright.
  • Allowing the neck to tilt down can lead to a bad left-hand position.

• Posture Matters: It's great to be relaxed, but not to the point of having poor posture.

  • Avoid resting the forearm of your fretting hand on your leg while playing.
    • This can cause pain in your forearm.
  • Don't tuck your elbow into your body; it can restrict your movement.

Ideal Positioning:

• Sit with the guitar across your body, keeping it level, not pointing too much towards the floor or the ceiling.
• Your elbow should be relaxed, neither sticking out nor tucked in too tightly.
• Maintain an upright posture, and it should feel reasonably natural.

Right Hand Technique

• For the right hand, you will most likely be using a pick.
• If you've chosen this course for popular music, you'll be using a pick 99% of the time.

Holding the Pick:

1. Grip: Hold the pick between your thumb and your first finger.
2. Position:
   • Ensure the pointy end of the pick is sticking out under your thumb joint.
   • Tuck your first finger behind your thumb.

Avoid This:

• Don't let your first finger go down with the fingernail touching the strings.
  • This can cause a poor sound when picking.

1. Comfortable Grip: Don't hold the pick too tightly; just enough to avoid dropping it.
   • You want to comfortably adjust the amount of pick shown to the strings.

Adjusting for Playing Style:

• For intricate playing, show minimal pick to the strings.
• For strumming, you can afford to show more pick.
• You can maneuver the pick between your thumb and first finger without changing your grip.

Other Fingers Position

• It's entirely up to your preference.
• Personally, I prefer to have my fingers slightly splayed out, which allows easy access to my volume and tone controls.
• You can also choose to finger pick other strings while picking, which is a common technique (perhaps slightly more advanced).

Other Options:

• If you prefer, you can bunch your fingers up into a light fist, but remember:
  • Nothing about playing guitar should be tense, stay relaxed.

Experimentation

• Why don't you experiment and see how you get on?
• Explore which finger position you prefer!