Picks On Picks On Picks

Plectron, plectrum, picks. Got any fresh picks, bruh?

Picks serve as the last bit of material between you and your instrument. They are the final piece of gear before your musical thoughts are transferred into the guitar and become reality. Picks serve an important role, yet most players don’t give it a second thought after they pick (ha!) up whatever is nearby. 

Why is that? Today, we are going to discuss picks, the variety they come in and their role they play in your musical journey. Hopefully, after reading this, you’ll be pickier with your picks. (Yes, the pick puns will be continuing. 

Not all picks are created equally, both literally and as an idiom. They come in a variety of shapes ranging from traditional triangles such as this pack of Dunlop Jazz III picks – the pick of choice of yours truly – to this bizarre shaped Guitar Triller. Guitar picks truly come in every shape and size for anyone’s playing habits. 

So if they vary so much, do they change your playing and tone and are they necessary? The short answer is, yes they do change your playing and tone and no they are not necessary. However, using a pick is highly encouraged, especially during the early stages of learning how to play guitar. 

So Why Play With A Pick?

Learning to play with a pick will help develop motor skills needed to properly strum the instrument. Learning how to accurately pick individual strings with a pick is critical to improving your accuracy on the instrument and is vital when arpeggiating chords. Side note: to practice, you should practice picking individual strings – with a pick – at high tempos. 

Another reason to play with a pick is to be able to hit the strings harder with one. Strum a few chords on an acoustic guitar without a guitar pick. Now play the same chords with a pick. Notice how the guitar seems to come alive and sound brighter? That’s all in the pick. You are able to attack the strings more precisely and increase it’s clarity. Typically, pick materials (more on that later) will sound brighter than your flesh. 

Heavy rock and metal players rely solely on picks for their aggressive attacks. Fingers wouldn’t give them the speed needed to play their fast runs and their heavier gauge strings would eat the skin off their hands.

So Why Do Players Play Without A Pick?

The number one reason players plan sans pick is to use a technique known as finger-picking. Finger-picking is a technique that guitar players took from banjo players. Instead of individually picking strings with a pick, finger-pickers will assign each digit to a string and pluck the string with their fingers. This allows players to arpeggiate chords faster – known as a banjo roll. Finger-picking is more commonly associated with acoustic guitar playing, but some electric players use this technique as well. 

The most notable finger pluckers are blues wizards. Particularly, the boys who played in the last rendition of the Allman Brothers Band – Derek Trucks and Warren Hayes. Blues finger-pickers like John Mayer claim that the fingers add more feeling and “mojo” to the notes which enahances the DNA of the blues. Trucks and Hayes use their fingers as it is easier to play slide guitar without a pick. 

So What Are Guitar Picks Made Of?

Guitar picks are made from essentially anything and everything. Some picks are made from metal, some are plastic, older ones are made from tortoise shells (though we don’t recommend these for animal reasons), and even some picks are made from glass. Each has its own unique sound – even the thickness of the pick changes the tone. It would be impossible and impractical to go through the sounds of every pick material. The best way to find out if a pick sounds good or not is to try it – luckily they are fairly inexpensive. 

Wait You Mentioned Pick Thickness. What’s That About?

Picks are measured by thickness in millimeters. If you look at the various Dunlop Tortex Guitar picks, you’ll notice each color represents different gauges of thickness. Theoretically, there is an infinite number of different pick gauges, but let’s group them into three categories: light, medium and heavy. Each having their own place in music. 

Light Picks: I typically classify light picks as anything thinner than .73mm. They are tailored for beginner guitar players as they don’t fight back like heavier picks do when they attack the strings. Thinner picks tend to give off a papery sound and should be used for strumming chords. Obviously, rules are meant to be broken but this is a general rule of thumb. The thinner the pick the harder it will be to pick individual strings as they are more flimsy. 

Recommended Use: Strumming Chords – particularly on acoustic guitars. 

Medium Pick: Let’s classify medium picks from .73mm to 1.0mm. They are the perfect balance of heavy and light picks. Like Goldilocks, you’ll be able to rip through single note passages as well as strum beautiful chords. They sound fuller than the lighter gauge, but not as bright as the heavy gauge.

Recommend Use: players who switch between lead and rhythm playing seamlessly. 

Heavy Picks: Heavy picks are anything thicker than 1.0mm. They are made for shredders, fast pickers and anyone who needs more. Most professional guitarists use heavier picks. Instead of relying on the pick to cover mistakes, a heavy pick allows the player’s true technique to take over. The first time I played a heavy pick, I sounded awful. I realized I was leaning on the pick to bridge the gap between what I wanted to play and my sloppy technique. The picks sound fuller and brighter. I have become more accurate by using smaller thicker picks. I don’t recommend using these on acoustic guitars unless you are prepared to really adjust your playing.

Recommended Use: Fast and accurate players who don’t want to hide behind their pick.

Dunlop Jazz III Pick

As I was writing this post, I took a break to play with the different picks from the pictures above. I quickly realized how much my pick of choice – jazz IIIs – affects my playing style. I played sloppier with the larger and thinner picks. Your style of playing will vary, but that’s just my observation. 

Hopefully this helps your understanding of picks and how they impact your guitar playing. Let us know in the comments what picks you use!

Until next time, let the music play!