keep dropping guitar pick

Why Do I Keep Dropping Guitar Picks? Guitar Pick Drop Recovery

If you keep dropping guitar picks, don’t worry, every guitarist has been there!

Beginners and experienced guitarists drop picks while playing the guitar. It is quite normal. When it drops, you pick it up and move it into place. What you need to understand is how to use it and how it feels in your fingers so that you can put it back when it starts to slide.

Picks drop mostly when you are strumming. The size of pick you use while strumming depends on factors such as preference and experience. A beginner is likely to use a thin pick because they are easier to control. The thin ones are also likely to drop when you start to strum.

Different kinds of picks are used for different kinds of music. The most popular picks are usually made of plastic and have varied thicknesses. They have round edges and are shaped like triangles.
Let us find out what makes you keep dropping guitar pick.

How are You Holding the Pick?
You can hold your pick in different ways depending on the type of music you are playing. If you are playing some quick notes, you will pick a thick pick and clench it in your fingers. Here is a description of how to hold your pick correctly.

If you grip the pick too hard, you will be tense, and the song will end up with a bad sound. It might also fly out of your hand if you hold it too loose.
When using your left hand to fret, the pick will be on your right hand. Shake out your right hand to relax it before picking the pick. Form a fist and let your thumb rest on the index finger. Place the pick between the thumb and the index finger.

The thumb should cross the back of the pick. The other side of the pick will contact the side of the index finger. Do not pinch the pick. There are several other ways of holding the pick.

The pointed end should stick you away from your hand. The section of the pick that is exposed should be short if you want to get close to the strings. You can increase the length of the pick to about half an inch if you will be strumming the guitar.

How to Strum a Guitar
Your picking hand will hover over the guitar when you are strumming. The movement should come from the wrist. You do not have to move the whole arm. Rotate the wrists as though you are unscrewing a light bulb. Now strum the guitar from the thickest string down.

The pick should hit the guitar strings at about a 45degree angle. It will be difficult to get good sound if the angle is lower because the pick will barely hit the strings. If the pick hits at a high angle, it won’t be easy to strum your guitar.

The pick will move around if it hits the strings at a right angle because of the pick’s resistance when it hits the strings. Try hitting the stings at 45 degrees for down and up strums during your practice.

Where is the Pick Pointing?
The pointy part of the pick should face the guitar’s bridge so that you increase your leverage. It won’t slip in the opposite direction when it is pointed that way. Your playing will be more dynamic because holding it this way enables you to have better control of the pick.

How do You Choose a Guitar Pick?
Guitar picks have varying thicknesses and weights. Try different picks so that you know what feels best for you. If you are a beginner, you might like lighter picks for strumming. A medium pick should be the best for picking scales. If you are playing lots of leads on an electric guitar, choose heavy-weight picks.

Guitar picks get lost easily. When you shop for some, pick brightly colored ones so that they are easy to spot when you drop one. Buy the picks in bulk so that you avoid going to the music shop frequently since the pick gets lost often.

How to Stop a Guitar Pick from Dropping

Now that we have discussed the different ways of holding your guitar pick, we will discuss suggestions that can be helpful when you keep dropping guitar pick. The methods include keeping your hands dry and using a non-slip guitar pick. Read on.

Know how Tightly You Should You Hold a Guitar Pick
The pick drops because you held it too hard or too lightly when strumming. When the grip is too hard, your arms will be rigid, especially if the song you are playing has a lot of picking. The tense wrists will make the playing less enjoyable.
When strumming the guitar, hold the pick softly without letting it slide through your fingers. Play slowly at 30-40bpm using a metronome. Increase the speed gradually so that you can master a tension-free grip.

Make Guitar Picks Sticky
The picks can be made stickier to prevent them from slipping. Before we look at the different ways that you can use to make it more grippy, you should check if your hands are wet. Use a clean cloth to wipe them to dry before you begin to play. Here are some suggestions

Use a double-sided tape on the pick.
The double-sided sticky tape will keep the pick in place.
Stick it to the side of the pick that faces down and stick it to the bottom finger. If you want to fingerpick during a song, you can tuck the pick under the thumb.

Roughen the Guitar Pick
Use a craft knife or sandpaper to create a grip on the guitar pick. Create a surface that will resist movement so that you won’t keep dropping the guitar pick. Create grip on both sides of the pick.

Punch Holes on the Guitar Pick
Holes on a guitar pick will provide a better grip on the pick. If you have picks that you stopped using because they keep slipping, you can consider punching holes on them. The holes provide the additional grip of the pick.
Some picks are designed to provide more grip. You can ask for them when you are shopping for the picks. They can be a great alternative to the modifications and suggestions discussed above.

How do I Stop Losing Guitar Picks I drop?

Pick disappear mysteriously. Buy several picks so that you can avoid going to the music every time you misplace a pick. Since it is difficult to lose a pick, you can buy a pack to store in different places, such as your guitar case, room, or recording studio.

Several picks will save you from the stress of being empty-handed whenever you lose one. Consider buying picks that are brightly colored so that they can be seen easily when you search for them.

You can decide where you will be keeping your pick when it is not in use. It can be on the strings at the fret board or even a glass or a wallet container. If you start thinking of the pick as a valuable item, you will not lose it.

Use a guitar pick holder to store the picks. If you are in a live performance and get to songs that need fingerpicking, you can store the pick on the guitar pick holder. It enables you to access your pick whenever you need it while on stage.

If you’re still having trouble not dropping your guitar picks, here’s a little comic relief, let’s have some fun with it while we develop our iron grip on our picks:

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