Another fundamental skill that you need to master is using the guitar pick or plectrum effectively while strumming chords or playing individual notes. Finger-style playing is a bit more advanced and would be covered in later blog posts.

Right Way to Hold and Use the Guitar Pick

The pick is basically a small triangular shaped piece of nylon (or other material) that is used to strike the guitar strings. There’s a correct way to hold the plectrum with your picking hand (right or left, depending on whether you are right-handed or left-handed).

It should be held between the thumb and index finger, and perpendicular to your thumb. That is, the pointy side of the plectrum should be at a 90-degree angle to your thumb. By curling in your forefinger a bit, you will be able to exert a good grip on the pick.

Try not to squeeze the plectrum too hard, resulting in muscle fatigue. The tension in your fingers would also affect the music, as you plough through the strings with no subtlety. It’s always better to have a gentle yet firm grip. Practise a few downstrokes on different open strings, starting above the string, gently moving through and gliding over it smoothly. Focus on the downstroke for now. The upstroke would be covered in later episodes.

Next, try to place the fingers of your left hand at certain frets and practise the downstroke to play different notes. One thing to note here is, when you push down the string at a particular fret, ensure you make clear contact (as close as possible) with the fret wire at the end of that fret, so the string rings out clearly and with the right pitch.

The 4-Note Exercise

To practise downstrokes with the plectrum, you can use the 4-note exercise. This is played on the 5th string using your fretting hand to hold down the notes, and the picking hand to strike the string. Start with your index finger on the 5th fret; then place your middle finger on the 6th fret, ring finger on the 7th fret, and finally the little finger on the 8th fret. Play these one after the other, and listen to the varying pitch.

Knowing how to use the plectrum takes you one step closer to playing songs using the guitar. Find a plectrum that suits you – slightly thicker ones are better for playing individual notes, and slightly thinner and bendable ones for chords as you’ll observe in upcoming blog posts. The next post would introduce a few simple chords that you can easily master. Continue reading to learn these chords and start playing along to your favourite songs.