Help, my pick changes orientation

essmatl

I'm using the Wegen 3mm pick. I have "Gypsy Picking", and I am doing my best to pay careful attention to all aspects of pick technique. I am struggling with unlearning years of alternate-stroke picking and boom-chuka rhythm, so I try to be especially careful about technique. I think I'm doing something wrong, and if so, I want to stop before I have to unlearn it too!

I can't seem to keep the pick oriented properly when I'm practicing La Pompe rhythm. I start out strumming with the pointy-end, and then after a chorus or two, the pick has just rotated and I'm strumming with a fat shoulder. When I try to go from playing rhythm to playing lead, the pick is just oriented all wrong. Any ideas on what am I doing wrong? Any advice on how to fix it?

Thanks...
Tony
Tulsa, OK

Jazzaferri

Possibly strumming at an angle ...creating a turning torque on the pick tip and rotating it in your fingers.

Strum straighter or elephant snot (i think its called) to stick the pick in fingers.

Bones

This may or may not help, but as words of encouragement, that used to happen to me as well. I don't know what changed but it doesn't anymore.

I think if you keep working on good technique, watch the vids of the masters and their right hand technique, practice a lot and if necessary watch your right hand in a mirror and if it doesn't look correct and relaxed try to figure out why not, then it will probably just work itself out for you too I imagine.

Sorry if that's not very scientific. Just keep at it. If necessary, slow down and make sure that you are not speeding up and getting tense and poor technique.

vince

I had this problem too. I'd play around with what part of your thumb hits the convex part of the Wegen. Mine was hinging on that, and it stopped rotating with some small adjustment. All our thumb anatomies differ, so my guess is it's person specific.

I actually never had this problem before, until I watched an old clip of Stochelo playing. The camera zoomed into his right hand and I had realized how relaxed "relaxed" really means. I went on a quest to relearn to play much, much more relaxed, and the pick started rotating. Denis's Stochelo DVD has some great footage of Stochelo's la pompe too.

hope this helps!

Jazzaferri

In a couple of vids. Have watched of Gonzalo it looks like hismthumb is coming off the pick at the top of the upstroke. It wouldnt get anylighter than thatnif indeed my old eyes werent misleading me.

Passacaglia

Jazzaferri wrote:

In a couple of vids. Have watched of Gonzalo it looks like hismthumb is coming off the pick at the top of the upstroke. It wouldnt get anylighter than thatnif indeed my old eyes werent misleading me.

Michael also describes this somewhere in his book. I have this about halfway right.....apparently. The part that holds the pick lightly, thumb comes off at the top, no problem.

Hanging on to the blasted thing, about 20x a night, well... :shock: Never bring Dunlop charcoal grays to a nighttime jam, fireside...if you're um, "relaxed" in holding your pick.

klaatu

Jazzaferri wrote:

Strum straighter or elephant snot (i think its called) to stick the pick in fingers.

It's called "Gorilla Snot." Sounds no less disgusting, but it works.

anthon_74

I had this problem as well for the longest time when I started Gypsy Jazz, and then it just sort of corrected itself. I would say in all honesty that focusing on it isn't really necessary.

When we all started playing the guitar, remember how hard it was to keep a good grip on our pics? they would slip and slide in our fingers and we would drop them repeatedly.

Well, Gypsy Jazz guitar requires a whole new level of pic control, both for pompe rhythm AND rest stroke picking, so it's almost like learning the guitar all over again. Over time your hand/wrist will get stronger, and your grip of the pic will get smarter as well. You will instinctively know when to apply more pressure and so on, and it will all come together.

Just keep playing and playing.

Cheers,
anthony

anthon_74

Oh yeah, I forgot that my first GJ teacher told me that he used some kind of sticky substances in the beginning to keep the pic stable. I'm guessing it's this Gorilla snot stuff,

Jazzaferri

If you are cheap, like me, or know a violinist, get a rosin package that they are finished with, break it out and grind up the rosin to a fine powder and use it. Works a treat. I used it for a few years and if I were to go back to playing lots of rhythm guitar I would probably use it again. Doesn't need much just a wee pinch and away you go. I dont need it at all for sax or mostly single string with some chords or playing slower ballady type chord melody stuff.

The one downside of Blue Chip picks is they get slippery as all get out with just a wee bit of skin oil.