Testing the BEST Way to Hold the Pick!

This week, ALL my Patreon supporters get TABS for this lesson PLUS practice tracks to help you get it up to MAXIMUM SPEED AND Guitar Pro files! GET INTO IT!

What is the RIGHT way to hold the pick?! Is it leading edge? Trailing edge? James Hetfield 3 finger? Western Grip? On today's video, your good buddy Uncle Ben Eller here is gonna school ya good. I'll show you the difference between leading and trailing edge picking, show you when and why I practice both, and give you my theory as to WHY some players gravitate towards one grip versus the other. It's a pretty crazy theory, but I've tested it and it's TRUE! This video will help you find the BEST way to hold the guitar pick for maximum speed and comfort!
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[Impassion]

Don't tell me how to hold a pick, you're not my stepdad!!! *slams bedroom door*

[deathmagneto-soy]

Mad respect for the humour uncle Ben brings to these sombre proceedings.
It makes the whole endeavour much more palatable.
As my wife would say.

[Dan_Ranger]

Nice list I made years ago when I was investigating my trailing edge picking.
Carlos Santana
John Sykes
George Benson
Jesper Stromblad
Ola Englund
John Norum, a little bit.
Shawn Lane
Bruce Boulliet

A lot of Gypsy Jazzers as well.

I was primarily a thrash metal guy in the 80’s when I was in Hydra Vein, and it definitely helped with my down picking attack. I’m also cross handed as well.

[henryflury]

I have never…ever, ever in 36 years of playing guitar ever thought speed pick as scribbling. That blew my fucking mind.

[PawpawJamz]

You said in the first minute exactly what I came to say. It's what works best for you. As you progress as a player it becomes increasingly instinctual. Your body will find what works best.
The geeeTar is a fickle mistress...you absolutely get out of it what you put into it. Nothing more.
The important thing is to keep the guitar in your hands and fingers on the strings. Great video, UB.🤘

[Chaotic_Neutral]

Hetfield actually talked about the pencil grip in a recent short video regarding why he holds the pick the way he does. He says using the thumb, index and middle finger like you would write with a pencil gives him more control, hence why he uses it. In any case this was a super interesting video that made me totally rethink picking. Thanks Uncle Ben!

[gabrielnilsson]

I play bass, just beginning to learn it. I'm 42 years and i have always been attracted to rhythms and bass especially. I Love your videos, you are the man❤

[MetalAddict]

Ben, Thanks so much. This is exactly what I have been looking for. You are a great teacher.

[SILVERCHARGEDS]

Kiko Loureiro claims to play with the pick perfectly flat against the strings. Says he dislikes the slight scraping noise the pick makes when angled. I've heard teachers say this doesn't work but they are dead wrong. I incorporate the flat pick approach on certain runs just fine. Plus Kiko is a phenomenal player!

[headwinded]

When I started as self taught, I naturally gravitated towards trailing edge. Then of course heard that leading edge was the "only way to play accurately", so sort of rewired my brain. At this point all my chord work is trailing, and for leads I'll switch back. For me, trailing makes strumming patterns 1000% easier, probably due to the thumb angle making the whole picking hand more relaxed.

[mfCRD]

This video may have changed my life. I've been playing bass for most of my life now, fingerstyle only (I don't even bother trying to use picks). One of the first reasons that got me into bass was how much I sucked playing with a pick when I first got into metal, while fingerstyle bass just felt natural from the start.

After watching your video, I decided to hold the pick the same way I hold a pen -- instead of how almost everyone insisted was "correct" -- and what an instant improvement! I wonder how my music experience could have been if I thought about it when I was 17.

[sisyphushappyxvx]

With regard to your theory: I'm left handed but learned to play guitar right handed due to access, so I'm a fun outlier to your theory!

[mattstrings]

This provided me with more revelations than it healed my relationship with my real dad!

[bradleywwiitala]

Great video. I was a trailing edge picker for 25+ years. I started taking lessons from a teacher who told me that trailing edge might limit my potential. Although he did bring up many famous trailing edge players. So, I switched based on his inputs. I do think my tremolo picking is much faster with the leading edge.

[arrel.musica]

Man. Your videos are the best guitar videos around youtube. Thank you so much for sharing all your knowledge! 🙌

[enumclaw]

Great video. Too many people out there with ideas about how things MUST be done, when it's the result that really matter. So many of our guitar hero's have "wrong" pick grip, thumb position, etc.

[patrickethington]

Paul Gilbert started as a trailing edge picker. He changed because he said it felt like he was having too much tension in his hand.

[anthonyr]

Scribbling….what an eye opening thought that truly changed everything. Thank you so much Uncle Ben!

[joeljezequel]

the pencil technique is mind blowing! I went almost instantly from hardtime Angel of death to casual Angel of death. And it seems to be gentler on my joints. As I'm 53, it's really great, I wanna Slayer till my last day !

[RileyMerlino]

This video was insane. I was a self-taught trailing edge picker with a hitchhiker’s thumb for 12 years. During the pandemic I got some lessons and I’m now a leading edge picker 95% of the time. Every once in a while I go back to the trailing edge for chugging riffs