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Starting out with a pick vs. fingerpicking

Cryxan	Date: September 26, 2004 @ 7:46 PM Ok, so I got my very first guitar a couple weeks ago, and I finally have some time to spend with it. My question is, should I start out playing with a pick or without? I spent a few hours at several bookstores looking for a beginner book that I felt would suit me, and most of them seem to have you start out with a pick. I think that I'd prefer fingerpicking although I'm completely new to this so my opinion isn't very educated. Is it hard to transition from a pick to without? Is one way easier to learn than the other? Thanks in advance.
smooka	Date: September 26, 2004 @ 8:06 PM I don’t use a pick; the job can be done either way. It’s not going to hurt to play a little with one and a little without. Then you should be able to tell what is more comfortable.
victorsskull	Date: September 26, 2004 @ 11:29 PM with out a pick a hard but you will be much more respected for not using one and learning those hard ass technics ah screw it do both
DevonPowell	Date: September 27, 2004 @ 12:38 AM I started out with a pick. Now I use one rarely. It's really personal preference. It really also depends on what kind of work you're doing. I think if your practicing scales, doubling, triplets, and such...a pick is good for helping to teach strong right (if you're a righty) or left (if you're a lefty)-hand technique. If you're simply strumming chords, depending on the amount of volume you want, if you want to hit particular strings (and feel confident you can do it with a finger(s) instead of pick), etc. etc... Best thing is to play a song without a pick, and with. Listen to the differences and decide for yourself which you'd prefer. Again, to promote non-fret-hand technique, during mode/scale/etc practicing, I'd stick with a pick for a bit (and then do some practice without, as well).
hueseph	Date: September 27, 2004 @ 1:57 AM Just my opinion but, if you start out learning fingerstyle techniques ;say in classical posture: it would be much easier to switch from that to using a pick than it would be to break all the habits you formed while using a pick to learn fingerstyle. On the other hand it really all depends on what style you intend on playing. There's a few jazz guitarists out there that have mastered using a pick and fingers at the same time. The late Lenny Breau for example.
Cryxan	Date: September 27, 2004 @ 3:49 AM Thanks to all who've replied so far. As for style, I don't really have anything specific in mind. I just want to start and see how it goes. I like so many different kinds of music that I really have no idea what style I'll gravitate towards, but it'll be interesting to find out.
onewhodreams	Date: September 27, 2004 @ 11:04 AM Definitely try both I start out my young Guitar students mostly with a pick until we get to a song that requires finger picking. They do equally well with both styles. Are you going to take lessons Cryxan? You know I'm only an hour or two away
wet1	Date: September 27, 2004 @ 12:31 PM I started with a pick and then gave it up. Several reasons. It takes more skill to finger pick, you gotta learn how. The rythyms are definately more difficult with a finger pick. I never could find where I misplaced the pick. Or it would go flying out of my hand that then it was break the song to get it or continue on. Mostly I preferred to continue on. Once I got used to fingerpicking, I liked the tone and the subtle effects that were difficult to reproduce with a pick, if they could be done at all. One thing about it, learn to finger pick and you will never worry about where the pick is and if you don't have one you can't play.
notserp	Date: September 27, 2004 @ 4:32 PM Awww..you're just learning how to play chords, Cryxan. Don't even worry about it yet. Eventually, I think you'll find its good to know how to play with or without a pick....just because different songs require different guitar sounds. As far as fingerpicking goes...get really comfortable changing chords first. I played guitar for years before I sat down and taught myself how to fingerpick Most of all just enjoy making music on that beautiful guitar of yours - don't worry about the pick
iluminati	Date: September 28, 2004 @ 1:48 AM If you bought an electric start with a pick. The majority of the music based off of an electric guitar uses one. If you bought an acoustic, it might be easier to start with a pick just so you can focus on your fret hand and simply down strum. However unlike an electric anything that is played on acoustic (nylon or steel string) can be played without a pick without losing the quality of the sound. So starting out pickless is a good idea on an acoustic. Either way start with just simple strumming (with or without pick) and work on getting a solid fret hand. Pick/fingerpick technique is useless without a solid fret hand. In a short time you should be able to move to basic fingerpicking or picking without much trouble.
Cryxan	Date: September 28, 2004 @ 4:13 AM I really appreciate everyone's input on this. If playing with a pick is easier I think it makes sense to start out with it. Iluminati, what you say about concentrating on the fret hand makes a lot of sense. (It's an acoustic btw.) I spent about 4 hours on the floor of a Barnes & Noble looking at all the instruction books they have to offer, and the book that I like the most does go with a pick, so I'm gonna go ahead and pick it up. Pick it up. haha
SFNative	Date: September 29, 2004 @ 3:34 PM I've always found that players who start one way are usually only average at playing the other way. I started playing with a pick and my fingerpicking is somewhere between average and poor. Here's something that I would recommend. I have no idea is this works because I didn't do it when I started, nor did anybody I know. As a matter of course, when you start learning you will pick up songs here and there that you play when you want to just play. Throw some fingerpicked numbers (a good exercise that comes to mind is "If You Could Read My Mind" by Gordon Lightfoot) in there and learn them along side the others. I would think that if you do that, switching back and forth between the two would be much easier. You may even find it easy to develop your own hybrid picking style, something that adds your own personal style to your work. Above all though, have fun.
SFNative	Date: September 29, 2004 @ 3:35 PM Oh, and uh, post pics!
GTLive	Date: September 29, 2004 @ 3:38 PM I started with fingerpicking, as a little kid watching my 1/2 bro play banjo. I pick a guitar like that. Then many years later I started playing my own stuff/rhythm guitar, and use a pick. I use a thing pick because it is more conductive to my style. I am trying to teach myself how to fingerpick with fingerpicks on, but I really need to concentrate to do that. Practice...
gothian	Date: September 29, 2004 @ 5:53 PM Everything depends on the music you want to play pal, I recommend to learn both approaches at the same time
sqrlcub	Date: September 30, 2004 @ 1:20 PM The biggest immediate pay off you get with playing with your fingers is that you learn quickly which strings you aren't fretting properly. Generally, when you play with your fingers, you play one string at a time and you can hear the buzz or the dead strings then you know you have to change your left hand positioning a little. The next biggest thing about playing with your fingers is that it is very easy to skip strings. It is a little harder to do with a pick but can be done well with practice. Playing with a pick and your fingers is called hybrid picking. Eric Johnson is arguably a master at it. However, hybrid picking requires you to use your pinky which is also your weakest finger which changes your tone. Also you'll probably have more problems evening out your tone since your thumb and index are your strongest fingers and your other fingers are weaker. Individual notes will stick out depending on which notes you play with your right hand fingers/pick. When you finally get it though, it will sound appropriate. Playing with a pick is a little easier to find different rhythms right away. It really isn't as complicated if you are going through chords. It is a little harder if you are running through various melodic interludes and going back and forth with the chords and skipping through strings as mentioned above. Some people will argue back and forth that pickwork can play faster than fingers and vice versa. I think this is more of a personal issue on where one feels comfortable. I personally can play faster and with much more facility with my fingers. I also think picks generally feel clumsy and take away another way for you to get in touch with your instrument. Now that I have covered some strengths and weaknesses of the two, the biggest difference is stylistic. Basically, picking is good for playing chords and single note melodies. It is a lot harder to do both at the same time with a pick and still hard with just your fingers but more doable. Both have their purposes and fun factor in it but are wholly different. The next difference is with some technique things. For example, it is virtually impossible to play squelch harmonics without a pick and it is impossible to play a classical or flamenco tremolo with a pick. With all this in mind, what it boils down to, is what style you want to eventually play. It isn't that much harder to learn to do both and then decide as you go along. When I taught students, we never played with picks, if they were interested later, I would send them to someone who could do that better.
nilsolefinbak	Date: October 2, 2004 @ 5:55 PM I started off with fingerpicking when I was a kid, then learned to play with a pick and now I mostly play like this: Electric: Pick. Acoustic steel-strung: Pick, hybrid or finger-picking. Acoustic nylon-strung: Finger-picking. It might be wise to learn fingerpicking first, but it really depends on your tastes!
acousticgrrl	Date: October 5, 2004 @ 4:57 AM I hate picks. I don't like holding them, it feels awkward and I like to make direct contact with my guitar. Picks just make the guitar too loud for me. Plus, I eneventually want to fingerpick and using a pick you can only play one string at a time. But I suck a guitar, what do I know?
Bhairava	Date: October 13, 2004 @ 12:30 PM I started just strumming along with my thumb when I played and did that for about 3 months until i got used to picks. The trouble is my alternate picking has suffered from it as my fretting hand is much faster than my picking hand. Playing with out a pick really hinders your expression if you want to play in a fury and really hit the strings hard but using your fingers for milder things makes you play in a softer touch way which sounds nice. I do a bit of both when I want too. I like using my fingers on nylon strings but on steel string acoustic and electric I much prefer playing with a pick. You can play much more quickly with a pick regardless of what some classical people might say.
geetarman	Date: October 13, 2004 @ 8:13 PM Bhariva, I think you have it right! I love picks over finger picking! I think electric is for picks. Acoustics you can do both. I can double-pick a string and get a really cool feel. It could not be done without a pick! Just depends on your style. I like a louder, brighter sound so a pick lends itself to that style. Finger picking is so quite. Bonus: You can print your name on the picks and give them out to fans
Hlao-roo	Date: October 14, 2004 @ 2:55 PM The real thing (as everyone says) is style... But, the thing they don't mention is that the two styles are erally very different... One of the first things you learn when you play guitar is where the strings are located... It seems simple, but you need to know where the strings are without looking at them. They need to be in the same place every time so you can spend your time looking at either your fretboard or the audience. The problem with these two is that you almost have to learn all over again where the strings are. So learning them both would just take longer... Besides, you are just starting out.. in the next couple of months you will fing out if you really want to play this instroment... I'm not ganna lie to ya... the first few months suck bad... Your fingers hurt, youi can't play anything... and it is frustrating... But I hope you can do good... I do have to say though... Whatever you choose, stick with one for awile and then try a new style... OK? Hope I helped...
JohnHyde	Date: October 25, 2004 @ 5:36 AM Pick- you can't shred without one.