Originally Posted by: happyjuicegirlThis is going to sound daft I know, but when I use a pick, it seems to slip in my fingers and ends up turning itself round so its in the wrong position! Do I just grip harder and risk that harsh tone, or do I get the sandpaper out on them? I'm using 1mm Jim Dunlop picks. Any ideas? :)

I think advice to give would also depend on what kind of stuff you play. I think the kind of pick and grip 'style' would depend on what you play. When I strum acoustically, I use a different pick that when I'm playing more metal-like.

However (watch for corniness coming :eek: )...In the words of a certain .38 Special some decades ago...'Hold on loosely but don't let go. If you cling to tightly, you're gonna lose control'...

Ok, I know it's was doofy but I think it applies. Grip too tightly under any circumstances and all you're doing is increasing the reactive nature of striking two things together. In that old science deal of 'action creates and equal and opposite reaction', if your grip is such that when you strike the string that both the string and the pick end at a point where neither is willing to give, it is your grip that will lose since it is the weak link in the chain.

If you grip with a little give (like Doug said), your pick is going to not want to push back at you like it does now but will want to follow the path that you are strumming (ie upwards or downwards).