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Video Question: Strumming Technique, Holding the Pick Question

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Date: November 5th, 2008 | Length: 4.12 | Instructor: Nick Greathouse

Lucas Holland writes: "Hello, I'm trying to improve my strumming, using a pick. I know how to hold the pick but I'm still having some problems: 1. Should I angle the pick when striking the strings? If I angle it (upwards for downstrokes, so that the tip is pointing to my face, downwards for upstrokes, so that the tip of the pick is pointing to my belly), it seems to be easier but the pick sometimes moves out of position. If I hold onto it too hard, my hand ends up hurting. 2. How hard should I strike the strings? Thanks, Lucas " Another benefit of being a member of JamPlay is the video response section. Our expert staff fields questions from our members and provides video responses each week.
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Other Video Responses:

Zoom G1X - May 26th, 2008 (1 minutes, 19 seconds)
Ndjordjevic asks, "Hi, I got a ZOOM G1X guitar effect and I will appritiate if someone can give some tips and advice how to setup this pedal and get common sounds like for example in Brad's H. Leeson 1, Phase 2, Chapter 6 Chorus, Delay effect, very nice sound.... I wasn't able to setup this pedal to sound like Brad's. I have Squire Strat guitar and Fender Frontman 15g amp + mentioned ZOOM G1X" View Response
Finger Positioning - March 21st, 2008 (2 minutes, 11 seconds)
Fairchildj asks, "I have just recently began with Phase I of training. One issue that I am having is that I find placing my fingers in the right frets extremely difficult for my middle two fingers. My fingers curl on each other a bit 3rd finger overlapping the 4th finger...so when I place them on the frets, the 3rd finger wants to poing back towards the 2nd fret instead of where it should be on the 3rd fret. By sliding my hand a bit, I can overcome this but I don't want to pick up a bad habit that will limit my advancement in the future...any recommendations?" View Response
Guitar Action - April 21st, 2008 (13 minutes, 23 seconds)
Jdemail78 says, "I hear a lot about guitar action but I'm not really sure what is good or bad. I had purchased an acoustic guitar that I believe had very low action (strings were very close to the neck of the guitar) and it was very easy to play but it ended up having some issues with fret buzz and other ringing sounds that I did not like and could not get corrected at the local guitar shop. I've since replaced it with a little bit better guitar and I no longer have any fret buzz nor do I have any ringing sounds but it seems like the action is higher (strings are much higher off the neck of the guitar) and therefore, for me as a beginner, it is harder to play. My question is when it comes to an experienced guitar player (which I am not...yet...) is it good to have a guitar with higher action or lower action? What would one typically prefer? Do really nice expensive guitars come with very low action making them easy to play but don't have any buzzing issues or is it a case where as you get better, higher action is ok because your better at fretting chords and notes? My curiosity with this comes from a hope that the guitar I have now, with it's strings higher off the fret board, will slowly become easier to play as I get better and I'll become ok with the higher action because it does sound better and cleaner than the one I had with the lower action. Also, please correct me if I have the "high action" "low action" descriptions backwards." View Response
Chord Theory - September 19th, 2007 (5 minutes, 18 seconds)
noamde41 writes "'m stuck at lesson 7, scene 2 of steve's lesson. I'm trying to figure out what makes a basic chord (minor or Major), but I seem to be missing something. I get how he builds the maj7, 7th, and 6th from the basic chord. But I can make sence of a basic chord itself?! Can you give me a little extra material on what makes a basic chord or another website that would explain the basic theory. Thanks for your help and really enjoy your lessons, Steeve." View Response
Tabs and Chords - November 22nd, 2008 (3 minutes, 15 seconds)
Dear Jim, Just recently I joined jamplay.com. And here is my first question. How do you read tabs that are written like this: [Intro] C C Am G/B G/B C G Am I close my eye G Dm7 A7 G/B only for a moment, and the moment's gone. C G/B Am All my dreams G Dm7 Am pass before my eyes, a curiosity. D/F# G Am Am/G Dust in the wind. D/F# G Am All they are is dust in the wind. I know that you must listen to the song and then play the chords, but I just cant seem to get the strumming right. As i said I just joined the site 2 days ago but I like it very much. Its more organized and the instructors like you seem to point out the beginners mistakes better then on my old website. Regards, Yordan Ivanov View Response