How To Stop Dropping Your Plectrum

When you first start playing guitar (and for quite some time after you start, in fairness), you’ll probably find that you have a bit of a hard time getting to grips with that pesky plectrum… quite literally!

Dropping the plectrum is just one of life’s cold hard truths that you’ll have to come to accept if you want to be a virtuoso guitarist at some point. And even if you’ve been playing for years and years, you’ll probably still find that you drop it from time to time.

It’s frustrating, but it’s a small price to pay for playing a really intriguing instrument that you can do a surprising amount with and which you can take in all sorts of exciting directions.

If you are struggling with the pick right now, we’re here to help! First of all, make sure that you’re using the right plectrum for you. If it’s too thick, you may find it easier to lose your grip, as it’ll be bouncing harder off the strings. Try something a little thinner and see how you fare.

Smooth plastic picks can also be problematic, so try a pick with some texture or a grip of some kind and see if that makes a difference to your playing.

Of course, a poor workman does blame their tools to a certain extent, however, so even if you do have the world’s greatest pick between your fingertips, without practise, practise, practise, you’ll probably find you continue to be a pick dropper for quite some time to come.

The more you play, the better you’ll get at holding the plectrum. It’s as simple as that! Over time, it becomes quite instinctive and you’ll be able to adjust your grip on the plectrum as you play without having to stop what you’re doing.

It can also be helpful to make sure you’re practising a range of different styles and material so you can really get used to how the pick moves between the strings and the strums.

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