noob: picking making me bleed... really! help please!

noodlenot

Hi there! first of all, apologies for my english and for this short introduction, feel free to skip it .

So i´ve got the argentines on my new selmer copy, several wegenpicks from which to choose and just started going through Michael´s Gypsy Picking and Gypsy Rythm. now the pain begins...
I´ve never really practiced flatpicking before, but i´ve been musing on the guitar for over ten years now, and i´ve played brazilian Bossa nova and samba on a nylon stringed guitar for most of those years. when needed to flat-pick (alternate economy style, i´ve learnt afterwords; fist resting on the bridge, all of these self-thaught) i never found a big problem to play some simple lines and arpeggios to solo for some bars and get back to rythm. now, i know it´s supposed to be a kind of an ordeal to start the gypsy way of picking and frustration is bound to strike as you painfully go analysing and learning all of the rest-stroke, wrist, arm, tension, body postion subtle details and get stuck along it´s many perplexities. it kind of feels like you´re back at elementary school (which i suppose you are).

OK, so my big problem right now is figuring out the best way to rest-stroke. i strike the strings holding the pick at a (more or less) 45 degree angle, and slightly tilted (picture II.2., seen from front), from around an inchs upwards, as Michael says. Thing is i hit with my index finger (which is holding the pick) on the adjacent strings, and after some time of practice it start bleeding from the knuckles :oops: . so, some questions:

- is this normal (the bleeding in the first times of learning, that is)?
- am i doing this properly?
- should i strike the keys less perpendicular (image I.B) and start doing it more like in image I.A ?
thanks in advance for your time, and sorry for the long post.

Cheers,
Miguel.

noodlenot

too stupid a topic? :oops:

bbwood_98

Noodle,
so since no one else seems to want to jump in- in short- yes, It can make you bleed . . . some advice: 1. buy some athletic tape and tape the first (ie furthest from the palm) joint on your index finger. 2. change angle of the pick and rest stroke to nearly perpendicular to the strings. This means the pick should mostly be held at 90 to the face of the guitar, and move in a plane that runs at parallel to the guitar face rather then tilted either toward the bass or treble side (much less chance of hitting knuckles on the strings). Also keep in mind it is the pick that hits the next string in a rest stroke not ones fingers . . .
Good luck,
Keep pickin!
B.

noodlenot

thanks for your answer and advices, B.!

on point 2. : i don´t mean to rest my finger on the string, it just happens, specially when playing rythm it ends up striking the strings.

as for perpendicular pick position, i´ve tried that too, but i´ve red on Michael Horowitz book that you should strike the strings with the pick at a 45 º angle so you could get a more "mellow" sound and easier attack of the string, so i guess there is a compromise to be made here. i guess i should practice some more time, collect some more doubts and articulate them altogether with more substance on another topic.

once more, thanks man!

cheers,
miguel.