Hi, Clément here
So today in this video, I will talk about picks
because I'm often asked questions about picks which type of pick to choose
Do we need small or big picks
tortoiseshell, wood, bone, horn picks, etc.
There is a lot of choice
So I will try to talk about the different types of picks I used learning guitar
I will talk about their advantages and disadvantages
and I prepared a few examples that I will show you as well
and then I will give you my opinion on the pick's size
if you absolutely need a big pick to play gypsy jazz
On the table I have a few picks
For example I have this one
this one is a stone pick agate to be precise
It's a big pick and rather thick
3 or 4mm
it's a Dugain
It allows you to have a big sound
but there is a slightly metallic aspect
I don't know if the microphone picks it up
when playing a high string
it can make small noises like those
That's for the stone picks
there is bone picks as well
It's also a Dugain... As you can see
Here you have it for the bone pick
this pick is made out of buffalo horn
It's also a big pick from Dugain
I'm not going to try them all on the guitar
there is also picks like this one in ebony
This one is made out of tortoise shell
It's someone that watches my video on Youtube that gave it to me
If he watches thanks againS
so it's in tortoise shell
This one is the classic pick, a black Dunlop
This one, a Dugain again, I believe it's acetate
I don't recall exactly
this one is also a small pick
a small Dunlop pick
So there is a lot of type of picks
and some guitarist say that to play gypsy jazz you need big picks
Dugain picks, horn, bone, tortoise shell picks that kind of things
conversely some say that you need to use small thin picks like this
So, it depends a bit on people
when I started playing gypsy jazz guitar more than ten years ago now
At first I would use Dugain picks, that why I have several here on the table
and I tried many materials, I tried wood, horn, bone, stone, etc
back then I liked it a lot
I played a lot with the agate one
it allowed me to have a big sound
but the downside of these is that it wears down a lot more the strings
the pick won't wear down
this one I have it since forever, I never lost it
In general we lose them before wearing them down since it's stone
On the other hand with stone picks, it'll wear down a lot more your strings
I had my string thread that would go because of the stone of the pick
a bit after that I started playing on small picks
this type of picks, this one is a black Dunlop of 2mm
right here
I started playing with that type of picks, just to see how it's like
and I thought that it was a bit more flexible and more satisfying to play with
and since then I play exclusively with those picks
so black Dunlop 2mm
so, I'm not advertising for Dunlop, I'm not sponsored by them
but there are many guitarist playing with those picks
So either the 2mm black ones or the green ones
these ones are a bit more flexible they are 1.5mm
and I think that compared to Dugain picks or any big picks in shell or horn
I find it more flexible and pleasing
playing the guitar, that being said it's also a matter of taste
and we can perfectly have a big sound playing the guitar using a small plastic pick
if you the live of Bireli Lagrène in Vienne
I believe it was in 2002, it's a really well known DVD
and you can find videos on Youtube I think, you'll see Bireli playing with small plastic picks
and since people saw Bireli playing with a small pick
everyone switch to small picks
and then we realized it works very well and we can have a big sound with a nice tone
using small picks
but then there will always be gypsy jazz purists that will tell you
in order to play gypsy you need a big pick in tortoise shell or in bone that is 3 or 4 mm
to have a big sound, it's a point of view that I don't share
that being said it's up to you to try it out, you can buy a big pick to see if you like it
or try small picks like those
Personally I only play with small plastic picks it's suits me well and I don't want to change it
to summarize all that, I don't think there is one type of pick for gypsy jazz
It depends of your feeling on the guitar
it's something personal, try out different things
try small, big and average picks
and try to keep the pick that fits you best
the one with which you are more at ease
I don't think it's true if someone tells you that you need a particular pick to play gypsy jazz
because we can perfectly play with small ones
So here you go, a small video on picks
that way next time you ask me a question on picks, because I receive a lot of them
I'm often asked which pick, strings I use, etc.
I will refer you back to this video, that way you know everything about how I use my pick
After, the pick has three sides, the tip and the two round ones
there are multiple ways to use them, some will use the tip
others will use one round side, one or another
to have less grip on the string with a corner a bit more round
that also is up to you to try it, it'll depend on the musician
again the best solution is to try it out, and make up your own opinion
That's it for today, if you liked it think about giving a thumb-up on Youtube
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I will make a summary PDF to download on the website
if you are on Youtube, click on the description, there will be a link leading you to the website
and if you are the website apprendre-le-jazz-manouche.com the PDF is downloaded at the end of page
See you soon for an upcoming video
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Ciao!
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