Tomo Fujita Guitar Wisdom

Dear Mr. Tomo,

I have come to love your beginner acoustic guitar series and have been using it to learn electric guitar. I would like to thank you for all that you have done to make guitar learning enjoyable and easy to understand. On the topic of strumming which is apart of the series, I am having trouble producing a smooth strumming sound. When I strum, it sounds very "scratchy" and harsh. I feel as though I am holding the pick lightly and allow it to move through my fingers, but the sound doesn't reflect that. I am using one of your pickboy picks 1mm :)

Do you have any suggestions on what I could be doing wrong and how I can fix it?

Thank you,
Dozy

Here is Tomo's reply:

"Thank you so much for subscribing to my Guitar Wisdom. What’s happening here is that you are just holding the pick too tightly. That’s why you are getting a harsh sound. For a better sound, learn to hold the pick as lightly as possible. This is very difficult to do, especially with a 1 mm pick. That’s why some teachers recommend that beginners use a thinner pick. But a 1 mm pick will give you the best sound for all styles of music, when you learn to hold it the right way."

Thank you very much! I will do my best to watch how much force I put into holding my pick.