Picks

Like the right pen or the right suit or the right haircut or the right cologne or the right swing or the right joke or the right whatever, playing the guitar requires a special feel. It must be right or it just doesn’t work.

A guitar has that special warmth. When you hold it close to your body you feel the vibration of the strings through the wood. There is a connection or there isn’t.

The tone of the wood, the shape of the neck, the width of the frets, the weight of the strings all matter to the sound of this creature you hold next to your heart. Some are soft with nylon and some are comfortable with steel and some create an overwhelming power with electricity.

I’ve been a simple guitar player with knowledge of a few chords and simple picking patterns, but other than the guitar and all of its elements there are “the picks”.

There are these little plastic triangles that guitar players strum against the strings to bring out the sound. The can be strummed fast or slowly picked each note, but if you don’t play with your fingers, these picks are your connection to this empty wooden box.

Picks come in every color and several weights. There sizes range from large to small and some wrap around your fingertips. Picks are made out of plastics, steel and even felt. Some player’s finger pick, some shedders pick each string or the rest of us strum trying to produce a unique sound.

Sat down and played with a friend and used some of his picks. It is like cooking in someone else’s kitchen using their utensils. A picker will buy and trade hundreds of picks in their lifetime and will always be looking for more. Going to the guitar store may not assure another case will come home, but it is almost certain that a bag of little plastic or metal picks will.

I get picky about my picks. I’ve learned to take my favorites with me for I will probably break some and lose the others. No matter what type of guitar I play it is always good to have my friends with me.