Although not all guitar players use picks, unless you’re aiming to be a fingerpicking maestro, chances are you’re going to be buying (and losing) a lot of them along your guitar-playing journey. Picks have come a long way since they first started popping up along with the first stringed instruments, some dating as far back as Ancient Egypt. Read on to learn how picks are made and how the materials and gauge used can affect your sound.
A History of Picks
Musicians have been using plectra (the proper term for “pick”) since the ancient world. The first picks were no more than feather quills, and we didn’t see the beginnings of the modern pick as we know it until the late 19th century. This is when musicians began using picks made from the Atlantic hawksbill sea turtle (AKA, tortoiseshell). Once musicians started using tortoise shells, however, they quickly realized they weren’t perfect. For example, guitar picks started slipping and flying out of players’ hands while playing. Not a pleasant experience, especially in the middle of a gig!
As a result, musicians started coming up with solutions. For instance, in 1896 a Cincinnati man stuck 2 rubber discs on either side of his mandolin pick, which made it the first popular solution to this problem. Over the ensuing decades, musicians made many more innovations like corrugating the rounded surface of their picks or drilling holes through the center of them to fit the pad of a player’s thumb. One of the more notable improvements was attaching cork to the wide part of their picks.
However, eventually, players realized that all they needed was something that they could grip onto. This led to the advent of celluloid picks. Why did players want to use celluloid you ask? Well, it’s a type of plastic that closely mimics a turtle shell, giving guitarists the flexibility and rigidness they desire in a pick. Tony D’Andrea was one of the first people to produce and sell celluloid guitar picks. He discovered this idea in 1902 after a sidewalk sale offering some sheets of tortoiseshell covered in cellulose nitrate plastic. After this the rest is history. From the 1920s to the 1950s D’Andrea dominated the market supplying many well-known brands today like Gibson, Fender, and Martin.
It’s a good thing that celluloid became a viable alternative to tortoise shells. Putting aside the fact that tortoise shells were rare, expensive, and tended to break, the practice of using hawksbill turtle shells became illegal in 1973.
Why Use A Pick?
Along my guitar-playing journey, I’ve encountered a wide variety of players. Some of them are great at finger-picking, and you will rarely ever see them use a pic. At most, you might see them using a thumb pick. However, not everybody is that enthusiastic about fingerpicking, especially those who aspire to be electric guitarists. The reason why using a pick is helpful is that it creates a brighter sound compared to plucking with your fingertips. It also opens up a whole palette of Sonic textures as holding the pick in different ways as you play can produce different sounds. For example, you can create interesting squeals when using distortion with certain picking techniques or brighter, crunchier tones by strumming hard with a pick. The possibilities are limitless. It’s also easier on your fingers to use a pick as a beginner.
Materials Used In Picks
As guitarists, we were pretty limited in what we could use for picks until the 19th century. However, today you will find a wide variety of options. We’ve assembled a handy infographic below to describe the most common materials used:
Recap
To summarize, we’ve learned today that picks have been used since ancient times and that players have been innovating with them ever since. With so many materials and pick styles out there, with a bit of exploration, you’re sure to find a pick that is a perfect fit for you.