Top 10 Guitarists with the Oddest Picking Techniques
Normally, guitarists hold a pick using their thumb and index finger. However, some guitarists don't hold the pick conventionally. In addition, the position of their fingers or even the position of their hand can appear unusual.
When you observe their picking hand, it can be shocking. It's almost like you're thinking, What is going on here? It truly looks more than weird.
This doesn't mean they're bad guitarists, not at all. On the contrary, some of the guitarists (or axemen) on this list are among the best guitarists ever.
The names of the picking techniques used in this list aren't official names. Instead, they're humorous yet fairly accurate descriptions of how some guitarists' picking styles appear.
Just a reminder, this list is focused on the oddest picking techniques and not necessarily the best guitarists.
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Marty Friedman - "broken wrist" technique
Martin Adam "Marty" Friedman is an American guitarist known for his technical skill and genre-blending style. He was the lead guitarist for Megadeth from 1990 to 2000 and previously played in the band Cacophony with Jason Becker. Since 2003, he has lived in Tokyo, Japan, where he has appeared on several... read more
His wrist isn't broken, but it looks like one when he plays. He bends his wrist too much, and it looks like it hurts. In his own words, his picking technique "looks stupid as crap."
The weirdest thing is that he actually does the main two things traditionally:
1. He holds the pick with two fingers.
2. He uses his thumb and index finger.
Nevertheless, his picking style looks extremely odd because:
1. The position of his hand is very unusual.
2. The angle of his wrist is weird ("broken wrist").
3. The position of his fingers is also unusual (no extended fingers).
Because of that, his picking style looks weird as hell.
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Rory Gallagher - "string-stretching picking" technique
William Rory Gallagher, born in 1948 and passed away in 1995, was an Irish blues and rock multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and bandleader.
He was known for his electrifying guitar work, slide playing, and intense live performances. Gallagher released more than a dozen solo albums and significantly... read more
A good example of his technique is when he stretched his strings so much that he made it sound like a tremolo effect, vibrato, or whammy bar. Check out the Moonchild 1982 version in Germany, nearly at the end of the song.
In the 1978 Shadow Play version in Germany, he did the same (though not exactly like Moonchild). He also did tapping before Eddie Van Halen in the mid-'70s and used tremolo picking in several songs.
I haven't seen any other picking technique like this. He leaves his picks and stretches his Strat's strings by just shaking/stretching them.
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Wilko Johnson - "edge of fingers" technique
Wilko Johnson was the original guitarist for the rock and roll band Dr. Feelgood. He doesn't use a pick. He instead strikes the edges of his fingers in a syncopated manner against the strings. This allows him to blend rhythm and lead guitar in a unique way. Watch any video of him with Dr. Feelgood in the mid-1970s, and then watch the video where he explains his technique. He makes it look and sound easy, but it's not.
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Richie Kotzen - "no pick" picking technique
Richie Kotzen doesn't use a pick!
He used to play with a pick, but around 2007, he changed his style and has been playing only with his fingers ever since.
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Steve Morse - "metal horns/rock on" technique
Steven J. "Steve" Morse is an American guitarist and composer. He is best known as the founder of the Dixie Dregs, a band known for its fusion of rock and jazz. Morse joined the rock band Deep Purple in 1994 and remained its guitarist until his departure in 2022.
1. Steve Morse of Deep Purple often holds the pick with three fingers instead of two (which is unusual).
2. He also has the most metal picking technique ever because his right hand often looks like a devil-horns hand! Or the Rock On gesture, if you prefer.
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Michael Angelo Batio - "pinching and tickling with a shy pick" technique
Michael Angelo Batio, also known as Mike Batio or MAB, is an American heavy metal guitarist and columnist from Chicago, Illinois. He is renowned for his technical skill and for inventing the double guitar. Batio has released several solo albums and has been featured in numerous guitar magazines.
Michael Angelo Batio... What's not odd about this guy?
His picking style: he only moves his picking fingers, while the other fingers don't move! It looks like he's tickling and pinching. Also, his pick usually can't be seen ("shy pick").
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James Hetfield - "three-finger pen-holding" technique
James Alan Hetfield was born on August 3, 1963. He is an American musician, singer, and songwriter known for being the co-founder, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main songwriter for the American thrash metal band Metallica. He helped form the iconic thrash metal group in 1981 after answering... read more
He holds the pick with three fingers instead of two and holds it like a pen or pencil. You can see it in the image. James Hetfield looks like a "writer," but this technique worked great for him, obviously.
Both James Hetfield and Steve Morse of Deep Purple use three fingers, but their hands look different while picking.
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Eddie Van Halen - "middle finger" technique
Edward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halen (January 26, 1955 - October 6, 2020) was a Dutch-American musician, songwriter, producer, and inventor. He was best known as the lead guitarist, occasional keyboardist, and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen. He is widely recognized for popularizing guitar techniques... read more
No, it isn't what you think. He just holds the pick differently - with his thumb and middle finger. Eddie explained:
"In an instructional book, there was an illustration of how to hold the pick. It was to be held with your thumb and index finger. Well, I couldn't, for the life of me, hold it like that. It was very uncomfortable, and I felt like I had absolutely no control of the pick. I tend to hold it more with my thumb and middle finger, with a little bit of my index finger, but mostly just my thumb and middle finger. The only time I hold the pick with my thumb and index finger is when I am using the vibrato bar. Bottom line is, and I say this a lot, do whatever works best for you! There are no rules when it comes to being creative, and playing guitar certainly falls into that category."
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Willie Adler - "horror movie scenes" technique
William M. Adler is the rhythm guitarist for the heavy metal band Lamb of God. He is the younger brother of drummer Chris Adler, who was a founding member of the band. Lamb of God is considered a significant member of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal movement.
He holds the pick "normally" (with his thumb and index finger), but the position and movement of his fingers look terrifying. When he moves his fingers, they look like creatures from horror movies or your nightmares. This can be seen partly in the image.
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Kirk Hammett - "giving the middle finger" technique
Kirk Lee Hammett (born November 18, 1962) is an American musician who has been the lead guitarist of the heavy metal band Metallica since 1983. In addition to playing guitar, he contributes as a songwriter for the band.
Prior to joining Metallica, Hammett co-founded the thrash metal band Exodus... read more
No, he doesn't hold the pick with his middle finger (unlike Eddie Van Halen).
Kirk just often extends his middle finger, which looks very funny. He doesn't do it intentionally. It just happens.
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Tosin Abasi - "broken thumb" technique
Oluwatosin Ayoyinka Olumide "Tosin" Abasi (born January 7, 1983) is a Nigerian American musician, best known as the founder and lead guitarist of the instrumental progressive metal band Animals as Leaders. Before founding Animals as Leaders, he was the guitarist for the technical metalcore band Reflux.... read more
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Synyster Gates - "old lady holds a cup of coffee" technique
Brian Elwin Haner, Jr., better known by his stage name Synyster Gates or simply Syn, is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the band Avenged Sevenfold. He joined the band in 2001 and has since become recognized for his technical skill and melodic solos. Gates... read more
The young Synyster Gates used to hold the pick like an old lady holds a cup of coffee, but he changed that, so no fun anymore.
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Pat Metheny - "bug flick" technique
His picking technique is pretty odd (he's a jazz virtuoso guitarist).