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Start Let's start with picking. This refers to playing a single string at a time. Later we will cover strumming techniques, but I recommend learning to play single notes first. This helps to develop each finger individually, as well as giving you a better understanding of the instrument and theory rather than learning a handful of chord shapes. '''Your common picking motion should come from either your wrist or elbow, ''not'' your finger/thumb joints'''. As your technique develops, you may be able to add inflection and accents using your fingers, but as a beginner, you don't want to get in the habit of using them exclusively. This can lead to difficulty crossing strings, strumming, and speed, as well as leading to injury.
→Picking
|Basic Technique#Muting|Muting
|Basic Technique#Left-Hand Grip|Grip}}
The motion is similar to waving hello to someone. You are "chopping", not "slapping" or "flapping". The relative distance from your hand to the guitar body should not change much during your picking motion. You want to "push through" the string, applying greater and greater pressure against the string until it slides off the tip of the pick. You do ''not'' want to apply some tension to the string then move the pick from the body, which I call "pecking", like a bird trying to eat a worm. The motion you use to play a single string should also work for multiple strings by simply continuing it (if you are "pecking" it will require a pecking motion for each string).
Depending on [[Choosing a Pick|your pick choice]] and how heavy-handed you are, even with a [[Holding the Guitar and Pick#The Pick|good grip]], you may find it is difficult to "release" the string without significant force...causing the resulting string resonance to be too strong with fret buzz and a detuned sound during the attack of the note. Try loosening your grip on the pick, or maybe even try a thinner pick.
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