Is my picking technique flawed?

[Willin]

Hey all! Recently i've been downloading videos of various amazing guitarists playing their stuff. I noticed that their picking technique is different than mine... actually i've known that a lot of guitarists picking is different than mine. I hold my pick at a slight "back angle." Meaning, if you were playing a guitar and it was in your lap, my pick looks something like this \ while Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, Eddie Van Halen, Kirk Hammett, Paul Gilbert, Jason Becker, my awesome guitar instructor shown here(www.nofaulttunes.com) all play with the pick in a "forward angle" like this /. I pick like this \ and they pick like this /. I was watching a Paul Gilbert instructional video at www.racerxband.com(the MIT video) and he even noted that he used to hold the pick at a back angle and changed it to a forward angle as a kid when he saw videos of Yngwie picking super fast that way. The difference is though that he held the pick with two fingers and with bad technique, while I hold it with just my thumb and pointer finger. I can play some things decently fast, but I am no shredder(although I want to be one). I don't know how anyone could play with their pick leaning forward but it seems most people do? Am I severely limiting my speed because I pick like this? I feel very comfortable and pretty confident picking like I do, but if it is really holding me back I will change(it would be hard). Thanks for any input on this because I asked my instructor about it and he didn't really know if it was a bad thing or not because he never really saw someone doing it(or it was never brought to his attention). Thanks!

[BrianH]

Well its hard to say. I notice my pick angle changes the whole time I play, it never stays the same, but changes according to what I'm playing, cause I get different tones with different angles etc... but when I'm playing very fast runs my pick is either leaning slightly back or straight up, but never forward. Everyone has their own thing... pick angles don't build speed, or not very noticeably in my experiences. Practice and more practice tends to work these issues out for each person.

[Willin]

Thanks Brian - that's what I wanted to hear! *wipes sweat off of brow* Any more input?!

[Mr Orange]

When it comes to picking technique, there are no rights or wrongs. There's just what suits you and what doesn't.
Many players have developed serious velocity using a huge variety of picking styles.

[athlon]

My picking stle changes for what i play

when playing rock lead and rythm, i crossover my thumb and first finger and make an X shape, and hold the pick in there, but when playing alternating picking stuff, i usually make like a closed Tripod of my thumb and first two fingers, and keep them perfectly straight, with the pick in there.this hold the pick tight ( i use big stubbys, 3mm sharpened !! ) and stops it moving, this way my hand dosnt flex when fast picking and i can get up a good head of steam

but there is no right and wrong, alot of players think thier technique is wrong, but essentially as long as its comfortable, and you dont flex your fingers when picking (well, for alternating picking anyway) then you will be ok, just practice, practice, practice

[sniperfrommars1]

Evh often picks using his thumb middle and index fingers to hold the pic and when he trem pics he often turns the pic in a way that it can just barely touch the string at all just scraping over the top