How Often Do I Need To Change My Guitar Picks?

Hello there, guitar slingers!

Today, the question I got is fairly simple and it has a simple answer as well:

How often and when is it the proper time to change your guitar picks?

Now, in most cases, you do not need to change your guitar picks, and the reason is pretty simple: Guitar picks get sucked into this big parallel universe and we never find them again! In a Galaxy far away! Having said that, for these few picks that remained on Earth, there are only two reasons to change them.

If they develop notches on the side. This happens, mostly, from rhythm playing or from characteristic pick scraping you do on the guitar. At some point, these scratches on the pick are big enough, so they catch some of the string, and this prevents you from playing smoothly.

If you play mostly on the bass strings the pick might lose its edge. This happens in case you are more of a technical player and you do a lot of alternate picking on the bass strings. The top of the pick might get worn away and become rounder. This is not necessarily a bad thing but if you have learned to play with a sharp point at the end of the pick then it is going to bother you, so eventually, you will not be able to keep lots of the notes that you are targeting.

Now that we have clarified the answer, you might be interested in checking how often should you take your guitar for setup and or how to stop your guitar strings from rusting quickly, so you do not have to change them very often.

I hope this was helpful. You can watch the video below, where I explain this topic in more detail. If you’re interested in developing your guitar skills and reaching your music goals, please check the different Elite Guitar Coaching Academy packages and how you can get private coaching from me.