James Hetfield , frontman of Metallica , has an unusual way of holding the guitar pick while playing. Instead of using just his index finger and thumb, the musician also uses his middle finger.
In a 2009 interview, recently unearthed by the website Total Guitar , Hetfield explained that there's no technique behind the way he handles guitar picks. “Yeah, I’ve always done it this way. That’s how I hold a pencil. My teachers at school would slap my hand and say, ‘That’s not right!’, but it just made sense to me,” he said. “I tried [holding it] another way to see what it would be like, but there’s something about having that extra finger that stabilizes the tip of the pick. Otherwise, it moves around too much.”
In September, Metallica will release a special version of The Black Album , which turns 30 in August, featuring 53 artists from different musical styles, from country to hip hop. Elton John and Miley Cyrus sing together on a new version of the classic "Nothing Else Matters" included in the project, alongside Yo-Yo Ma, Robert Trujillo , and Chad Smith .
READ ALSO: Metallica: James Hetfield thought “Nothing Else Matters” showed a sign of weakness.