This is a common question.
Most people have a few guitar picks laying around the house, unless they’re totally new to music or string instruments in general. But when it comes time to play the mandolin, the question arises: Can I play mandolin with a guitar pick?
Two schools of thought regarding mandolin picks
Some people (who are in the minority) believe you should play the mandolin with a thin, flexible pick. They find an ultra-flexible pick helps them when they’re doing fast tremolo picking. Anything below 0.8 millimeters falls into this category of pick.
But lots of folks like to use a heavy pick because of the relatively high tension of the mandolin’s strings. Picks with a 2 millimeter thickness (and above) fit into this category.
Rounded or pointed?
Guys who play a lot of older-style music use tremolo picking as their primary right hand technique. These players like picks with rounded corners. Some prefer a teardrop shape which, while somewhat pointed, still isn’t as pointy as a guitar pick.
But for playing fast melody runs, a pick with more of a point is generally favored.
Bottom line: guitar picks versus mandolin picks
The bottom line is, you’ll get used to whichever type of pick you use. No matter what style of pick you use, if you play with it long enough and it’ll become your favorite.
But most experienced mandolin players will advise you to use a stiffer pick than that favored by most guitarists.
