Music Therapy Life Hack #4: Mega Guitar Picks

Today’s post is all about these fabulous and giant guitar picks that I picked up a few (maybe 10!) years ago. I originally thought I would use them all the time. They are great for hands that need more than a pincer grasp to manipulate an object across the strings, as well as providing more surface area to hold onto.

But what about those who need even more assistance than that? I quickly found out that though they were larger, they were still hard to hold for many of my clients. I conjured up different velcro adaptations to hold them in place, but was never fully satisfied with the presentation of my overall design. And if I couldn’t think of a way to make manipulating the pick easier, than what else could I do with them?

I sat on the idea for a long time, until this morning when the idea finally arrived! I was actually looking for something to make a crocodile out of for a song about a crocodile taking big bites. I wanted something that could be placed on the hand to look like a crocodile while making the open and shut motion with the fingers and thumbs. The guitar pick was one of the first things I saw when looking through my options and immediately I knew I needed to turn it into a crocodile. So remembering my previous dilemma with the pick I knew I wanted to make a crocodile that would be easy to manipulate that could serve many purposes.

So this is what I did!

Decorate It: First things first… I needed an alligator! So I stuck on some eyes, gave him some teeth and a few nostrils.

Put a Ring On It: Next, I hot glued a large plastic ring onto the back. By wearing the pick on a finger, it stays in place with the hand and removes the need to grasp with the fingers. This particular ring is better suited for a child, but will stay on an adult finger as well.

Now the entire hand has transformed into the pick and the alligator can play along                   with the song! Super fun and adorable 🙂

Give it a Purpose: Not only can the pick be used for strumming, but it goes along with my hungry crocodile song as a prop, strengthening the muscles in the hands and fingers as children act out a crocodile opening and shutting it’s mouth. I also was able to use it with my group at TheraCare this morning as a prop for the 5 Little Monkeys Song. The kids each had a turn to wear the ring as they removed a monkey from the tree!

So I hope someone out there finds this helpful! I was super excited about finally adapting my pick in a fun, useful and appealing way!