How to Practice Pick Mutes on Guitar "Think of your pick like a woodpecker's beak." What I call "woodpeckers" are a great way to add some spice to your playing. They're almost hidden from view, but a big part of creating an authentic sound on guitar! Let's begin with a single bar example, using only 2 notes presented in a musical (in this case rhythmically satisfying) manner. I'm using notes from the A minor pentatonic scale which give a bluesy sound when played over an A m