“I actually never learned how to play with a pick. It’s my weak point”: Matteo Mancuso is revered for his virtuosic fingerstyle approach – but what happens when he tries to play with a guitar pick?

Matteo Mancuso holding a guitar pick.

We all know the name Matteo Mancuso by now. The young Sicilian virtuoso has lit up the guitar world in dazzling fashion over the past 18 months, introducing listeners and spectators to his heralded classical guitar-meets-electric guitar fingerstyle approach.

It’s a technique that has prompted plaudits from countless guitar heroes – not least, Steve Vai, who credited his evolution of fusion guitar – and that can be defined by its break-neck speed, effortless execution, and limitless phrasing potential.