Guitar Fingernails

For the guitar player, fingernails have always been a major problem.  The debate about this concern dates back to the sixteenth century. Whenever a student brings up this  subject, he is joining this centenary battle.

Many guitar players prefer the no nail approach, but they too will find this issue an interesting reading material.  The term “nail approach” is often used incorrectly and it usually refers to striking the strings with a combination of right hand fingertip and fingernail. The resulting sound is different, depending on the part of the finger that is used: the nail makes a thin, soft sound, while  the tip of the finger produces an impenetrable sound that lacks clarity. The sound quality is also influenced by the thickness, width and curvature of the guitarist’s nails. It takes years for a guitarist to become an expert in using his own nails. This means that the guitar player must become aware of the close relation between his nails and the produced sound. The guitarist’s fingernails are to him like vocal cords are to a singer.

The guitarist must have the ability to change his own fingernails’ angle of attack in relation to the strings so that he can produce a wide range of sounds.

Just as some people have perfect hands, fingers, feet, there are some endowed with perfect fingernails. The nails of a guitarist can be perfect or less perfect in relation to the position that he uses for playing. If one uses his hand perpendicular to the strings, his hand will be in an unhealthy position and malformation may set in over time.

The recommended type of nails are:  rounded, following the natural shape of the fingers, 1/16 of an inch above the finger, or filed  to an angle with the angled part touching the guitar string. This latter one ensures that the finger  touches the string better before the nail and hooking the string is almost impossible.

The guitar player should know his fingernails very well and he should be aware that he will not use the same nail shape  his whole life. As years go by, fingernails will get thicker, his body position will also change and eventually the angle of attack of the nail will change too.

Guitarists’ fingernails should be very well polished using a very fine nail polisher. The thumb nail should be moderately long with square edges. This nail will wear most during playing since the bass strings are rougher.  There are guitar players who do not use the thumb nail while others use it to pluck the string at different angles in order to produce different bass sounds. A classical guitar composer, teacher and performer, Abel Carlevaro and a lot of his students achieved a “fourth bass sound” by slicing through the bass strings. Choosing the right plucking technique at the right time is a matter of taste.

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