Members GAS Man Posted April 14, 2011 Members Share Posted April 14, 2011 I just clip them off as short as they'll go on the left (fretting) hand (without going into the quick) but then the real aggravation is trying to leave them about 3 mm long on the right side for finger picking. I whine like a little girly when one of those breaks down to the quick because that's my favorite way to play. So when one breaks I feel handicapped for a few days until there's a bit of growth back there again. Sometimes I grab a pick, but I always start with finger picking and then move to a pick if something about the piece is calling for it (like Thunderstruck, Misirlou or chord strumming rhythms). It's hard to find video of it, but if you ever find a clip of Dolly Parton playing guitar, I can't imagine learning to play that way. She has long nails on both hands like a beauty salon patron, but yet she can still fret and pick like lightning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted April 14, 2011 Members Share Posted April 14, 2011 My gf started to learn classical guitar last month, her teacher teaches classical guitar in university. As beginner, a lot of people have nail questions. The teacher showed his fingers. He initially has long large nails , but his fingers have changed through years of playing, the finger tips of fretting hand are flat with short nail beds, while the fingers on his right hand have longer nail beds (with some nails for fingerpicking of course) and looks more "normal". He says if one plays much enough, the change would happen. Amazing, I never noticed that before but that's true on my hands. Taking my middle finger as an example, the nail bed is about 2 mm shorter on my fretting hand. Freakay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sk8centilli Posted April 14, 2011 Members Share Posted April 14, 2011 Having short fingernails on my fretting hand is very important to the way I play. Not sure it is for everyone, but I assume it is for most. Unfortunately, I can never get my index fingernail short enough. This week I cut the nail a tiny bit shorter than usual, to get it where I think it needs to be for me to play my best. Of course to do this I cut into the "quick", and it's still a little painful to touch (got some info about nail anatomy here). I am hoping that if I keep doing this over time it will hurt less and less and eventually get to the point where it won't hurt anymore and I'll be able to have more fingertip and less nail on the fretboard. So far I just use clippers, no fancy sandpaper or anything. Will this approach work? Has anyone else tried this? Ouch! Seriously?I've got a long nail-plate (had to wikipedia that one), too, but I just deal with it -- no self-mutilation for me (outside of tattoos ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chqtarzan Posted April 14, 2011 Members Share Posted April 14, 2011 Amazing, I never noticed that before but that's true on my hands. Taking my middle finger as an example, the nail bed is about 2 mm shorter on my fretting hand. Freakay! Oh I just checked my fingers, I never noticed the change as I have born short nail beds with flat overhang fingertips (I used to feel inferior that I don't have "long slim artist hands"), and my left fingers' nail beds are average 1mm short than the right ones now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scolfax Posted April 14, 2011 Author Members Share Posted April 14, 2011 BTW James Taylor has a lesson site and one of his first lessons is nail-care. Essentially how to maintain fake nails on his picking hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ozzeh Posted April 14, 2011 Members Share Posted April 14, 2011 off the wall thread but yeah, I keep my fingernails clipped short on both hands actually... Once a week is good. Helps fretting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ashasha Posted April 14, 2011 Members Share Posted April 14, 2011 Doing mine again at this minute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scolfax Posted April 14, 2011 Author Members Share Posted April 14, 2011 The doctor said to just push back under the nail with a manicure stick every day, then cut the white part when it's long enough and repeat. Sounds doable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor49 Posted April 15, 2011 Members Share Posted April 15, 2011 My gf started to learn classical guitar last month, her teacher teaches classical guitar in university. As beginner, a lot of people have nail questions. The teacher showed his fingers. He initially has long large nails , but his fingers have changed through years of playing, the finger tips of fretting hand are flat with short nail beds, while the fingers on his right hand have longer nail beds (with some nails for fingerpicking of course) and looks more "normal". He says if one plays much enough, the change would happen. interesting! my fretting hand has the same length nail beds ( I measured them) but longer finger tips (i measured them too). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.