Hey All,
I'm trying out Twinkle Twinkle (...ohhh please don't laugh :) ) for my first song using finger picking.
Going through it I noticed that I'm having trouble deciding which part of my finger should be hitting the strings (i.e. flesh or nail...both?). If I use too much of the finger, it sounds to dull or muted, if I use just the nail it sounds off as well.
When I hear some of the lessons (like David Hodge's lesson on Twinkle Twinke), it sounds very clear like he were using a pick, but I know he isn't...at least I think he isn't.
Comments?
Good news...I've got the first couple of measures down with a nice base harmony.
I use my fingertips ... but that's mainly cos I don't have any nails yet (20 year habit of biting 'em :oops: :P).
Nonetheless, I am pretty happy with the sound. I've heard a lot of people say they alternate between nail and finger depending on the sound they're looking for. :)
From little things big things grow - Paul Kelly
Hi,
I tend to use the tips of my fingers rather than my nails, because I've got lousy nails that break easily, so I don't want to end up relying on what you might call "temporary assets"!
But good nails, and proper technique, can be great tools. Nail care is a big deal among classical players who can see a broken nail before a recital as a real catastrophe. :cry:
Classical players can discuss nails at great length - with tips on keeping them strong, which direction to file them in, what shape to try and achieve and so on.
I tend to keep the nails on my left hand very short, and the nails on my right hand only slightly longer. That way I can play mostly with the end of the finger, but add a bit of nail in when I want that type of sound.
Like all aspects of guitar playing you get more accurate and better sounding with time. There's probably a fair bit of room for personal preference in how you choose to approach it as well.
Good Twinkling. :)
This is a WAG (Wild A$$ Guess) on my part, but I would think that, if one did a whole lot of fingerpicking, the tips of the fingers on the right hand would tend to build up calluses and would give you cleaner-sounding notes eventually.
No?
you know, you are probably doing things correctly.
when you compare your sound to something on a CD you have to keep in mind that the recording has been mastered to sound clear and beauitful; all the nasty bits have been taken out.
I tried longer nails but ended up going back to my fleshy tips.
I like the softer sound.
and if I wanted that to sound different I could alter my amp settings, or recording settings, if you will.
This is a WAG (Wild A$$ Guess) on my part, but I would think that, if one did a whole lot of fingerpicking, the tips of the fingers on the right hand would tend to build up calluses and would give you cleaner-sounding notes eventually.
No?
You are correct.
2 factors invovled, I keep my nails about even with my fingertips (this backs up the fleshy part and allows less movement) plus I now have a healthy set of calluses on my picking hand so I do get more sound than when they were soft.
One other thing is technic. Practice both rest strokes and free strokes and mix them in as needed for dynamics.
PS: playing scales with your fingers is good practice :D
