I have been working on my Fingerstyle playing, and want some advice or thoughts about the right hand.
Here is the issue: I have somewhat weak nails, so they break easy so I have always (many many years) basically trim them very short. I just can't stand nails on either hand.
I have been picking the strings (right hand) basically with the tips of my fingers, and I guess kind of the side/tip of the thumb.
Does anyone else do this, or do most just let their nails grow out longer (which is not an option to me) or use actual picks on their fingers? I would prefer not to do this (picks on finger tips).
Anyone see any problems I might be creating with picking the way I am? I am doing a lot of practice, and becoming pretty effecient.
I play that way on steel string acoustics and electrics (if I'm not using a pick). my fingers a pretty slender, and I've yet to find fingerpicks that feel anywhere near comfortable. On classical guitar, I try to use my nails more, although this makes it difficult to switch between the two - once my nails grow suitably long for classical, the tend to break once I play steel string. I've heard of some guitarists glueing fake nail (like the ones in beauty salons) to their picking/strumming hand, and I might try this, but I'm a little worried that once I go back to my steel string I could end up ripping the whole nail off. :shock:
and, imo, its impossible to play steel string guitars well with your fingernails if they're not made of steel (the fingernails, that is, lol), since you'd be forced to play pretty quietly and would have a severely limited dynamic range as a result.
Thanks for the thoughts. My fingers are also fairly slender. How is the volume working for you (since you are not hitting the string with a nail or pick)?
I guess when I am using an accoustic amp, then I just can turn up the volume a knotch or two on the accoustic amp. Now that you mentioned an electric guitar, it seems the playing is plenty loud enough on my electric guitar going through my fender amp.
Just glad I not the only one doing it this way.
Perhaps the end results of this thread might be "whatever works for you is ok."
Same here, I have weak nails on my right (picking/strumming) hand, and I also tend to catch the strings with the tip of my fingers.
Dunno if it'll help, but Elecktrablue once recommended - for strengthening nails - the cream you rub into horse's hooves to harden them. I'd probably try it if there was anywhere nearby that sold it! (cue jokes about "This used to be a one-horse town, but the blacksmith left....")
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
I took some finger picking lessons once and I found that my finger nails weren't holding up all that well - they were chipping and fraying. I found some nail hardener at the drug store in the ladies cosmetics section. I'm not sure if it is some sort of chemical hardener or if it does something to help your body grow harder nails. So, guys just proudly go in and buy it. If questioned and you're not secure enough in your "manliness" you can always say it's for your wife or girlfriend. :oops:
Pop music is about stealing pocket money from children. - Ian Anderson
I don't like to have long finger nails and I don't feel comfortable with it so I never used that technique...
I play with my finger instead of my nails and it works fine :)
But I have to say that the sound is not at his best on my acoustic...
" First time I heard the music
I thought it was my own
I could feel it in my heartbeat
I could feel it in my bones
... Blame it on the love of Rock'n'Roll! "
I did come across a tip which (seems) to work.....if your nails keep splitting and appear fragile, keep them well-groomed and short for six months, so they're under as little stress as possible while they repair themselves. after that, they should be much stronger.
it did work for me (or my diet changed drastically over the 6 months, who's to say?) but only once. since then, I've lacked the patience to keep them short for anything more than a month.
You *could* wait until you are 80 years old when your nails get all thick and gnarly....
Or you could work with metal fingerpicks of various configs and give them a chance. They are exceedingly awkward at first but can be adjusted to (that's how I play acoustic). I use thumbpick and two fingerpicks.
For Classical I use nails on thumb and 3 fingers though I tend to revert to 2 fingers out of habit.
I don't care for the tone of flesh on acoustic or the finger abuse from trying to get a little volume. To me having something other than flesh to pluck the string greatly improves the tone.
There also are Alaskapiks which kind of fit under the nail and I suppose eventually feel like a normal nail. I have some but haven't really given them a chance yet. They'll take some work to trim and file to fit correctly.
Another site has some tips on nail hardeners-
http://www.guitartips.addr.com/tip05.html
Good luck!
Unimogbert
(indeterminate, er, intermediate fingerstyle acoustic)
I don't like to have long finger nails and I don't feel comfortable with it so I never used that technique...
I play with my finger instead of my nails and it works fine :)
But I have to say that the sound is not at his best on my acoustic...
Same here. If my nails are 1/128th of an inch long, that's too much.
I play both guitar and banjo with my fingers rather than nails or picks if i am playing fingerstyle. I find it more organic and comfortable than the other alternatives. When using finger picks, I feel as though I have a loss of expression, rhythm, and feel. I think that you can provoke great tones out of an instrument using your fingers if you work at it. Some people have varying techniques and different shaped hands and may not be best suited for using bare fingers but thats what make musicians unique from one another.
I'm sure you've seen this fellow as he has like 5 million views, but he uses his bare fingers and I think he sounds great! He might grow his thumb nail out a bit but he clips his others short for right hand tapping. Check some of his videos out either way though, he has a nice fingerstyle sound.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsD6uEZsIsU
I like fingerpicks. You can get volume and harmonic-rich tones with them that are impossible with "bare meat." But they are unnatural feeling and take lots of practice to get comfortable with. And you have to learn new techniques like strumming down with the thumbpick and up with a fingerpick, they don't work both ways. Particularly with resonators, you can get really killer tone with the fingerpicks that's just unattainable otherwise. And I think they sound good on acoustics and electrics, too.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
I could never get used to finger picks. I just use my fingertips. Once calluses develop, the volume increases some. If I need more, I amplify the guitar.
Denny
I had never thought of using my nails. When I fingerpick I prefer to use the tips of my fingers and the fatty side part of my thumb. In fact, when my nails get the least bit too long I trim them. I cant stand it when my nails get long enough to touch the strings.
Jim
“The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn” - David Russell (Scottish classical Guitarist. b.1942)
I've never liked having long nails..Kinda always freaked me out for some reason. :shock: So I cut them very short. Needless to say, I use my finger tips. Have not had a problem.
Teamwork- A few harmless flakes working together can unleash an avalanche of destruction.
I've been a lifelong nail biter, until I started playing guitar. At first I was fingerpicking with the fingertips, but guitarplaying seems to have cured my nail biting habit, and now I pick with the nails. I find that the nails give a sharper sound to the instrument than the fingertips. My fingers aren't thin so I would sometimes hit 2 strings with my bare finger, which dosen't happen with the nails. I've tried Alaska picks and can't seem to get used to them.
