Finger nail Tip by Bryan

Acoustic Guitar Tips

This week's tip was sent to us by Bryan Bradshaw, a regular reader of Guitar Noise and a classical guitar teacher and performer.

Finger Nail Tip
I have read a few of Logan L. Gabriel's articles. There are some really good points being made. practicing/perfect etc.

I've taught classical guitar for a number of years and wanted to offer up a tip that contributes to an often overlooked area of classical guitar study.

Most flamenco guitar players use glue on their nails. By doing so, flamenco guitar players often begin to manipulate the shape of their nails. (By shape, I mean the curve that one sees when one holds the right hand fingers straight at the face, ...staring at the end/tips of the fingers) I have found, from studying with flamenco players, that they tend to have very curved nails. Ultimately, it is this 'curved' shape that allows for fast rest stroke scales and loud free strokes (good tremolo). There is a potential for a harsher sound if one tends to create a 'pointed nail' and strike straight at the string however alot of this harshness can be tempered by filing and how much glue is used etc.

I have been developing my nails to resemble those of a flamenco guitar player and have benefitted a great deal. My rest stroke scales are 16th notes at 180 and I can use tremolo freely, even in improvised situations.

Often, in classical guitar methods, there is a 'naturalism' bias that, although tacit , leads the student to 'work with what they have'. Ultimately, students with flat, boxy or hooked nails are told that their answer lies within 'filing' or repeating excercises to condition the finger to cope etc. Charles Duncan states outright that all nail shapes can be 'fixed' through good filing technique. I dissagree with his position. There is an ideal nail shape for playing classical guitar. It resembles the flamenco guitar player's curved nail. Filing is solely a means of 'tempering some of the timbre' not creating the foundation of the nail shape. Players who choose to work with flat or hooked nails are compromising their potential. (I feel that this curved shape can be obtained by all players, even those with completely flat but, admitedly, it is more complicated...I feel that as long as people understand that there is an ideal shape and aim for this they are better off. I've had so many experienced players as students (up to grade six or more) who are still strungling with fundamental issues resulting from too much resistance from the nail. (flat nails=greater resistance). I feel that part of the classical guitar community's neurosis about using glue etc. to strengthen and curve their nails stems from their dismissal of using a 'pick'. To maintain 'purity' these players resist taking a closer look at the shape of their nails and altering them if they have to.

For me it was easy. I coated the tip of my nail with crazy glue and once the glue had dried I pinched in the sides of my nails. While the sides were pinched in I added more glue to fill in the cracks of the old glue. Now the nail is held in a 'pinched' shape. (Some flamenco guitarists even use a single layer of toilet paper to coat the tip of the nail while adding the glue. The toilet paper acts much the same as fibre glass does to resin) After years of 'pinching your nails in' they will grow pinched and flow straigh off of your finger.

Remember: no glue upon the alive or growing part of the nail. Only put glue on the dead part of your nail: the tip. To remove, use nail polish remover. The tip will thin from using glue but as long as the alive part of your nail isn't smothered you will continue to be growing thick healthy nail to be shaped later at the tip section.

Cheers
Bryan