Finger Picking Nails or Finger Tips?

[GuitarDogs62]

I have finally started learning to finger pick and need a question answered. Is it better or more so expected to grow fingers nails to play or is it Okay that I play with my finger tips that I do find to be easy. Is this just a personal preferance????

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by GuitarDogs62

I have finally started learning to finger pick and need a question answered. Is it better or more so expected to grow fingers nails to play or is it Okay that I play with my finger tips that I do find to be easy. Is this just a personal preferance????

Hi G-dogs...

It's a personal choice.

Some want to develop a style which is more articulate with a stronger/clearer attack and emphasis on individual notes. Others like the richer tone which comes from playing with the flesh of the finger tips.

Doug Young from here in the forum is amazing with nails...Laurence Juber equally amazing without.

What's interesting is to hear players from one style trash the other style, yet there are good examples of both being equally articulate and expressive on the professional level.

My mostly-all-flesh approach (with a hint of nail for accent), and backs of nails for strumming was developed because of the need to work with my hands all my career, and fragile nails (and a definite avoidance of acrylic nails).

I think short nails are easier to take care of, but I still have to give them plenty of attention. They do exist on both hands and I need to keep them trimmed and smoothed.

[Doug Young]

Since Larry mentioned me, I'll throw in my 2 cents. Its certainly up to you, and when you're just starting, I'd put nails pretty low on the priority list of things to worry about. As you get further along, you'll want to start paying attention to your tone, which is where nail length and shape comes up. Classical players spend a lot of focus on nail shape. You can check out Scott Tenant's Pumping Nylon book or Charles Duncan's The Art of Classical Guitar for in-depth discussions of nail shape and length. There's a great article available online by Michael Chapdelaine, for his students at UNM, on technique and nails and how to get a good tone. In the classical world, I think it's pretty much a given that you use nails, along with flesh, as part of your technique.

The issue with steel string is that most people's nails can't stand up to the demands of steel, so you're left with a choice - no nails or reinforced nails. I'd wager that most professional steel string players have given in and use some kind of reinforcement. But certainly not all.

John Renbourn was glueing on ping-pong balls back in the 60s. These days, acrylics are more common. Some use Alaska Pic nails - Eric Skye, an AGF member uses those. Some players, most notably Laurence Juber and Tommy Emmanuel opt for no nails. Some find that their natural nails are good enough. Mark Hanson used to use (and maybe still does) his natural nails, reinforced with Sally Hanson's "Hard as Nails", sort of a nail polish you can get at the drug store.

In any case, I'd tuck this in the back of your mind for now, and when you get to where you're feeling comfortable and starting to want to get more power or better tone, start exploring the options and figure out what works for you.

[GuitarDogs62]

Thanks guys, I was hoping that just get playing like I am would be the case. I am actually a flat picker that decided to try finger picking. I am truly loving finger picking and has opened a whole new world to me and I am hooked on the sound that I am getting my guitar to make. I am using my finger tips with no issues thus far. I honestly can say now that I feel even more connected if that is possible to my guitar since I decided to start finger picking. I also have noticed I will be able to make the songs I love to play and sing in awhile be more personal and warmer. I am a Bluegrass guy but love all differrent genre's in acoustic guitar music. I am very open minded on music and feel there is a place and time for each type and style. I also love the fact that I feel I can and will be able to express myself even more by playing guitar with my fingers instead of just a flat pick.

[rick-slo]

No right or wrong answer in general. It depends on the person and the music.

Nails, but of a length and shape that allow touching with the flesh and leaving with the nail, give the most control and variety of tone - pretty universal among classical guitar players.

Either way, consistency is important to precision. Nails can be difficult to keep consistent. Bare fingertips don't change that much.

[wcap]

Coming to steel string from some years of playing classical exclusively, I'm a nail player. Personally, I don't see how one could get really good tone and volume on a classical guitar without nails.

Personally, I think I get my best sound and control on steel string guitars using more or less the same right hand technique as on classical. And I'm finding nails to be particularly important for the fingerstyle playing I'm doing on on my 12 string guitar these days - I can achieve better tone and volume, and much cleaner, much more nuanced, articulate playing with nails than without.

But the nails are a pain in the neck. And I find that the best length for playing is a little longer than the best length from the standpoint of avoiding disastrous breaks and cracks. So, I maintain my right hand nails at sort of an intermediate length, no doubt longer than Larry above, but shorter than what I think some classical players (and some fingerstyle players) would use.

After watching some videos by Erik Skye, I got some Alaska picks. They seem to work very well for him, but personally I did not care for them (among other things, I didn't think they held on to my fingertips securely enough). I should probably give them another try at some point though.

I'd love to find some sort of pick that would work well as a nail substitute, if for no other reason to get me through times when I have had accidental breaks and my nail is still growing back. I have not explored all the options yet.

If I played professionally, I'd probably go with acrylics.

Incidentally, for about 30 years I was pretty much exclusively a 5-string banjo player, and for most of my banjo playing I used a thumb pick and two finger picks. Some guitar player play with picks of this sort, but my guitar playing involves a lot of down strokes with the backs of my nails sometimes, and this is not possible with standard finger picks of the sort commonly used by banjo players.

As others have said though, this is probably not something you need to be worrying about yet. And if you find that you can get a tone you like without nails that would probably simplify things for you.

[jthorpe]

+1 for bare fingertips here, at least for the time being

I am a beginner when it comes to fingerstyle playing - that is I'm learning to play with relaxed hands on my new acoustic and learning to get some level of competence with fingerpicking patterns. Learning to mute unwanted string noise (that was not so evident on electric guitar) etc. When I've got some proficiency I guess I can make a decision about tone and nails etc

Enjoy the journey

J

[johnny196775]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

No right or wrong answer in general. It depends on the person and the music.

Nails, but of a length and shape that allow touching with the flesh and leaving with the nail, give the most control and variety of tone - pretty universal among classical guitar players.

Either way, consistency is important to precision. Nails can be difficult to keep consistent. Bare fingertips don't change that much.

Bare finger tips don't seem to change. And for that reason i use the flesh and not the nails. but each person is different.

[Paikon]

Nails will give you speed and precision on fast runs but we dont see those often on acoustic guitars.
You dont have to grow nails. With very short nails you catch the string between flesh and nail and release it. ...or you can play all flesh.

[email4eric]

I don't perform and likely never will. I really like the feel of my fingers on the strings. I don't like the feel of my fingernails on the strings and the sound exceeds that which I seek in my playing. I figure I can always grow them or make them in the future should that change. Fleshy tips on strings feel very organic to me.

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by email4eric

I don't perform and likely never will. I really like the feel of my fingers on the strings. I don't like the feel of my fingernails on the strings and the sound exceeds that which I seek in my playing. I figure I can always grow them or make them in the future should that change. Fleshy tips on strings feel very organic to me.

Since a couple of people have mentioned this, it's worth pointing out that playing with nails does not mean your flesh doesn't touch the string. As the Michael Chapdelaine article I mentioned points out, the ideal is that you hit the string precisely so that both flesh and nail hit at the same time. This is different if you're using fingerpicks, of course, and perhaps someone who uses extremely long nails might also be different, but in general, playing with nails, you still get plenty of flesh involved. You can almost view it as the nail backing up the flesh, giving it support. So absolutely, even tho I play with nails, I also "like the feel of my fingertips on the strings." I feel every note I play on my skin, nails or no nails.

[Paikon]

Originally Posted by Doug Young

Since a couple of people have mentioned this, it's worth pointing out that playing with nails does not mean your flesh doesn't touch the string. As the Michael Chapdelaine article I mentioned points out, the ideal is that you hit the string precisely so that both flesh and nail hit at the same time. This is different if you're using fingerpicks, of course, and perhaps someone who uses extremely long nails might also be different, but in general, playing with nails, you still get plenty of flesh involved. You can almost view it as the nail backing up the flesh, giving it support. So absolutely, even tho I play with nails, I also "like the feel of my fingertips on the strings." I feel every note I play on my skin, nails or no nails.

Well said.

When a string is vibrating and you want to hit it gain the best thing is touch it with the flesh of the finger first to stop it and then the nail.

These things are difficult a beginner to understand because its theory. One must understand how these work while playing.

[saxonblue]

I find that about 1mm of nail (or even slightly less) on fingers 1,2&3 on my RH is enough to get enough accent on the plucked string & plenty enough for strumming when backhanding.

Flesh only is enough for the thumb, I'm happy with a softer attack for the bass notes any way.

I keep the rest of my nails trimmed as they are a complete nuisance & not to mention vulnerable in my job (surveyor in construction & building) & other hobbies as well. Keeping those 3 at that length is enough of a chore as is.

[AX17609]

It seems to me that one thing that has made this issue a little easier over the years is the common use of personal amplification equipment. Back in the day, we wore picks to be heard. Everyone wore them (at least everyone of my acquaintance did). These days, everyone is plugged in, and volume isn't a problem. The problem now is tone, which got shortchanged by all that amplification equipment.

[Doug Young]

To me, nails is not about being heard, it's about tone. No matter what you do, nails, no nails, pick, you have to get some power in your attack to get the top moving. You can hear the difference if you do a rest stroke vs a free stroke. Not just louder, but bigger, fatter tone. If you don't get the top moving, you have a thin, stringy tone. Even when recording, where volume hardly matters at all, playing with authority, getting the whole guitar resonating and projecting the sound is key to getting a good sound.