Playing with fingers/nails mostly

[abelville]

Hi Forum Fam. Wondering if there are some others out there that not only fingerstyle without picks, but also strum. I've done this for 50 years more because I can't seem to hold on to a pick throughout a whole song. I've tried grippers for picks, just continues to be difficult for me. I play lead by fluttering my index finger like a pick. Then I need a few days for my nail to grow back😁 I really appreciate hearing your thoughts on this.

Al

[ObiWanSymbian]

Same here.
The mechanics of holding a plectrum and choosing individual string or the right pattern to strum is way too much for my nervous system.
But with my fingers (+AlaskanPicks), I feel at home.
And since I don’t like too many options and changing things mid-way, I do exactly what you do.

The Alaskan Picks do wonders and if you don’t want to be limited by you natural fingernails’ softens, go this direction.

I’m using nylon strings now but I know of people who are more then happy with them plucking steel strings.

One of them is mr. Eric Skye. A guitarist who needs no introduction here.

BTW what is your repertoire?

[abelville]

Thank you! I've seen them advertised. Do they stay on your fingers if you suddenly switch from fingerstyle to strumming?

[The Bard Rocks]

I initially was far more attracted to the fingerstyle sound, so as soon as I physically could, I transferred to that. No picks if at all possible. They're for when I rip a fingernail or cut a finger or something. The nails on my thumb and forefinger right hand are noticeably weaker than the others. Left hand is never a problem, other than making sure they are cut close enough.

I try to upstroke using the pads more than the nails. It's quieter but there is nothing to catch and I have just enough callus on the right for this to work for me. The thumb has been the hardest by far to avoid hitting the nail on. Downstroke, I use the backs of my nails and can get a sound loud enough to approach that of someone with a flatpick. This can be used to your advantage (and vice versa, if you let it).

[ObiWanSymbian]

Originally Posted by abelville

Thank you! I've seen them advertised. Do they stay on your fingers if you suddenly switch from fingerstyle to strumming?

It very much depends on how strong you strum.
You’d have to be very precise not to let you fingers too deep in between the string, as there is a cutaway in every Alaskan that is supposed to hold onto your natural finger.
Go too deep and the string will pull the pick off.

[Mike McLenison]

I use picks on occasion, mainly the 3mm Dunlop Stubby picks. I do use my fingernails mostly and use this to coat only only the part of the nail that extends/overhangs the fingers. I usually do 3 coats and I'm good for a week with no wear.

https://www.amazon.com/Sally-Hansen-...7794121&sr=8-1

[abelville]

Thanks much everyone, I also apply "Hard as Hoof" 2 or three times a day. It seems like it improves the strength of my nails.

[abelville]

Thanks, I just ordered this.

[M Hayden]

I mostly play with nails as well, and go through about a three-week cycle where they’re good, they wear, they grow out, repeat.

I’ve tried various creams and polishes. What works best for me is a thin coat of brushable superglue right at the front edge of the nail, periodically recoated. It seems to reduce cracking and splitting, and adds a little wear surface.

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by abelville

Hi Forum Fam. Wondering if there are some others out there that not only fingerstyle without picks, but also strum. I've done this for 50 years more because I can't seem to hold on to a pick throughout a whole song. I've tried grippers for picks, just continues to be difficult for me. I play lead by fluttering my index finger like a pick. Then I need a few days for my nail to grow back😁 I really appreciate hearing your thoughts on this.

Al

Hi, I do both, but I consider myself more of a flatpicker.

Using a pick is more about technique than the pick itself, but a 1 m/m large triangle certainly helps.

[Methos1979]

When I first started out I played with pick, like most. But it never felt right to me. The pick would spin and I didn't like the 'disconnected' feeling from the strings as opposed to the feeling of actually touching the strings with my fingertips. After a year or so I decided to 'throw away' the pick for good and just play fingerstyle. This was not any sort of dedicated study of fingerstyle guitar technique but rather just plucking individual strings of the chord shapes already in place. It took 3-4 months but once I got over that hump it was an epiphany for my playing.

Fast forward 3-4 years and we (wife and I, acoustic duo) got enough songs under our belt to start playing open mics with an eye on someday taking the duo out as a paying gig. We quickly realized that our set lists of nearly all super-mellow songs (borne from fingerstyle-only playing) while great to us and okay for open mics was not going to cut it for getting paying gigs. So we started adding songs that were primarily strummers. I tried to play with a pick again and still couldn't. Still didn't like the feel and still couldn't get the dang thing to sit still. So I developed a style of strumming with fingers in one of two ways. For average strumming I'd hit the nail of the index finger on the downstroke and the nail of the thumb on the upstroke. If I needed to dig in and get some 'oomph' like for palm-muted stuff I'd press the index and thumb together tightly (like I was holding a pick) and strum like that.

Fast forward another couple of years and the acoustic duo act was getting regular paying gigs and we were having fun. We'd gone from mostly fingerstyle songs to mostly strummers and once again I tried a pick. This time I found I could play pretty well. I guess that few years of playing with a simulated pick must of helped as the strumming felt better. But I still had the problem with pick drift. I started trying picks of all different kinds, brands, materials, shapes and thicknesses. Finally (and begrudgingly) I tried Blue Chip picks and at last I found a pick shape, thickness and most importantly a material that DID NOT DRIFT will sounding great (no clicky clackiness) and seemed to glide over the strings.

I love the tone from my big 12 fret all hog dread strummed with a pick but I still love the intimate touch and feel and tone of a delicate fingerstyle picked song.

[Nymuso]

I have always played fingers exclusively but have always used a plastic thumb pick and brass finger picks. Never really satisfied with the tone I was getting from the metal picks, I've been using the COVID down-time to work with the thumb pick but with bare fingers. I'm trying to develop calluses on my finger pads like I had when I played bass regularly, so I've been doing a lot of that as well.

I like the improvement in tone without that metallic click I'd gotten used to, but I also like the ability to feel the strings more directly.

[DukeX]

I do different things.

Sometimes I'll strum (and pick) with just my thumb (callus not nail).

Sometimes I'll strum with the top of the nail and the callused skin on top of my fore finger (with my thumb supporting my finger).

Sometimes I use a pick.