Right hand tapping & nail damage

[JonnyBGood]

Howdy folks

As a fingerstyle player with modern tastes I am working on a number of pieces that involve right hand tapping - a good example would be Andy McKee's classic, Drifting. I have noticed that it's this technique more than anything else that causes real damage to my nails, through impact on the string as the fingertip strikes down. I end up with ridges in the nail edge and have to file down the nail shorter and shorter.

I play with flesh and nail so do not want to cut back my nails completely, nor am I interested in using finger picks.

I should say I am not looking for general nail care advice either, lots of good threads already here on that and as a former gigging classical/flamenco player I am familiar with all these methods anyhow. I currently use silk wraps and nail glue which would be fine for most fingerstyle playing except for the tapping...

My action is great BTW, just had my guitar back from my guitar tech, so this is not a case of action too high either.

My conclusion is that the issue is a technique adjustment, and that I should be striking at less of a steep angle - more towards the finger pad and less on the tip - yet it seems I get better volume and clarity towards the tip and its much easier to hammer the note cleanly, much as one would with left hand hammer ons.

I'd be interested in any thoughts & tips from other players who play this style, particularly if you've had this problem.

[Bax Burgess]

Ground smooth wounded strings wouldn't chew the nails, but they may have a milder sound.

[Mycroft]

Does McKee use artificial nails?

[Marcus Wong]

Originally Posted by JonnyBGood

My conclusion is that the issue is a technique adjustment, and that I should be striking at less of a steep angle - more towards the finger pad and less on the tip - yet it seems I get better volume and clarity towards the tip and its much easier to hammer the note cleanly, much as one would with left hand hammer ons.

I'd be interested in any thoughts & tips from other players who play this style, particularly if you've had this problem.

You've nailed it (no pun intended). You would need to strike at less of a steep angle (which sucks as you have already noticed). Andy McKee himself keeps his nails very short so he has no issue. A player who taps with long nails is Mike Dawes. I still struggle with this problem. You have no choice but to tap at a shallower angle if you aren't willing to compromise with shorter nails.

All the best! Feel free to message me if you need any tips or what not when it comes to fingerstyle

[Marcus Wong]

Originally Posted by Mycroft

Does McKee use artificial nails?

He does but he keeps them super short

[Jambi]

This happens to me as well. I keep my nails on the shorter side and practice at tapping with more the finger pad itself and not the tip. It helps.

This is one of those issues with no perfect solutions that I refer to as a conundrum. If you hit with flesh you get a different sound, absolutely, and it may not be the right sound. But if you like playing with nails, percussive tapping and ghost note playing will mess them up a bit.

You can play percussively and tap without nails though, but you have to build callouses on your right-hand fingertips and keep them tough, then when you hit with those callouses it will be just as good I think. But you have to be careful not to let them get too tough or pointed or the strings you hit with those particular fingers will ring out louder. I had this problem two weeks ago where the G string was much louder than the B and e on my playing and for a minute I though the guitar had gone wonky. I picked up a different guitar and same problem. I had to use an emory board to take a bit of the edge off that callous.

Anyway, if you lose the nails your fingers will toughen and harden and be almost as crisp sounding on the strings as nails. Never exactly the same as that sound nails provide, but you would likely adjust.

My last thought is that maybe coated strings wouldn't be has rough on your nails because there's less of the ridges there to act like saw blades.

[JonnyBGood]

Originally Posted by Marcus Wong

He does but he keeps them super short

Just his thumb as I recall from interviews, the others are natural. Mike Dawes also uses his own nails, no strengthening or anything, which I find unfathomable. He broke a nail in concert a few weeks ago when I saw him, so they are not made of titanium (in joke) but it didn't seem to affect him at all (the tapping sequence from Boogie Shred is one of the things currently shredding my nails :-)

An interesting thing I noted about Mike's technique by watching close ups in slow mo is that he 'collapses' his fingertip joints on contact (hyper-extends) when tapping, which for me just does not work at all.

Thanks for your input Marcus and Jambi, sounds like I'm basically on the right track.

[JonnyBGood]

Originally Posted by Frozen Rat

My last thought is that maybe coated strings wouldn't be has rough on your nails because there's less of the ridges there to act like saw blades.

Good point especially on sliding taps, thanks.

[Marcus Wong]

Originally Posted by JonnyBGood

Just his thumb as I recall from interviews, the others are natural. Mike Dawes also uses his own nails, no strengthening or anything, which I find unfathomable. He broke a nail in concert a few weeks ago when I saw him, so they are not made of titanium (in joke) but it didn't seem to affect him at all (the tapping sequence from Boogie Shred is one of the things currently shredding my nails :-)

An interesting thing I noted about Mike's technique by watching close ups in slow mo is that he 'collapses' his fingertip joints on contact (hyper-extends) when tapping, which for me just does not work at all.

Thanks for your input Marcus and Jambi, sounds like I'm basically on the right track.

Seems like you might be right on the nails. And ouch.... I would find it so odd to play if one of my nails were to be shorter than the rest haha I'm surprisingly okay with the Boogie Shred tapping sequence. I think it's the angle that your hand is tilted which allows for a stronger shallow attack. Drifting wise, it's just awkward for me and I don't get as clean a sound :/

[815C]

I don't do a lot of two handed tapping, but when I do I tend to produce the sound from pulling off the tapped strings (using my tapping fingers to pull slightly down toward the floor) to produce a louder tone. My picking/tapping hand has more of a circular motion than an up/down motion - when tapping I'm coming down on the strings in a downward (ceiling towards floor) motion and when pulling off I'm also using a downward (ceiling towards floor) motion. This allows me to have a shallower angle and save my nails.

[mercy]

There is a perfect solution, stop tapping.

[rogthefrog]

Originally Posted by JonnyBGood

Howdy folks

As a fingerstyle player with modern tastes I am working on a number of pieces that involve right hand tapping - a good example would be Andy McKee's classic, Drifting. I have noticed that it's this technique more than anything else that causes real damage to my nails, through impact on the string as the fingertip strikes down. I end up with ridges in the nail edge and have to file down the nail shorter and shorter.

I play with flesh and nail so do not want to cut back my nails completely, nor am I interested in using finger picks.

I should say I am not looking for general nail care advice either, lots of good threads already here on that and as a former gigging classical/flamenco player I am familiar with all these methods anyhow. I currently use silk wraps and nail glue which would be fine for most fingerstyle playing except for the tapping...

My action is great BTW, just had my guitar back from my guitar tech, so this is not a case of action too high either.

My conclusion is that the issue is a technique adjustment, and that I should be striking at less of a steep angle - more towards the finger pad and less on the tip - yet it seems I get better volume and clarity towards the tip and its much easier to hammer the note cleanly, much as one would with left hand hammer ons.

I'd be interested in any thoughts & tips from other players who play this style, particularly if you've had this problem.

You're right about technique being the answer.

You'll find the correct angle that's an ideal compromise between tone and nail health with deliberate practice and annoyance at having your nails damaged.

One thing I do is tap "upwards." By that I mean using more of the right side of the finger pad (the side that's towards the floor), releasing up (towards the ceiling) rather than down. This helps preserve the part of the nail that strikes the string when plucking. Obviously that doesn't work for bar chord taps, but for that I do the opposite and tap with the left/outer side of my index finger.

Another thing to think about (which you likely know about already) is that nails shouldn't be very long if you pluck with your nails. Longer doesn't mean better tone and it means a greater likelihood of damage.

[rogthefrog]

Originally Posted by mercy

There is a perfect solution, stop tapping.

Go away. This is not the place.