The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #26

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    Since the 70’s I always keep my nails just long enough so I can see a sliver of nail when looking at the palm of my hand. Like so many classical guitarists I use a combination of flesh and nail. This minimizes “clickiness”. Keeping the edge of the nail smooth is more important to tone than length. Smooth nails not only sound great, imo, but less likely to break even when playing my Tele. I starting using this stuff in the 90’s:

    MicroMesh FINE Multi-Pack (12000, 8000, 6000, 4000), 4 sheets

    in combination with this:

    Foam Block for use with MicroMesh


    The mesh paper lasts for years and gets better the more you use it.

    I was fortunate to spending evening with Eliot Fisk as he prepared to perform the Concerto De Aranjuez. He spent a good forty minutes on his nails using CA glue, silk wraps and the mesh paper to smooth them.

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  3. #27

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    I've had long nails on my right hand for over 40 years for folky finger picking. I keep them just long enough to get an accurate, consistent note and no longer. A note of caution is I now have receding nail beds which is a common problem with long nails (who knew) which is horrible. Also they are more brittle and crack a lot. I have tried lots of finger picks and none of them feel right and are unusable - until I tried these in desperation and, bingo, they really work for me. The key thing is to carefully bend them to fit each finger - they don't need to be tight, just form. Also because they are a hoop design you can bend the bit that contacts the nail. So now I have less fear of a nail breaking as I have a usable backup. I get each one set up for a finger and mark it so the same pick goes on the same finger each time .

    HTML Code:
    https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-FINGERTONE-GUITAR-BANJO-DOBRO-FINGER-PICK-SET-USA-MADE-/232239908988?redirect=mobile

  4. #28

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    ^ interesting!



    cheers

  5. #29

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    Those picks click when the sides touch each other.

    It's a myth that all classical players use nails, even in our own times. Here's a partial list and description of them: Players | rmclassicalguitar

    I play classical, and also fingerstyle on steel strings, and I don't use nails. Can't stand them!

  6. #30

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    I haven't had the clicking together problem.

  7. #31

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    The best length is when you are able to play with the flesh or with the nails.

  8. #32

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    I learned so-called Segovia Technique as a pup... so nail care was part of the "enjoyment" of being a conservatory student. For the past 30 (?!) years I've been using carefully shaped Alaska Piks which produce a fine tone, IMO, on steel strings. No clicking.

    Rob M. gets excellent results with his technique, for which he would surely be scolded by my old conservatory elders. ;-)

  9. #33

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    Oh, I like a good scolding!

  10. #34

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    I haven’t been able to use either of the finger picks mentioned because they tend to be too wide/thick for me. Three of them side by side spreads my fingers out and interfere with each other. But I also tried to boldly go nail-less and just couldn’t get the tone and volume I wanted. So I’ve been stuck grooming one hand to have just enough nail to engage but not so much they are waiting to catch and break as I live my daily life.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

  11. #35

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    Wow, so much good info that I have apparently discovered that this forum won't let you "thumbs up" too many posts at once :-)

    This question is a bit like saying "what size shoes should I wear?" or "what should I eat?" That is, the whole nail thing is very personal and somewhat subjective. I would say that although this thread is a great starting point, you should take a few (or many) lessons with a classical guitar teacher to be shown how to prepare your nails and how to use them to get a good tone.

    I took classical guitar lessons for my first two years as an undergrad before transferring to a college that offered a jazz degree and making the switch to jazz guitar as my primary focus. The first lesson I took as a classical guitar major went like this:
    "Play something for me."
    <I play some Sor piece or whatever, expecting critique about time, intonation, interpretation, etc.>
    "Well, your tone is mud. You need to grow your nails."

    We then spent the rest of the lesson with an emery board.

    - Like the majority of posts on this thread, I feel that short is the way to go, so that you can get some flesh and some nail on the string. I will add, though, that when I had the opportunity to chat up Vicki Genfan a few years ago I was astonished at the length of her nails, which were more like the fingerpicks that banjo players use, or the length of typical salon-styled nails that many women wear for fashion's sake rather for any musical purpose: way too long for me as a guitarist, but obviously works quite well for Vicki! I have also seen other classical guitarists use nail length and right-hand position similar to hers, which is quite different from my technique. I'm not saying I'm right and she's wrong, just that there's more than one approach that works well.



    - Your nails will break and split a lot until you have grown and shaped them on a regular basis for guitar playing for at least a few months or longer. Just keep using them, growing them and shaping them; over the years they will strengthen.

    - My classical teacher suggested eating Jell-o to aid in growing strong nails. IDK how this works, exactly, but I did it, and it did seem to help. I haven't had the need to do this in a long time. My nails now remain strong and usable for playing whether I eat Jell-o or not.

    - Shape the tip of the nail to a curve that basically matches your fingertip when looking down on your outstretched hand.

    - File underneath and on top of the nail, flexing the emery board to fit the curve of the nail, so that you can taper the thickness of the nail to be v-like, similar to a guitar pick viewed sideways. I'm not talking about the shape of the nail when looking down on your hand; the nail should retain its natural curve in that direction. I'm talking about minimizing the point of contact with the string.

    - The last few strokes of the file on each nail should be VERY light, so as to create a smooth edge with no irregularities that can catch on the string.

    - The goal is to taper the depth of the nail top and bottom to come almost to a knife edge. I have actually accidentally cut myself when scratching my face parallel to the direction of the nail with nails prepared like this. But when nails are shaped this way, it takes VERY little effort to set the string in motion (actually true in general but moreso with proper nail shape) and the nail itself makes minimal contact with the string, just enough to add some attack to the motion that the flesh of the fingertip begins.

    - I still prepare my nails this way as a matter of course. It is GREAT for hybrid picking; that is, bass note provided by the pick and other chordal notes provided by the fingers. Steve Erquiaga has the ability to strike all chord notes simultaneously with this technique, such that his chordal comping sounds very piano-like, not strum-like. It is difficult to develop this level of coordination in the right hand fingers, but it is a great sound to be able to use if you put in the effort to get there.

    - I file my nails at least once a week, because after that they start getting long enough that I feel the difference and start feeling that catch on the string. The difference between too short and too long is really just a few strokes of the nail file.

    - My nails don't get torn up by steel strings, perhaps because the sharp, short tips don't exert a lot of force against the string. And because I don't do any sort of folky fingerpicking; I'm pretty much playing electric and doing hybrid picking for chords, with pick-based technique for single lines. I suspect that Vicki's nails take a beating!

    HTH

    SJ
    Last edited by starjasmine; 01-12-2019 at 04:20 PM.