Strangers look at my hands funny. It’s not that my digits are deformed or anything. My left hand looks pretty normal, in fact. But they stare quizzically at my right hand… must be my dynamite set of nails!
Guitarists long ago figured out that allowing the fingernails to grow a bit on their plucking hand gave them an advantage over short nails—they had built-in guitar picks on each finger! Not that everyone subscribed to this notion, however. Francisco Tarrega, the premier classical guitar composer of the 19th century, eschewed the use of nails entirely, apparently preferring the softer attack of the ungaurded fingertip. Be that as it may—it is today widely considered normal for fingerstyle guitarists to cultivate a set of nails with which to better articulate their music.
The “ideal pluck” is generally considered to be (by most experienced players) a combination of flesh and nail. Flesh alone gives a resounding (if indistinct) *thump* to the sound of the string, and nail alone *sings* well, but tends to produce a tone that sounds thin and scratchy, without much *oomph*. By combining both “the meat and the cleat”, you get the best of each: a clearly articulated, well-rounded tone.
Now, as hard as the nail may be, it is certainly no match for guitar strings, especially steels. While nylons are easier on the nails, even they will (with sufficient practice/performance) chew your precious plectra into ragged stubs of no practical benefit. This is why it is important to truly *cultivate* your nails, keeping them in optimal condition (Chet Atkins wore driving gloves year round!). Once they get worn down, ragged, or (God forbid) you break one, they are useless to you. In fact, once you get used to having them, a broken nail can seem almost a crippling defect.
Basic tools with which you care for your nails include a diamond dust nail file (a metal file with a diamond dust coating for shaping the nail—Revlon makes them by the ton) and a good three or four-way buffer board (a medium-grit, a fine-grit, a super-fine-grit and a polishing grit on a 6″ flexible board found at most drug stores—though beauty supply houses will carry better quality at cheaper prices). I don’t carry a fingernail clipper—I shape both hands with the diamond file, and then polish my nails with the buffer. I perform a little maintenance before every gig.
Now, how long should your nails be? This is largely a matter of personal taste, but obviously, if they are too short, what’s the point? If too long, you will experience snagging (especially on sharp steel strings), and the aforementioned thin, raspy tone. Too much nail will also slow you down considerably. You want the finger to comfortably glide across the top of the strings, not have to be pulled over them. Imagine the difference between wheeling your amp across a smooth concrete walkway as opposed to bouncing it over a cobblestone road. Get the picture?
I find that the various fingers are optimized at different lengths. I keep my index and middle fingernail fairly short (if I look at my outstretched palm, the most I want to see is just the very edge of the nails showing behind these two fingers). This is because of the angle at which these fingers normally approach the strings compared to the ring and little finger, as well as the fact that when I do rest-strokes (where the finger comes to rest against the adjacent string, similar to the typical technique bassists use) the angle changes to a very strong attack on the strings, and a long nail will hang on the string instead of glide over it.
The ring finger I keep a little longer—maybe 1/8th of an inch visible as I glance at my palm. The basic angle of attack is less acute with this finger compared to the index and middle, plus it’s shorter than the middle finger and will naturally have to stretch out more to reach the strings, and thus a little more nail works fine here. The little finger is not normally used in traditional classical guitar, but *is* a staple of flamenco technique. This nail I keep considerable longer than the rest of the fingers, for reasons similar to those regarding the ring finger. Up to a quarter of an inch visible behind my palm is about right.
As to the thumbnail, one might be tempted to grow a whopper, but I’ve found over the years that a moderately long thumbnail works best. By bringing my wrist in a bit, I can avoid the nail entirely when I want a really solid, fleshy *thump* to the bass note, or by arching the wrist outward, I can get all nail, which I have learned to use much as a regular guitar pick, including alternating down/up strokes for really fast bass runs. Most of the time, it’s a combination of flesh and nail, and gives me good balance in the bass register.
OK… shaping the nail needs a word or two. You want the nail nicely rounded, following the contour of the fingertip. Generally, the shape of the “inside” half of the nail is most critical (the side which actually hits the strings). I file from the very inside corner of the nail, curving out smoothly to the apex of the arc and back to the other side. This shape will ensure a nice glide of the string from flesh to nail, with no snagging.
Then you want to polish the filed edge of the nail to a glossy finish. Use the buffer board for this, repeating the shaping process, going from coarse to fine. You should end up with very slick nails that will just fly over the strings. If a nail snags or seems to jump over the string, then take a little more nail off with the diamond file and re-polish.
In the event that good cultivation and precautionary treatment of your nails does not prevent them from damage or excessive wear, I have found the perfect solution. And no, it is not consuming mass quantities of gelatin capsules to thicken the nail (and the hair, the body’s other non-living, gelatinous outgrowth), nor is it piling on a combination of super glue and toilet paper as some suggest (that just sounds weird to me).
I have one word for you:
Acrylics.
Yes, since 1991 I have used acrylic nails on the picking hand, and swear by them. Several of my guitar-playing buddies now do the same thing. While definately harder to shape and polish than natural nail, the durability and tone I get from these puppies is amazing! The acrylic material can be applied by any well-trained manicurist. I typically pay $10-15 a session, and the nails will last as long as a month or longer before they grow out, requiring another trip to the manicurist for a “fill” to refresh them. BTW, save your receipts, you can deduct the expense at the end of the year as “Supplies”.
In shaping acrylics (in addition to the advice dispensed above), I use the diamond dust file to “undercut” the nail as I file it. That is to say, I want the acrylic material to be slightly longer than the natural nail supporting it. So I file at an extreme angle underneath the nail as I do the preliminary shaping, in effect flattening the entire underside of the nail a bit. This tends to minimize any separation of the acrylic from the nail itself, and gives a nice smooth nail with no raspiness. Finish and polish with the buffer as usual.
As a result of the very rounded edges of my acrylics, I can’t pick up dimes from the floor, nor slit open a CD wrapper with my thumbnail. To compensate for this sad state of affairs, I allow my left thumbnail some length for such purposes. And finally, the four digits of the fretting hand should be filed extremely short so that no nail comes into contact with the fretboard, which can cause gouging of the wood. Not a nice thing to do to your axe.
A well-manicured set of nails can really facilitate the finer aspects of fingerstyle guitar. Yeah, you get funny looks from some folks, but you have the satisfaction of knowing it’s a totally practical solve that serves your artistic ends. A nice set of nails are your badge of honour; the subtle breath that sets your strings to singing. Wear them with pride!
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Copyright 1998 Jeff Foster. All Rights Reserved.