I just wondered what your opinions are about using nails or not. Up until recently I had quite long nails on my right hand and due to moving house lost the nails on my thumb and index finger. I have noticed since then my playing had developed a very sweet and sonorous tone and am considering keeping my nails much shorter (only allowing a small part of the nail to reach past the tip of my finger, so the nail will still come in contact with the string - but at the very last minute) I still however keep the thumb nail longer than the others, otherwise I end up with muddy sounding bass lines.

This has been a great experience as it has meant I have revisited many areas of my repertoire and found that I can develop the texture of these pieces, more than I have been able to in the past.

This may be very obvious to other players, but has been a very happy accident for me!

Has any one else had similar experiences?

Thanks

I believe this debate for guitar and/or lute as been going for about 400 and some years.
Personally, I play without nails. I have tried to grow them, just to try playing with them, but, I just can't stop biting the ends off.
I really would like to try it one day

What about people who play both classical guitar and piano - how do you all cope with the conflicting need to have short nails for the piano, and long RH nails for the guitar? Do you play guitar with short nails, or do you compromise and grow them a bit longer than you normally would for piano?

I play the piano and have always kept my nails as short as possible so they don't click or interfere with touch. When I was in school I started trying to teach myself classical guitar from books. But when I mentioned this to my piano teacher, she told me it was an incompatible second instrument for a pianist because of the fingernail problem. Up till then I'd been blithely ignoring the pages in my tutor books about how to grow your nails to exactly the right length, file the insides smooth to get the perfect tone, etc :-((

I did still get a lot of pleasure out of learning easy pieces, but was conscious that I didn't have the "right" tone and that it probably sounded awful to anyone who knew what they were doing. And I was discouraged from trying to find a teacher and take it further, because I thought the first thing they'd say would be "Grow those nails before I can teach you!"

I didn't realise there was any debate about it - the tutor books seemed quite adamant! Is it ever acceptable to play with really short nails, not extending past the fingertip at all? (I find I really want to cut them at that point, or they start clacking on the piano keys.) Is it more acceptable for some styles/periods than others? I'd be very interested to hear people's views and experiences.

QUOTE (seawolf @ Jan 24 2005, 10:46 PM)

I didn't realise there was any debate about it - the tutor books seemed quite adamant! Is it ever acceptable to play with really short nails, not extending past the fingertip at all?

This quote from one of the greatest composers for guitar, Fernando Sor (1778-1839) "Never in my life have I heard a guitarist whose playing was supportable, if he played with the nails." Sor complained about the sound created by the nails. He felt that it had an unpleasant tone and created too much noise.
Fransisco Tarrega, INMHO, the greatest of the guitar composers, played with his nails up until the last 9 years of his life, when he changed his mind and began to play with his fingertips.
Segovia is documented as preferring the nails approach and I have copied the following for you to read;
Andres Segovia (1893-1987) played with the nails in Aguado's style. When asked for his opinion on Tarrega's use of the right hand without nails, he replied; "It is absolutely stupid. You reduce the volume of the guitar, and the difference of timbre and colour.Tarrega has renounced the real nature of the guitar, which is the richness of its timbres, the different colours of the guitar." It is because of Segovia's influence, most guitarists now play with the nails. The issue was never solved by evolution nor voted on by a majority, but was decided by the work and popularity of Segovia and his followers. It is this large following that accounts for the almost unanimous use of the fingernails by guitarists today.

Looking at Viohazard's playing as he has stopped chewing his nails, he has certainly learned to create a brighter but rich sound since his teacher taught him to use the flesh at the very tips of his fingers to catch the string, releasing it with the nail. A bad description, as it's as if there is just a hint of flesh in the plucking action!

His teacher was trained in Spain by a Segovia-school guitarist whose name I have forgotten, and he certainly emphasizes using the nails to some extent.

QUOTE (seawolf @ Jan 24 2005, 10:46 PM)

What about people who play both classical guitar and piano - how do you all cope with the conflicting need to have short nails for the piano, and long RH nails for the guitar? Do you play guitar with short nails, or do you compromise and grow them a bit longer than you normally would for piano? I play the piano and have always kept my nails as short as possible so they don't click or interfere with touch. When I was in school I started trying to teach myself classical guitar from books. But when I mentioned this to my piano teacher, she told me it was an incompatible second instrument for a pianist because of the fingernail problem. Up till then I'd been blithely ignoring the pages in my tutor books about how to grow your nails to exactly the right length, file the insides smooth to get the perfect tone, etc :-(( I did still get a lot of pleasure out of learning easy pieces, but was conscious that I didn't have the "right" tone and that it probably sounded awful to anyone who knew what they were doing. And I was discouraged from trying to find a teacher and take it further, because I thought the first thing they'd say would be "Grow those nails before I can teach you!" I didn't realise there was any debate about it - the tutor books seemed quite adamant! Is it ever acceptable to play with really short nails, not extending past the fingertip at all? (I find I really want to cut them at that point, or they start clacking on the piano keys.) Is it more acceptable for some styles/periods than others? I'd be very interested to hear people's views and experiences.

I play guitar and piano, and I keep my nails short. I am a nail biter, but I can't play the guitar with long nails, as I find it really uncomfortable.

Look at Mark Knopfler! He plays with his nails but doesn't have them that long. I'm a pianist by trade but I do play guitar and my nails have about 1.5mm of "white bit", and I cope fine!

And Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac), He's another bloke who doesn't use a pick.

I always use my fingers I cany seem to do it with my nails but otherwise I use a plectrum