Nails for
Classical Guitar Playing
The Secrets of Good Nail care revealed...
To use or not to use nails? That’s the question often posed. Here we uncover the secrets
of good nail care and consequently improved tonal quality!
How long should they be and why?
We personally recommend playing with an appropriately shaped nail
(following the line of the finger tip or in ramped formation) at
some 1/16th to 1/8th inch above the finger line, depending on the
nature of finger and your nail shape. The reason for this is that
playing without nails, in our opinion, will not enable a clear and
variety of tonal qualities to be produced with the important right
hand and enable the necessary string control.
How often and how long should I be taking to do them?
Once again, it's a question of experimentation and preference but
it's time well spent. On average you should be looking to spend
around twice a week (for around 10-20 minutes a time) keeping them
shaped and maintained. Always have the guitar close at hand so you
can check and fine tune them easily. Find an environment where you
can concentrate too, away from distractions, as sometimes this can
lead to undesirable results.
What should I be using to file my nails?
Whatever you do, don’t cut them with scissors or clippers, this
will only damage and cause unwanted fractures in your nails, weakening
them in the process. As you’ll see from our picture, we recommend
using a range of files/shapers, with 3 or 4 different parts to shape,
polish and buff the nail. To finish off or to concentrate on small
parts of the nail only (as often the case around its extremities),
use a medium to fine grade sandpaper. You can buy special kits, but
a visit to your local hardware supplier will suffice. We always carrying
some spare round at all times. You’ll often see guitarists on
stage using it occasionally in between pieces to fine-tune and remove
any unwanted snicks etc. By finegrade we mean around 160-220 grit.
If unsure, ask your local store for guidance.
What shape should I be filing them?
Either in a ramp running from low to high or from left to eight of
the nail for right handers at the length given above. Round off
the edges too to facilitate string entry and exit on the fingers.
Watch very carefully and pluck the string to see where your current
string entry and exit points are, i.e. where the string first touches
the nail and impact and where it is subsequently release. Basically
the longer the distance between the 2, the fatter, round the sound.
Again experiment with what suits, but whatever, do not create an
arched or pointed shape in the middle!
How should I be filing them?
You should go up and over the nail basically so the inside nail line
(left side of the nail for right-handers) should be on a slight
angle before squaring off around the central part of the nail. It's
quite difficult to explain, but if you have shaped them appropriately,
the file should follow this line pretty much automatically. Always
file with the nail towards you (see picture above) so that the nail
sits comfortably on the edge of the file. You can also use the file
as a quasi string running the finger across the top of it to check
for fluidity of motion.
I I have weak nails, what can I do to strength them?
There are a number of options-it’s a question of finding what
works for you. Try a cube of raw jelly a day (it works for some of
us). The protein will help to strength and enrich the nail. Other
solutions include applying silk re-inforcements. A number of guitar
retailers stock these, so you can visit our retailers links page to
find out more. We suggest avoiding commercial nail-hardeners as these
can “pickle” and weaken the nail over time. The final
option would be to try artificial nails.
Recommended further Reading
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