@@brandonacker By that, do you mean that you let your nails grow for a while and play with them, then file them back and play without them? Surely you can't go back and forth with doing this...
@@GarySchiltz Yes that's exactly what I mean. I've been doing that for 3 years and have made many recordings and played many concerts using both techniques.
I'm used to play without nails since I started to learn the guitar. Right now I am letting my nails grow because I want to achieve a sharper sound of the notes. This video was very helpful.
I find that washing and drying my hands (and thus nails) right after filing helps show your new nail shape and softens the nails slightly so it's easier to make the careful adjustments with fine sandpaper/a nail file. Great vid as always!
I’ve been playing for 50 years. Nightmare nails (guess I chose the wrong instrument but I’m hooked). They’re bent, hooked and curved and all are different. The only solution for me is to keep them really short, barely beyond the flesh. But it’s import then to use a lubricant so the flesh slides across the strings and doesn’t catch. Short nails also ensure a nail/flesh initial contact which is so important for a good tone. But I have always had problems with the angle of attack of the "a" finger. It wasn’t ramping cleanly , more of a scrape. Then I realised what had gradually been happening. I was changing the angle of my thumb (often due to thumb nail problems). If the thumb is at say 50 degrees to the strings, the back of the right hand moves away from the strings on the pinky side radically changing the angle of all fingers and therefore the way their ramps interact with the strings, especially "a". If the thumb is at a more normal 25-30 degrees the ami fingers becomes nearer 90 degrees. In this flatter position the nail problem with "a" disappears. So it could be argued that the thumb nail determines the ramp angle on the other nails and should be settled on first. Just a thought. Love the stuff you put out there Brandon. So calm. Even the background music (so often a major irritant elsewhere) is soothing. Good ol’ Chopin.
I found this to be true also. Got to be careful with the thumb nail. What works for me is playing a chord at 7th fret from the A, find the right plucking angle with the thumb on the bass note till that chord sounds pristine with all fingers. Once you're good there you're good all over.
I like mine somewhere between ramp and rounded. You don't have to go 0-1 binary in this case in my experience. My nails tend to hook slighty tho so I hav to keep them around 1,5 mm max. This way I can get to play picado and rasgueados without bigger issues.
Look almost exactly like mine, apart from thumb as I didn't keep on top of the length and caught it on my chest playing a snooker shot, snapped it good.
Thanks for sharing how to shape your right hand thumb (P) and fingernails (i m a ) to a 45 degree slanted shape when you decided to play classical guitar fingerstyle using your nails as a pick to get a better brighter plucked string sounds. I do normally file my fingernails to an "oval shape" using a file and sand paper to smoothen the rounded nails. The reason as a guitar fingerstyle player (playing without using guitar pick) I do a lot of percussive strumming with the tips of my fingernails and sometime switching to fingerstyle picking patterns (P i m a) when playing guitar chord melody pieces. I guessed playing with some fingernail tips still sounds better than playing with the fleshy part of our fingers and it all depends on which styles of guitar playing techniques you choose to play. I have seen some schools of classical guitar emphasizing playing without nails and the playing techniques is much harder pressing down the strings to get the right sounds. Anyway, thanks for sharing an interesting topic of playing with fingernails how to shape your nails correctly for the purpose of classical guitar playing techniques.
You're welcome! Having spent a lot of time with nails and without, I would like to emphasize that they are both equally valid and beautiful techniques. The choice entirely depends on one's preference for timbre. I don't think one is harder than the other but they both require many years to become proficient. All the best with your playing! Brandon
This has me intrigued. I play the harp, and keep my nails very short. The reason being that while plucking with my nails gave a sharper sound, I would actually lose that length very quickly as my nails would catch on the strings infrequently. I might start playing around with nail shape to see if I can reduce the chance of nail catching
Thank you, Brandon. I look forward to seeing how you shape rounded fingernails, as a compromise between these long slanted ones (my nails are too weak) and no nails (softer volume).
I needed this. I took an entire year to learn a fingerpicking song, 8 hours a day for a year. I managed to pull off one recording of it with no errors, but the recording was done on an inner pickup, not a mic, so the recording sounds like it's from 1920. I am still very proud of it.
If it’s in more of the Travis picking vein, you can also use a pick on your thumb. That’s how Merle Travis, Chet Atkins, and even Paul Simon do. You can even use just the bare flesh like James Taylor does. (Some classical guitarists also use bare flesh.)
@@StarQueenEstrella Yes! That's what I did. I was holding a pick, but my motor muscles couldn't support holding a pick at that speed, so I used a thumb pick.
I cant Really decide how i want my nails, sometimes it feels better to shorten them and sometime its more comfortable having longer nails....is there any solid answer about the nails?
Yes fake nails are an option. Another great option for very weak nails is to play without nails which is a wonderfully warm and intimate sound. I have a course which teaches this technique here: classicalguitarpro.teachable.com/p/no-nails-in-10-days
Feels a bit like peeping through a hole here. I mean, we regular pluckers all know you pros are all obsessed about nails and files, but there also seems to be an odd taboo shrouding the topic. Googling details seemed hard to me when I tried once. Now that hidden guitarist knowledge, like it happens regularly, finds me through your channel.
Get 20% off by Nov. 1st on my guitar course! 🎸 classicalguitar-pro.com/
Promo code: HALLOWEEN
Welcome back to team nails 😁
🤣I have no team! I do both
@@brandonacker By that, do you mean that you let your nails grow for a while and play with them, then file them back and play without them? Surely you can't go back and forth with doing this...
@@GarySchiltz Yes that's exactly what I mean. I've been doing that for 3 years and have made many recordings and played many concerts using both techniques.
I'm used to play without nails since I started to learn the guitar. Right now I am letting my nails grow because I want to achieve a sharper sound of the notes. This video was very helpful.
I find that washing and drying my hands (and thus nails) right after filing helps show your new nail shape and softens the nails slightly so it's easier to make the careful adjustments with fine sandpaper/a nail file. Great vid as always!
WOW all i can say is, i've been needing this for a long time. This is by far the best. Thank you thank you!!!!!!!
thank you brandon, this was exactly what i was looking for
I’ve been playing for 50 years. Nightmare nails (guess I chose the wrong instrument but I’m hooked). They’re bent, hooked and curved and all are different. The only solution for me is to keep them really short, barely beyond the flesh. But it’s import then to use a lubricant so the flesh slides across the strings and doesn’t catch. Short nails also ensure a nail/flesh initial contact which is so important for a good tone. But I have always had problems with the angle of attack of the "a" finger. It wasn’t ramping cleanly , more of a scrape. Then I realised what had gradually been happening. I was changing the angle of my thumb (often due to thumb nail problems). If the thumb is at say 50 degrees to the strings, the back of the right hand moves away from the strings on the pinky side radically changing the angle of all fingers and therefore the way their ramps interact with the strings, especially "a". If the thumb is at a more normal 25-30 degrees the ami fingers becomes nearer 90 degrees. In this flatter position the nail problem with "a" disappears. So it could be argued that the thumb nail determines the ramp angle on the other nails and should be settled on first. Just a thought. Love the stuff you put out there Brandon. So calm. Even the background music (so often a major irritant elsewhere) is soothing. Good ol’ Chopin.
I found this to be true also. Got to be careful with the thumb nail. What works for me is playing a chord at 7th fret from the A, find the right plucking angle with the thumb on the bass note till that chord sounds pristine with all fingers. Once you're good there you're good all over.
@Mackievellian Definitely worth a try, cheers.
This was so helpful -- I immediately reshaped my nails -- what a difference!! Thank you!
As a pop Christian rock musician, I usually use my thumb 👍 my index & middle finger. To play. This is valuable info as usual Brandon. Thank you. 😊
What is a pop christian musician may i ask out of curiosity?
A boring one! Lol!
@joseph2832 to an atheist yes. 😊
@Thelightfool listen to KLove radio for 30 seconds and you'll see.
@@oreally8605-
Great answer. 👍
Excellent timing lol my nails are ready for shaping
I like mine somewhere between ramp and rounded. You don't have to go 0-1 binary in this case in my experience. My nails tend to hook slighty tho so I hav to keep them around 1,5 mm max. This way I can get to play picado and rasgueados without bigger issues.
Look almost exactly like mine, apart from thumb as I didn't keep on top of the length and caught it on my chest playing a snooker shot, snapped it good.
I didn't expect any professional to actually use the sandpaper method as well Xd
Now I don't need to feel like I'm doing this too wrong
All professionals use sandpaper!
Thanks for sharing how to shape your right hand thumb (P) and fingernails (i m a ) to a 45 degree slanted shape when you decided to play classical guitar fingerstyle using your nails as a pick to get a better brighter plucked string sounds. I do normally file my fingernails to an "oval shape" using a file and sand paper to smoothen the rounded nails. The reason as a guitar fingerstyle player (playing without using guitar pick) I do a lot of percussive strumming with the tips of my fingernails and sometime switching to fingerstyle picking patterns (P i m a) when playing guitar chord melody pieces. I guessed playing with some fingernail tips still sounds better than playing with the fleshy part of our fingers and it all depends on which styles of guitar playing techniques you choose to play. I have seen some schools of classical guitar emphasizing playing without nails and the playing techniques is much harder pressing down the strings to get the right sounds. Anyway, thanks for sharing an interesting topic of playing with fingernails how to shape your nails correctly for the purpose of classical guitar playing techniques.
You're welcome! Having spent a lot of time with nails and without, I would like to emphasize that they are both equally valid and beautiful techniques. The choice entirely depends on one's preference for timbre.
I don't think one is harder than the other but they both require many years to become proficient.
All the best with your playing!
Brandon
This has me intrigued.
I play the harp, and keep my nails very short. The reason being that while plucking with my nails gave a sharper sound, I would actually lose that length very quickly as my nails would catch on the strings infrequently. I might start playing around with nail shape to see if I can reduce the chance of nail catching
Harp is played without nails, for the best!
Thank you, Brandon. I look forward to seeing how you shape rounded fingernails, as a compromise between these long slanted ones (my nails are too weak) and no nails (softer volume).
You're welcome! I show how to file rounded nails in this video too but I don't personally like the shape.
@@brandonacker Oh, that part went by so quickly I missed it. Thanks again!
Brandon, what do you use to make nails stronger? Thank you.
I have strong nails so I don't do anything except making sure that I don't use them as tools.
Legend
I needed this. I took an entire year to learn a fingerpicking song, 8 hours a day for a year. I managed to pull off one recording of it with no errors, but the recording was done on an inner pickup, not a mic, so the recording sounds like it's from 1920.
I am still very proud of it.
If it’s in more of the Travis picking vein, you can also use a pick on your thumb. That’s how Merle Travis, Chet Atkins, and even Paul Simon do. You can even use just the bare flesh like James Taylor does. (Some classical guitarists also use bare flesh.)
@@StarQueenEstrella Yes! That's what I did. I was holding a pick, but my motor muscles couldn't support holding a pick at that speed, so I used a thumb pick.
I cant Really decide how i want my nails, sometimes it feels better to shorten them and sometime its more comfortable having longer nails....is there any solid answer about the nails?
Recommend us some books to read in a video ❤❤ SENSEI ❤❤
0:39 should I be right in thinking that since your pinky nail isn’t longer like the other four digits, you don’t use the pinky for playing the guitar?
nobody uses pinky
Yeah that's true. You barely use it and from what I know, I've only used it in some flamenco strumming or some advanced hybrid picking.
@@xx_pcgamer_xx6866 Kazuhito Yamashita does
@@StarQueenEstrella hes a phony
@@StarQueenEstrellavilla lobos also used it, that’s why you can see chords with 5 notes at once; he didn’t strum bite he plucked them with pimac
I thought i was the only one doing this lmao
I work with my hands. It's very difficult for me to keep from breaking nails. What do you do when you break a nail? Do you ever use fake nails?
Yes fake nails are an option. Another great option for very weak nails is to play without nails which is a wonderfully warm and intimate sound. I have a course which teaches this technique here: classicalguitarpro.teachable.com/p/no-nails-in-10-days
Playing *with* nails? Oh no, another hero goes back to the dark side LOL.
haha! I go back and forth and don't have a side.
What happened to your no nail phase?
I've been going back and forth for several years now. Depends what instruments and music I'm working on.
Feels a bit like peeping through a hole here. I mean, we regular pluckers all know you pros are all obsessed about nails and files, but there also seems to be an odd taboo shrouding the topic. Googling details seemed hard to me when I tried once. Now that hidden guitarist knowledge, like it happens regularly, finds me through your channel.
I prefer no nails I just don’t like having long nails in my opinion it looks unattractive and it looks painful.
Brandon Nailing It.
But, alas, there are many ways to attack a poor, defenseless widdle string....
I swear I've heard the song ur playing before but idk where