rest stroke arps and long nails

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Miguel de Maria

Posts: 3532
Joined: Oct. 20 2003
From: Phoenix, AZ

rest stroke arps and long nails

Two things: First, I got my nails done, after putting it off for months, and so here I am trying to play with an i nail much, much longer than normal. To my surprise, my picado was just ripping along. When I first started out, a master told me after looking at my fingers that, because my i was so much shorter than my m, I should keep the nail long. Maybe that's why I'm finding it easier.

Second, I did some practice today of rest stroke arpeggios. I had heard Vicente Amigo plays his this way, and so I wanted to try it out. I played some bulerias falsetas real slow with the rest strokes--it's kind of awkward, and also played Romanza and some tremolos all rest stroke. I found, again, that it seemed to really warm up my scales and picado licks. In this case, I think it's because I play my best picado when the fingertip has a little bit of give. The challenge for me is to play with velocity and strength and still keep the hand relaxed and the fingertip a little relaxed too.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 15 2003 21:09:42

Ron.M

Posts: 7051
Joined: Jul. 7 2003
From: Scotland

RE: rest stroke arps and long nails (in reply to Miguel de Maria)

Mike,
I think what you are appreciating here is "tolerance".
Human Beings are remarkably adaptable.
Once you know how to ride a bike, you can ride any bike.
I feel that in guitar, if you limit yourself to a specific guitar, specific string tension, specific neck width, specific nail shape etc then you are compromising yourself, unless you are a top player playing the most difficult stuff.
Yet lots of folk "lock themselves in" at a very early stage, probably due to the Western advertising culture which makes you think you are somehow being "individualistic" about ordering a Volkswagon Golf with specific seat covers.
I'm sure all the pros can in an emergency play on any kind of decent guitar with a quickly repaired nail, adjusting their material "on the fly". That's essentially what being a pro is all about IMO.
In my own opinion, If I felt I played much better after a particular shaping of nails, I would worry about my underlying technique rather than nail shape.
Maybe that's just me.
No criticism on you Mike, just discussing ideas here..

cheers

Ron

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 15 2003 22:12:25

Miguel de Maria

Posts: 3532
Joined: Oct. 20 2003
From: Phoenix, AZ

RE: rest stroke arps and long nails (in reply to Miguel de Maria)

Ron,
I hear you, man. Being a professional means playing when it's cold out, when it's cold inside, when you can't hear yourself, when the music is too loud, when people are bumping into you, when you're cramped into a little space... etc. A virtuoso flamenco once told me that when I've been doing this for awhile (he's been playing 40 years), I'd realize this. That you have to adjust to a variety of circumstances. I think, when it comes down to it, you have to know the guitar. And you have to know your body. If you know what has to happen to the guitar, then there's the matter of achieving this effect. There are a variety of ways to do it, and when you've played long enough, you start figuring these out.

Picado, for me, is a very important technique and the one that I struggle with the most. I play it very inconsistently,which I think it a stage. Consistent is mastery... I have awhile to get there, but someday I will. I think you are right that playign different guitars, having different nail shapes, etc., is actually a part of the learning process that shouldn't be neglected. I always thought these interminable discussions on which guitar ist he best, which nail shape is the best, which string is the best were really stupid! Just play!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Nov. 15 2003 22:51:20

Jon Boyes

Posts: 1377
Joined: Jul. 10 2003

RE: rest stroke arps and long nails (in reply to Miguel de Maria)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Miguel de Maria

Ron,
I hear you, man. Being a professional means playing when it's cold out, when it's cold inside, when you can't hear yourself, when the music is too loud, when people are bumping into you, when you're cramped into a little space... etc.

Ain't all that the truth. May I self-indulge a little?

Being a (semi)professional means gigging when you really, really don't want to, but giving it your best shot. It means driving out on a cold winter night to a club that you may be ignored at, staying out late and even though you are knackered, playing all those numbers you've played a million times before, but playing as if you were playing them for the first time. It means smiling and being polite to the dumbest of requests (eg. "can you play any Iron Maiden" - the guy wasn't joking), and it means not flinching when a ****ing mobile phone goes off on the table right in front of you just as you are reaching the most emotive part of your solo.

It means practicing/working on material/gigging when your friends are down the pub, it means hardly seeing your family when you have a busy patch.

It means forgetting all those romantic ideas of being a guitar hero, organising yourself as a business, and spending more time on marketing, advertising, networking and hustling (gigs) than you do actually playing the guitar.

It means making sure you are planning enough gigs every month to pay the bills.

End self-indulgence