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I am not a beginner guitarist, but I am a beginner at Flamenco. I have never really known how to care for my nails because until now I have not needed to. My thumbnail has grown out to a nice length but it is difficult for me to use. As you can see in the pics, the side of my thumbnail that hits the strings drops down. The strings tend to catch on my thumbnail at that point and it sounds bad and hangs me up. When I attack the strings with my thumb straight on and use more of the other side of the nail it has a nice sound and glides off easy. However, this is an awkward and uncomfortable position. Does anybody have advice as to how I can shape the nail to accommodate for this anomaly? I know that it will require some experimentation, but I'd like to head in the proper direction to begin with, since nails grow so slowly.
Dave
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RE: Any advice for my thumbnail? (in reply to dpalfstad)
Dave,
The first picture looked like you had flesh growing ABOVE the nail as well!
I thought...Holy Sh*t!....it looks like a Knob!
(CapulloPulgar de...)
OK The second pic looks normal...phew..
That kind of nail curling is pretty common actually...AND seems to be variable.
When I was using heavy glue treatment, my thumbnail curled at the end like that.
I stopped using it years ago and the end profile of my nail is more or less straight now..(slight curve).
No matter what your physiology is IMO...ALWAYS go for the way that feels best for YOU and produces the best tone.
A lot of Flamenco players play off the thick callous at the side of the thumb and clip with the nail when they want to.
Also your thumb angle changes according to what you want to do.
PdL always makes his thumb position a lot steeper when playing alzapua or heavy thumb passages (almost right angles to the strings) compared to his almost string-parallel position he uses for arepegio and tremolo.
RE: Any advice for my thumbnail? (in reply to dpalfstad)
quote:
Do it like me, take away the left side and play with a sharper angle:
Yes, I was thinking about doing just that. That seems to be what my thumb would want to feel to allow it to glide off of the string.
quote:
Look at videos of the great players on YouTube.
They all play differently.
Yes, I have spent much time analyzing videos as best as I can. I have noticed that the thumb angle can change drastically depending on the technique.
quote:
The thumbnail is very much too long.
I think so, too, but I wanted to get some opinions and have enough nail to be able to shape it how I wanted, so I let it grow out. However, I have watched a lot of videos of players whose thumbnails are longer than mine.
Posts: 1812
Joined: Nov. 8 2010
From: London (living in the Bay Area)
RE: Any advice for my thumbnail? (in reply to dpalfstad)
Hmm, it's hooked the other way from normal. Still, maybe the same technique will work.
What follows is from my original post on rec.music.classical.guitar in 2000, on dealing with hooked nails:
The solution to this is easy, but almost nobody seems to know it. I owe my knowledge to an article by the late Peter Sensier, in the old "BMG" magazine. My nails are very hooked indeed, but, using this method I have had no problem for 30+ years. Unfortunately, it is easier to demonstrate than describe.
Hold your hand horizontally, palm down. Then the usual way to hold the file is vertically. But instead, hold the file horizontally too, so that it's parallel to your hand. The basic idea is to file your nails this way, from underneath; then the resulting cross-section must be flat, because the nail-file is flat.
There are a few wrinkles:
1) You will need to tilt the file towards you a bit, i.e. about 15 degrees towards the conventional position.
2) You will also need (if you play off the left side of your nails, as most people do, Presti/Lagoya excepted) to tilt your hand to the left a bit, so that nails are shorter on the left side than the right.
3) When finished, round of the nails with the file in the conventional poistion to remove the resulting knife-edge.
4) Be careful not to cut the quick of your nails with the file -- and especially, don't use an emery-board!
Posts: 15725
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: Any advice for my thumbnail? (in reply to Paul Magnussen)
quote:
ORIGINAL: Paul Magnussen
Hmm, it's hooked the other way from normal. Still, maybe the same technique will work.
What follows is from my original post on rec.music.classical.guitar in 2000, on dealing with hooked nails:
The solution to this is easy, but almost nobody seems to know it. I owe my knowledge to an article by the late Peter Sensier, in the old "BMG" magazine. My nails are very hooked indeed, but, using this method I have had no problem for 30+ years. Unfortunately, it is easier to demonstrate than describe.
Hold your hand horizontally, palm down. Then the usual way to hold the file is vertically. But instead, hold the file horizontally too, so that it's parallel to your hand. The basic idea is to file your nails this way, from underneath; then the resulting cross-section must be flat, because the nail-file is flat.
There are a few wrinkles:
1) You will need to tilt the file towards you a bit, i.e. about 15 degrees towards the conventional position.
2) You will also need (if you play off the left side of your nails, as most people do, Presti/Lagoya excepted) to tilt your hand to the left a bit, so that nails are shorter on the left side than the right.
3) When finished, round of the nails with the file in the conventional poistion to remove the resulting knife-edge.
4) Be careful not to cut the quick of your nails with the file -- and especially, don't use an emery-board!
Hope this helps.
That reads more for fingers then thumb. See scott tenant vid. Verbal explainations of this are bad as we need a 3D visual to understand the angles discussed.
In addition I agree the main problem is length. Shorten it and you won't catch as much.
RE: Any advice for my thumbnail? (in reply to dpalfstad)
my thumb... the nail itself is very flat. there is also nothing on it. i have never put anything on my thumb, be it hardener, glue, ping pong balls or whatever
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