Welcome to one of the most active flamenco sites on the Internet. Guests can read most posts but if you want to participate click here to register.
This site is dedicated to the memory of Paco de Lucía, Ron Mitchell, Guy Williams, Linda Elvira, Philip John Lee, Craig Eros, Ben Woods, David Serva and Tom Blackshear who went ahead of us.
We receive 12,200 visitors a month from 200 countries and 1.7 million page impressions a year. To advertise on this site please contact us.
|
|
|
RE: In praise of shorter nails. . .
|
You are logged in as Guest
|
|
Users viewing this topic: none
|
|
Login  | |
|
   
Richard Jernigan
Posts: 3430
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA
|
 RE: In praise of shorter nails. . . (in reply to BarkellWH)
|
|
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: BarkellWH
You are in good company, Britguy. In 1902, at the age of 50, Francisco Tarrega began cutting his nails as short as he possibly could, apparently because he thought the sound produced was much more to his liking than that produced with nails. He played without nails for the rest of his life.
Cheers,
Bill
From the preface to "F. Tarrega, Doce Composiciones para Guitarra" by Isaias Savio, Ricordi, Buenos Aires:
"En 1900 su salud [de Tarrega] inspiró cuidados por manifestarse la arterio-esclerosis, y el maestro ya no pudo pulsar su guitarra con aquel sonido puro y cristalino que tanto había contribuido a sus éxitos, viéndose en cambio obligado a cortarse las uñas por defectos que en ellas aparecían. Pero no se desanimó por ello, sino que siguió estudiando y conseguió realizar audiciones, aunque no de mucha importancia…."
The publisher and guitar historian Matanya Ophee tells me this is verbatim from "Diccionario de Guitarristas" by Domingo Prat, Buenos Aires. Prat knew Tarrega.
My translation:
"In 1900 Tarrega's health caused concern, due to the appearance of arteriosclerosis, and the maestro was no longer able to play his guitar with the pure and crystalline tone which had contributed so much to his success. Instead, he was obliged to cut his nails due to defects which appeared in them. But he was not discouraged by this, rather he continued practicing, and succeeded in giving concerts, though none of great importance."
Savio and Prat contend that Tarrega cut his nails due to defects in them caused by hardening of the arteries, and that it had negative effects on his tone. This is controversial to some extent. Emilio Pujol, one of Tarrega's later pupils, taught and advocated playing without nails. Miguel Llobet, an earlier and more famous disciple of Tarrega, played with nails.
RNJ
|
|
|
|
REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Apr. 25 2014 15:57:43
 |
|
Richard Jernigan
Posts: 3430
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA
|
|
RE: In praise of shorter nails. . . (in reply to Ramon Amira)
|
|
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: Prominent Critic
Grisha says "I have no nails at all, and what I have is not suitable for playing." I'm sure he would never say that - and there would be no point in saying it - if he was employing nails in way whatsoever. He is specifically making the point that he can produce the sound he produces without the use of nails.
However, I agree with you for the most part - I can't imagine flamenco being played entirely without nails and sounding like anything. Picado is one thing, but I wonder if anyone could make things like arpeggios and tremolo come out, not to merntion raxsgueado.
Ramon
In the video Grisha goes on to state that you should always contact the string at the juncture of flesh and nail, and demonstrates. Perhaps he is saying that despite his nails being unsuitably short, he can still produce a brilliant sound by contacting the string at the proper point, and by pushing the string down with the stroke?
I attended the hour and a half master class Grisha and Jeremy Mouffe gave at the University of Texas at Austin Music School, the day before their recent concert here. Grisha had nails. He didn't say whether they were his own natural nails, or the artificial ones he endorses. But he did demonstrate varying the tone quality by altering the angle of attack of the nail on the string.
RNJ
|
|
|
|
REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Apr. 25 2014 20:14:41
|
|
Erik van Goch
Posts: 1787
Joined: Jul. 17 2012
From: Netherlands
|
|
RE: In praise of shorter nails. . . (in reply to mark indigo)
|
|
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: mark indigo
José Antonio Rodriguez showed me his right hand at a class with him .... they looked almost like most guitarists left hand.
I just compared plugging* my guitar with my right hand (longer nails) and my left hand (short nails) and it seems that
* my short nailed/untrained left hand often produce a better sound.
* the left hand nails are still way to long to react on minimal energy inputs... they remain stuck into the strings unless additional force is added (like my even shorter filed right hand experienced in my prime days after only 1 night of nail grown).
That's how short nails can/must be if you embrace zero string resistance, maximum relaxation and minimal input/disturbance of flow.
* i'm not able to plug the string with my short nailed left hand when applying "normal" guitar techniques because the nail won't be anywhere near the string dude to the flesh of the finger tip. But i am able to hook the string behind the nail when i carefully position it there. You will be amazed how much energy is needed to plug the string from that position i.o.w. how much energy is needed to make that small stroke of nail pass the string. You'll meet way less string resistance and could play with way less energy input if you reduced that already very short nail even more. That's exactly what i did in my prime days with my right hand.... start hooking the nail behind the string and make sure it slides of when even the slightest amount of pressure is added (the shorter the nail, the less energy needed to make it leave the string). Over time you will not only be able to do this with the nail carefully positioned/hooked into the string as a starting position, but also when plugging the string out of the air. Over time that few molecules of nail will find the string like a heat-seeking rocked, hitting the target with extreme precision time after time. Without daily practice to obtain/maintain that precision those nails won't be anywhere near the string dude to the flesh of the finger tips.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*I started carefully hooking the nail behind a string (applying optimal hand/finger positions based on proven but potentially optimizable biomechanics)
*Next add pressure on the string without fully plugging it, seeking the point it almost slides of (focus on energy input/relaxation/biomechanics).
*Switch/shuttle between starting position and the moment of almost sliding off (note how shorter nails need less energy input to reach that point of no return and how hand position and point of direction effects the results).
*Also go back in time, lifting and replanting the finger to study how it reaches that known position (focus on relaxation and biomechanics and the impact of making first contact)
*When you gain control (in biomechanics, precision and relaxation) hook the nail behind the sting and shorten the nail up to a point were even the slightest amount of energy input will make it leave the string.
*You'll end up with extremely short nails and incredible flow/control. That's how i did it.
On top of exercises like this i also studied the bigger moves/biomechanics of individual fingers. For arpeggio i would hook all 3 fingers to the matching string and then select 1 finger to (air)plug the string. First i lift that finger as high as possible (without stretching it) and then push it all the way towards the palm of my hand (again as far as possible, training the bigger muscles of the arm). At first i pass the string in the air (focussing on relaxation and biomechanics), then in upwards direction try to touch the string as lightly as possible (making sure the impact doesn't disturb the flow of the move) and then slowly increase the amount of finger/string contact, up to a point were i can hit it full force without disturbing the flow of the movement (this demands pairing perfect biomechanics and movement to perfect precision/relaxation). The more precise and relaxed your finger is the less likely it is to crash into the strings. In general i focus on a point in the distance, not on the actual finger/string interaction (which is studied like above). Hitting a string basically is a side effect of a relaxed finger passing the string on it's way to a point in the distance and as such is purely "accidental". The bigger moves i only apply as a warming up/study to refine biomechanics and to train the bigger arm muscles. In real playing i applied minimal movement with fairly stretched fingers.
_____________________________
The smaller the object of your focus the bigger the result.
|
|
|
|
REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Apr. 26 2014 11:46:00
|
|
BarkellWH
Posts: 3458
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC
|
|
RE: In praise of shorter nails. . . (in reply to Richard Jernigan)
|
|
|
quote:
Savio and Prat contend that Tarrega cut his nails due to defects in them caused by hardening of the arteries, and that it had negative effects on his tone.
Tarrega's health did decline, and I have read where his nails began splitting. This, of course, leads to the conclusion that the sound thus produced with his nails was less to his liking than that produced without nails. For the rest of his life (he died in 1909 at the age of 57) Tarrega cut his nails as short as he possibly could, almost digging into the flesh in order to do so.
Cheers,
Bill
_____________________________
And the end of the fight is a tombstone white,
With the name of the late deceased,
And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here,
Who tried to hustle the East."
--Rudyard Kipling
|
|
|
|
REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Apr. 26 2014 13:55:28
|
|
 New Messages |
 No New Messages |
 Hot Topic w/ New Messages |
 Hot Topic w/o New Messages |
 Locked w/ New Messages |
 Locked w/o New Messages |
|
Post New Thread
Reply to Message
Post New Poll
Submit Vote
Delete My Own Post
Delete My Own Thread
Rate Posts
|
|
|
Forum Software powered by ASP Playground Advanced Edition 2.0.5
Copyright © 2000 - 2003 ASPPlayground.NET |
0.078125 secs.
|
Printable Version
