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Yesterday I broke my index finger nail on both sides and just decided that i have had enough with all these nail **** and just cut them short so that they dont touch the strings when i play picado. So do any of you use only finger tips without nails? The tone is probly not so bright but i must say, i find it more comfortable and hassle free :)
If you're serious, cut them as short as possible that they just make contact with the string. My work constantly screws my nails up, so it's what I've settled on.
Cutting your nails short like a beginner student when you mess up your nails can be an opportunity to go back and review basics and re-evaluate dependence on nails.
However, no nail at all means it will sound too fleshy, there's less sustain\ring... And you need a nail for rageo.
You are in good company, Reinhardt. Francisco Tarrega (who composed the great tremolo piece Recuerdos de la Alhambra) cut his nails as short as he could, some say right down to the quick.
You need to become a lefty! Seriously no door nobs, no reaching into drawers, no holding things tightly that might slip out of your hand and break a nail! I'm a carpenter AND a martial artist so I know how frustrating it is to constantly have nail problems but you really need to be mostly left handed. It comes with habit so keep it up!
M.S.A. I played electric bass for years before I discovered flamenco. When your playing jazz you want that attack but without the nail. Since the strings are tight and large it sounds best to start with the sting in the middle of the upper part of the finger, not where the nail and flesh meet. This was a big problem for me when I started playing flamenco, I was not accurate!
long nails aren't necessary. i like mine pretty short. i realized i'm not the only one. check out some of the youtube videos with nino josele, vicente amigo, and paco de lucia. all of them have surprisingly short nails.
A couple things I have learned about nails. I have very fine hair and nails and my job meant always tearing them. 1) Find a length that allows you to play without being too long. Although my nails are long enough for flamenco, I keep them short enough not to catch on everything. 2) Cut the sides near the base short and file a nice curve toward the tip. I keep them rounded but keep the sides short. Why? They were always catching and ripping right at the sides where they leave the cuticle. this solved almost all my problems. 3) I started taking a calcium suplament pill about twice a week, just before working-out, cause muscles rely on calcium. Not too much. Lo-and-behold, my nails were much nicer. Now I almost never have any problems. You don't need long-ass crazy nails to play flamenco. If you're not a professional musician, they might just get in the way. find the middle path of length.
Thanks for the replies guys! Well im playing alot of gigs recently and recording our 1st cd in 2 days from now, had to pospone it 2 days cuz of the nail break and getting used to no nails but i think its gonna work out in the end. Cheers!
Well im playing alot of gigs recently and recording our 1st cd in 2 days from now, had to pospone it 2 days cuz of the nail break and getting used to no nails but i think its gonna work out in the end.
You need nails. Theres no way around. You don´t need these gravedigger nails...but at least some nail you will need 110%. At least in flamenco.
yeah, there is a difference between short nails (or even very short nails) and NO nails:
short nails: means Flesh + Nail = good for flamenco - even better than long nails - and you can play faster
NO nails: very bad for flamenco , not to say impossible - sound is horrible and classical - not flamenco at all
Flamenco needs a bit of nails, there is no way to avoid it. Otherwise we wouldn't have millions of threads about nails and the problems with them. Then simply everyone would cut away all the nails and be happy
nino josele, vicente amigo, and paco de lucia. all of them have surprisingly short nails.
because simply.. short nails are faster when playing than the long ones long nails are so annoying on fast scales , while the short ones ( which almost touch the strings ) they go smooth and fast on the strings . no nails at all is not good also they give a strange muted sound
The bad side on short nails is (when you have weak nails) when you play a lot picado...they become shorter step by step.... Than you eventually end up with no nails at i and m. Than you are xxxxed. So I keep them a little bit longer as I really need em. When I see they get damage because of playing, I change the things I play for a week and Im set again. Et voila.
No offense, but if I am remembering correct, Reinhardt does NOT play flamenco. He plays more like rumbaish fusion improv stuff, so it is all good do whatever you want man. Tarrega played with no nails, but I think he had tough callouses on the RH tips that made a brighter sound then soft skin.
ye i dont play flamenco but can stil post here right? i mean i do use alot of the techniques.
The point is. There is no professional flamenco guitarist I know of without some nails for this genre. There could be some out there, but I have not met any. I know a few who use some type of artificial or acrylic. So for flamenco the standard is we use nails, and that gives the right sound for flamenco, but as Ricardo said you can do what you want especially if the goal is not to play flamenco at a professional level. It is quite possible to play the guitar and play it very well, and to play some type of spanishy flamencoish sounding things without nails.
ye i dont play flamenco but can stil post here right? i mean i do use alot of the techniques.
That sounds like something I would/should -and probably have already- asked
I agree with your point, it seems that the "way" the guitar is palyed in Flamenco really marshalls all of the instrument resources and beauty. Here, in Flamenco, the guitar is not some sad, cheap attempt to emulate the aritocratic orchestral strings, but a true, independent and formidable instrument.
A distinction could be drawn between the "way" flamenco is played and "what" it is played. Some of us are stuck on the first step, without ruling out that eventually we may spend our day learning and playing bulerias.... but for now it is more the "way" the guitar sounds when used in that fashion.
Naturally, subject to all the appropriate fakemenco (c) (TM) disclaimers
ye i dont play flamenco but can stil post here right? i mean i do use alot of the techniques.
Yes but we'll get confused because this is a flamenco forum, we'll assume that's what you are talking about unless you make it clear. i.e. asking about playing guitar without nails I had assumed you meant flamenco.
Of course you can play guitar with no nails but you can't play flamenco with no nails. I personally find playing with fairly short nails better than long.
Yes but we'll get confused because this is a flamenco forum, we'll assume that's what you are talking about unless you make it clear. i.e. asking about playing guitar without nails I had assumed you meant flamenco.
Of course you can play guitar with no nails but you can't play flamenco with no nails. I personally find playing with fairly short nails better than long.
+1
You have to specify if it's not flamenco 'cos we all gots flamenco on the brain.
Actually, I'm surprised how many people here aren't playing with the nail. It makes me feel better about my thickness challenged nails.
I have very thin nails so I decided to visit a dermatologist. he suggested Epicrin pills to toughen my nails. Epicrin is the name of the pill in Greece. I don't know how it is called elsewhere. I took a pill daily for a month and the effect is supposed to last for 5 months. Result: very much satisfied.
i also took pills to strenghen nails, it worked for me also. one problem is the condition of the nail (good lenght and resistance) and the sound we produce with it is another question. like doit i don't file too much in order to have enough reserve, but the deal gets worse when you have long fingers. the right hand is not as open with long fingers i. e. for picado, the different angle of i and m creates another sound. it's annoying for me because i have a too high, strident or metallic sound. playing with short nails is good but the nails get shorter and shorter quickly like mentioned before, that leads to the mysterious later nino miguel sound with hardly no nails. sounds deep and muted, i like it very much because you can really learn to "control" strings better. i havn't found a satisfying solution till now on this subject
do whatever you want and don't give a d@mn what anyone says. if you like no nails, do it. the only opinion that matters is yours. unless you are trying to sell something.
even classical guitarists had huge debates about this since the beginning of the instruments popularity. just do whatever and make it your thing. Playing without nails is fine, just as playing with a pick is fine too.
do whatever you want and don't give a d@mn what anyone says. if you like no nails, do it. the only opinion that matters is yours. unless you are trying to sell something.
even classical guitarists had huge debates about this since the beginning of the instruments popularity. just do whatever and make it your thing. Playing without nails is fine, just as playing with a pick is fine too.
we'll do us, you do you and we'll all be happy
are you serious about this ? (i mean if someone wants to play flamenco) ? you can't do whatever you want if you want to play flamenco. well of course you can, but the question is what the result is. of course, maybe someonel likes his own "version" of his flamenco with no nails. most people love their own music. but is this really what we want? or do we want our music liked and appreciated by others too, and specially with flamenco in a flamenco community?
artistic freedom is good, but i personally can't do anything with "total freedom in everything" kind of attitude. i simply can't imagine flamenco sound good without nails (even for that person himself).
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