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Have you tried the glue and a silk patch? That's what I do to fix a cracked nail. It stays fixed and eventually the patch gets filed away. Then I crack it again, and patch it again.
Use A & M as IraqiOud says..it spreads the load. Furthermore relax the top two knuckle joints as you do it. Use the pad of your fingers to help deceleration. Be gentle and of course use silk and superglue to reinforce those nails (I do the thumb's left corner also).
---edit--- If you don't already...the actual muscular action should be to rotate your wrist with only some extension of A&M.
- look into whether you're filing the nails right. Make sure when you're done filing you have a "closed" surface (i.e. run your finger over the nail and it should be completely smooth). - see what you can get out of m golpes or in some cases maybe you could even switch to the old-school thumb golpe. - practice using golpes without the nail, sounds different but volume-wise you can work it up to similar levels than with the nail. - if you have trouble with your nails being too thin and brittle in general, and glue and the like are not an option, there's always the option of food supplements and what not (I've never tried this myself but a friend of mine has been doing something like that with some kind of vitamin pills or something and he seems pretty happy about it at this point).
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"Anything you do can be fixed. What you cannot fix is the perfection of a blank page. What you cannot fix is that pristine, unsullied whiteness of a screen or a page with nothing on it—because there’s nothing there to fix."
I would not give up on the "A," as it is the finger best situated to execute a golpe. I think many start out trying to execute golpes too hard and with the nail alone. Golpes do not have to be hard, and if you use the pad of the finger in combination with the nail they sound better. It may take practice to reach the optimum level of force and finger-pad/nail touch, but it will be worth your time in the long run.
Bill
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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."
i've played classical for a long time so nail care is not new to me. playing was never detrimental, however, since last summer learning flamenco has been brutal on my nails
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ORIGINAL: IraqiOud Not according to Oscar Herrero.. It's his advice in paso a paso vol 1 to use a and m to prevent breaking the nail of A.
i'm gonna try it (what i said about breaking two nails was tongue-in-cheek)
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ORIGINAL: Piwin - if you have trouble with your nails being too thin and brittle...
never had that problem. as i said above, using glue makes them thin
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ORIGINAL: BarkellWH Golpes do not have to be hard...
i thought i was trying to be light
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ORIGINAL: Ricardo How could you know if your nails were thin if they are covered in glue?
I'm with Ricardo, willing to bet your nails are too long, every classical player I've met has longer nails than me. And the only time my nails break is when I get lazy about filing.
Only from serious heavy playing or perhaps you try scraping it off. The glue therefore, is NOT the thing making your nails thin, it's because they are getting thin (from strumming) that you needed to put glue on in the first place. Anyway, the glue, if it is FRESH (CA glue like Krazy), should not come off from normal playing at least for a week. Once opened, a glue bottle goes bad in days. Keep in a plastic bag, treat it like food. If you notice bare or natural nail exposed (make sure you are covering ENTIRE nail) you should NOT be playing guitar, you should be getting more glue ASAP.
If you notice bare or natural nail exposed (make sure you are covering ENTIRE nail) you should NOT be playing guitar, you should be getting more glue ASAP.
Ricardo
Good advice but I would avoid putting glue on the quick (pink half moon shape at the base of the nail). I know people who have had an allergic reaction when the quick is coated.
ORIGINAL: Ricardo The glue therefore, is NOT the thing making your nails thin, it's because they are getting thin (from strumming) that you needed to put glue on in the first place.
i can't agree with this because i strum songs all day long as i play for the children i teach in public school. my 'I' nail didn't start getting thin until i started using the glue recently. i tried glue years ago and had the same results. i was willing to try it again hoping it would be different this time
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ORIGINAL: Piwin so your nails aren't brittle but the post is about how you keep on breaking them... I'm lost.
the 'A' nail only cracks when tapping. if i had brittle nails they would crack or break/split all the time whatever i was playing
notice i said "cracks" as opposed to splits and breaks. as with most guitarists the latter happens to me on occasion from poor filing, grabbing things the wrong way, changing flat tires etc.
my nails never crack other than when playing golpes
so what is the nuance you're making between crack, split and break? What I'm imagining is a line across the nail without it actually being broken, is that right?
In any case, it looks like the two only options (at least that I can think of) would be to experiment with different ways of doing golpes (with two fingers instead of one, with more flesh, etc. etc.) or experimenting with different hardners, glues, etc. until you find one that doesn't have the effect of thinning your nails (of course, that's assuming they won't all do that...).
If all else fails, you could try wearing a thimble or imagining a pulley system that you could tie to your A finger that when released would let down a fake metal finger on the golpeador.
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"Anything you do can be fixed. What you cannot fix is the perfection of a blank page. What you cannot fix is that pristine, unsullied whiteness of a screen or a page with nothing on it—because there’s nothing there to fix."
ORIGINAL: Piwin What I'm imagining is a line across the nail without it actually being broken, is that right?
yes, but the nail can now fold like a box top/flap so you have to break it off and file. different from a split. cracks like this never happen to me playing classical
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...experiment with different ways of doing golpes (with two fingers instead of one, with more flesh, etc. etc.)
yup. i started using M&A last couple of days on IraqiOud's suggestion. using more pad too. but i'll have to wait til my nail grows back to normal to see if that helps
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or experimenting with different hardners, glues, etc. until you find one that doesn't have the effect of thinning your nails (of course, that's assuming they won't all do that...).
i looked into hardners awhile back (Hoof something or other) but never followed thru. i wasn't learning flamenco at the time
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ORIGINAL: El Rey De los Bagres
I use nail hardener, made my nails thicker and more "elastic". I also use a protective top coat that hardens.
Have you considered taking a supplement such as Biotin 5mg. Might help strengthen your nails. I have been using it for a few years with decent results. Had a problem with a finger nail curving downward. Polishes and hardeners helped but were a pain to use (for me). Might need to try a few different things to help the situation.
i can't agree with this because i strum songs all day long as i play for the children i teach in public school. my 'I' nail didn't start getting thin until i started using the glue recently. i tried glue years ago and had the same results. i was willing to try it again hoping it would be different this time
You only starting using glue because you broke or crack a nail on golpe? You can believe what you want, but strumming thins the nails, not any glue.
Well good luck to you then figuring out what the best solution for you is. Probably won't be of much help, but just as an "FYI" in case it can, I use so-called acrylic powder layered with glue. The acrylic powder works as a hardner and can be used with other products than glue (I've used regular nail polish before with it, and it works just fine, though not as hard as with glue).
_____________________________
"Anything you do can be fixed. What you cannot fix is the perfection of a blank page. What you cannot fix is that pristine, unsullied whiteness of a screen or a page with nothing on it—because there’s nothing there to fix."
You can believe what you want, but strumming thins the nails, not any glue.
and i can say the same to you... You can believe what you like, but glue thins my nails whereas hours of strumming day after day are virtually unnoticeable in the condition of my nails
Well good luck to you then figuring out what the best solution for you is.
huh? where'd that come from
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Probably won't be of much help,
why not?
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... but just as an "FYI" in case it can, I use so-called acrylic powder layered with glue. The acrylic powder works as a hardner and can be used with other products than glue (I've used regular nail polish before with it, and it works just fine, though not as hard as with glue).
acrylic powder brand?
i've tried nail polish and it also changes the texture of my nails
I think you saw some passive-aggressiveness where there was none intended. I was really wishing you good luck to figure out the right thing for your nails! (coz I know it can be a pain!) Sorry if it was misleading!
Lemme get back to you on the brand of acrylic powder because I'm on the road and don't know it off the top of my head (to be honest though, I basically just use the cheapest out there, but it seems to work alright for me).
_____________________________
"Anything you do can be fixed. What you cannot fix is the perfection of a blank page. What you cannot fix is that pristine, unsullied whiteness of a screen or a page with nothing on it—because there’s nothing there to fix."
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