playing nylon string guitars

Wide Awake

Wide Awake

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Playing nylon string guitars with your fingers, do you use your fingernails, flesh, or a combination of both ? I'm thinking about buying one and it looks like gear lust has struck again. I do play steel-string acoustic but I use a pick 90 % of the time. I keep my fingernails short and they aren't very strong. Any advice you can give me would be great.

I found what I think is the most amazing instrument. I tried out almost every one in town at any price range and I stumbled upon a Yamaha that just sounds incredible.....and it's freakin' beautiful. I think it's got a spruce top but I'm not positive. It just has a very Spanish sound and it is very expressive. It's amazing how some instruments make you come up with songs right on the spot and some don't, and this is the one that made me want to play it for hours. I'm probably going to buy it on Monday. I'm not sure if I will end up writing with it and doing a lot of recording with it, but even if I just play it on my couch it's worth it. I feel the same way with my acoustic.....I don't record with it as much as my electrics but in many ways it's more satisfying to play.
 
I have finger nails on my right hands except the pinky. I hat having nails but I had to srot my priorities out and gave in a couple of years ago (I couldn't get used to the thumb and fingerpicks (the ones you buy) as it was too unnatural).

I have seen some real classical players hands. They generally have both hands and all fingers with long nails. That I don't think I could do. I keep mine as short as possible and put some 'tuff nail' fluid on them to keep them strong.

This threads going to get into a monecule thread.
 
Oh yeah. On the downside of having nails it makes it harder to play piano and bass guitar (if you fingerpick also).
 
I does bother me when I play my digital piano if my nails are long, but I guess I'll have to get use to that. I play bass with a pick most of the time, one of the yellow Dunlop Tortex picks.

It rediculous watching someone who has a mastery of the nylon-string. Because I live in San Diego, I see a lot of Mexican men and boys that have the most amazing technique and musical sensibilities. I think it's just part of their culture to play guitar and they get good at a very young age.

I hesitate to add another instrument to concentrate on because I already feel like I'm spreading myself thin on acoustic and electric guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, and drum sequencing. I have considered buying a 12-string for awhile but everytime I try to play one I just can't seem to make sense of the things....it feels like a totally alien instrument.
 
I have an M. Contreras, made in Madrid circa 1970. The person who gave it to mid had it strung with steel strings! I am amazed that the tension did not damage the guitar. I restrung it with LaBellas. I also have a Turner solid body classical electric.


I use my flesh and some times a thin pick to play. Unless I was a fulltime, serious classical or flamenco player I wouldn't worry about growing out my fingernails.

Go ahead. Buy one and enjoy.
 
fingernail story

In classical guitar,there is a combination of nail and the fleshy pad of the finger used,giving a bright yet warm tone.

When I studied classical in college,my teacher was James Eddy who studied under Jose Tomas and Andre Segovia.He told us of a time the Maestro was holding master class at his villa in the northern part of Spain.An international class of top students was circled around Segovia outdoors on his cement patio_One Japanese man in particular had a really bad tone so Segovia asked to see his nails.They were ragged and jagged,so the Maestro asked him if he ever filed them.
"Oh,yes,Maestro",he said and demonstrated by reaching down to scrape them on the cement at their feet!

Tom
 
I used to concentrate fully on classical guitar a few years ago, and had some private lessons with a student at the local conservatory.

You need long nails at your picking hand, and very short nails at your fretting hand. The trick is to file your nails starting from the thumb-side of your nails, in a way that will allow the string to make contact with both your nail and flesh for as long as possible. If you master this technique, it really gives an amazing tone. Cleaner, warmer, ...

It changes your tone that much, that I even didn't play after breaking one of my nails, just because it sounded that bad!! I even had 4 different files in my nail set!

By the way, if you break one of your nails, don't cut it of! Just fix it! Use some of that fast-drying super-glue to attach the part back on, than strengthen it with a small piece of -something- and put more glue on it. (I used the -paper-like- teabags to do this, just cut a piece that will fit your nail. You could use silk or anything with a fine texture... The idea is just to have a layer on your nail with fibers in it...) After this has dried, you can just file it again, and your nail will be as strong as before!! It looks rather ugly and sounds extremely silly if you tell someone, but the tone REALLY makes a difference.

If you play electric and steelstring too, well... I have no idea. You can refine your picking technique in a way that your nails don't suffer. Maybe use some glue to strengthen your nails.
Long nails also make very annoying noises when you play the piano. Which is one more reason why I now focus on sax and piano instead of guitar and piano.

Hope this helps...
 
I've had my nails long for nearly 25 years, since I first got the inkling to play fingerstyle. I do use a thumbpick on acoustic (a la Chet Atkins) because I could never get the volume on the low strings to match that of my fingers (and I found a long thumbnail gets in the way for most tasks, where the fingernails don't present as much of a problem).
I often use a pick with my middle, ring and pinky fingers when I'm using my electric, to simulate fast runs, or plucking certain chords.
I found that I couldn't get the precision I needed with just flesh - I even tried fingerpicks (those big old metal ones), and they were all right, but I still preferred fingernails.
I've been lucky, my nails are extremely strong, and other than wearing them down a bit on occasion, I have never broken one while playing.
As for nylon string, you have a bit more forgiveness with the string spacing (using flesh only), but you will probably not be happy with the sound (as Roel mentioned). All you can do is grow your nails, try it, and if you don't like it, cut 'em off.
So, as hixmix said "Buy one, and enjoy". That's the best part.
mike
 
yep...

my girlfriend makes fun of me because I spend more time on my nails than she does on hers! ha ha ha..

p.s. playing nylon string alot will ruin you from playing steel strung guitars! It currently is to me.

H2H
 
hard as nails

I play a Martin classical, and I also use my nails, also while making contact with the fingertips. You don't want your fingernails to extend more than about 1/8 inch from your fingertips (looking at your hand with the palm facing you). This not only gives you that contact with the fingertip, but also keeps the nails short enough so that they don't get in the way of holding a pick (I like heavy picks for nylon strings), playing golf, caressing female body parts, etc.

I sometimes use clear nail hardener when I have a gig coming up to guard against breaks. It's worth it, if only just to freak certain guys out.
 
generally speaking, nails on your fret-hand get in the way--you'll have to raise these fingers higher than necessary (to keep the nail from hitting/dragging across strings) when changing positions.....as for your pick-hand, Mother Nature has provided US the only "pick" you'll ever need--your nails....for down-strokes, use the "outside" of your index-finger nail or your middle-finger nail, or both when the music calls for louder parts....try using flesh and the under-side of the nail for up-strokes....Classically speaking, classical guitars were not designed for using "picks" (they don't have pick-guards)....the fewer tools used always makes the task at hand that much more simple to undertake....
 
Very interesting...

I keep all my fingernails short. Most of these posts are approaching classical guitar from a classical point of view. I love the nylon string guitar, but I approach it from more a pop point of view. I use a Fender thin pick sometimes if I'm playing a lead. More commonly I use my fingers, striking the string with my fingertip and fingernail simultaneously. I am sure longer nails would yeild a brighter and probably better tone, but when the guitar is going to be amplified, EQ'ed, and processed anyway, many of the subtleties are going to be lost anyway.
I've tried to grow my fingernails in the past, and I just end up with brittle/ split nails and hangnails galore. I 've tried fingerpicks as well, and they make me feel like I'm playing with a diaper on. I've found a technique that works for me, and I'm sticking with it.
Aaron
http://www.aaroncheney.com
 
Thanks for the responses on this, I just bought my guitar yesterday and I'm playing it like a madman.

Aarons comments are interesting about playing leads and melodies with a nylon-string. Part of my reason for wanting a classical was that I'm hearing so many contemporary jazz players using these guitars for soloing and melodies. I don't really like what they call "smooth" jazz radio and much of it makes me ill in a Kenny G kind of way, but occasionally you hear a few gems.

I'm probably going to take some lessons just so I start off correctly and buy some basic songbooks. There's actually a lot of info. online and you can hear audio clips of the popular classical and Spanish composers.
 
Great link Aaron, thanks. Those were some of the jazz players I was referring to. I go to many of the jazz festivals in Southern California and I've seen many of them play live. I also like the Brazillion players a lot.

When I learned to play the piano I learned some classical pieces but the music never moved me. I like rock, pop, and jazz and I approach every instrument I play with those influences. I just have to stay away from the Metallica riffs on the nylon guitar.

When I saw Steve Hackett (Genesis) play in a small club about 7 years ago he said, "there is only one thing I like better than a nylon......a pair of nylons". I never forgot that line.
 
My two cents

I also keep freting finger nails short: enough that I can depress the string with a fair amount of pressure perpendicular to the fingerboard and the nail does not touch the fingerboard. As for my plucking hand, I keep the nails so that they just peek over the top holding them palm towards me facing them straight on.

My nails are strong so I've never done anything special. Just file them smooth: I do this with a side to side movement of the emory board, never up and down.

I was classically trained, but my technique and posture have "degenerated" over the years, probably from ignoring my guitar for months on end. Now, I try to pay attention, but my back will only permit me a certain amount freedom.

I think if you really want to, some time taking lessons with a really good teacher will give you a new perspective.

Enjoy,
denis
 
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