Finger Nail
20 03 2008
Long before our time, guitarists only played in court yards, small theatres, chapels, etc., the lower volume they produced did not really mattered. So, many players did not keep nails. Today the concert guitarist must produce a sound loud enough to project to the back row of a large concert hall(1000 to 2000 people) without the aid of amplification.
In the 19th century, the dimensions of the guitars were smaller thus not as powerful as the modern guitar. Majority of the leading players used the flesh technique but D Aquado, the Spanish guitarist/composer, used his nails .The theory was that if nails were used, the tone quality could never be as pure and sweet as that produced with just the finger tips. Nail playing became established in the beginning of the 20th century through the efforts of Segovia. It is now the generally accepted way of sounding the strings. When done correctly, it produces a balanced, clear tone with a wider range of tone colors and dynamic level.
What you hear at the onset of the note is an image in sound of physical contact. A flesh contact will produce a “fleshy” tone, which certainly has it’s use as an expressive device but lacks clarity enough to be the norm of good tone. A fashionably pointed nail will produce a hard, sharp sound. Thick and thin nails tend to produce tones which are, other considerations aside, “thicker” or “thinner”, while a rough nail surface will produce a scratchy tone.
The shape and finish of the fingernails largely determine tone quality. What we frequently mean by good tone is in fact the variety of nuance made possible by different angles of nail presentation. The attack should be slightly angled to enable a smooth transition as the string moves from the finger tip on to the nail. There is a sweet spot in which the nail will produce a good clear attack, and you need to achieve this by experimentation. There are no hard and fast rules governing the length of nails and is a matter of trial and error. With the palm facing you, it should be possible to see the nails protruding over the ends of the fingers. The length of the visible part of the nails vary from each individual(1mm to 3mm).Try different length to see how they work. In general, the thumb nail should be about twice the average length of the fingernails.
Once you have the correct nail shape, the edges must be smoothened and polished with fine grade wet and dry paper(1200 to 2000).Remember to polish the inside of the tip of the nail too.
Badly maintained nails will result in a thin and scratchy tone. Make polishing your nails a daily routine and you’ll enjoy your guitar even more!
