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Hey guys, just a couple tips on playing with nails.

First off, when filing your nails, always file both sides of your nails toward the center. Nails are made of keratin which is what hair is made out of, and if you run the nail file back and forth across the edge of your nail like a saw on a wooden board, you are actually fraying the microscopic ends of the "hairs" that make up your nail. This will weaken it and cause chipping and breaking.

Secondly, everybody has unique nail shapes and there is no ideal shape for every player. That being said you should try to analyze where your finger makes contact with the string and file your nail accordingly. When resting your finger on the string in a prepared position, as if you were about to strike the string, your nail and fingertip should both be touching the string. If only one is touching, then your nail is either too long or too short.

Anyway, hope that helps some of you finger pickers out there! Enjoy!!!!

I was amazed how much the tone and playability improved when I filed my nails asymmetrically, making it easier to touch the string with nail and fingertip simultaneously. I'd been playing for a good few years and always thought that it was an affectation too far and dismissed the idea, but it really helped.

Thanks for the info Max. I’m sure my nail maintenance techniques could be improved, including the angle I use. Unfortunately my nails have become too weak to benefit much from your tips and they keep cracking across rather than splitting down. Regardless I will be conscious of your advice while shaping them. Or... while shaping the finger picks I use.

Thanks again.

Michele

Hey Gang,

Great thoughts and comments on nails. I have been lucky, so far, to have very hard nails but I need to smooth them out about every 10-15 minutes of playing. An important thing is to not let them get too long, or too roughed up before polishing. Maybe on this week's update I will elaborate.

I do know there is no way I could do what many of my friends do as far as 3-5 performances a week (i.e. Dave Nach or Muriel) and have any kind of nail life. If that was the path I would have chosen it would have been Doug Young's solution of bi-weekly trips to the nail shop, John Renbourn's self patching with ping pong balls, or Laurence Juber's choice to play with callouses, I still don't know which route I would have taken. I guess I can only say I am glad for the route I chose, for a bunch of other reasons as well.

Neil

Michele,

one thing that can help strengthen your nails is vitamin E. If you ingest it or even take a vitamin E oil and rub it into your nails, you'll see a marked improvement in a matter of weeks. Friends of mine used to have cracked nails that were thin and brittle but after doing this they became harder and stronger.

There is also something called horse hoof cream. It is obviously made for horses but since their nails and our are made of the same material it works wonders for us fingerpickers. It is like a super charged version of the vitamin E therapy. You'll have strong nails in no time!

Thanks for the advice Max. I’ll try it.

M