I was forced into having to use a pick. I lost all my finger nails on my right hand due to. Strumming. I have weak nails. I liked how my ukulele sounded with my fingers strumming.. Does anyone have any ideas for what to do?
If you have a little nail, I advice Alaska Pik. Great, but need a little nail to put the pick between finger and nail. Really confortable and sounds almost like nails.
Alternative : Fred Kelly Picks Poly Freedom Finger Picks. They don't need nails, 'cause you will wear on your fingers.
Hope it helps
I hope you like Jello(R) or other gelatin products
I had weak nails... that I chewed on as well, ahem, but I have 'stronger, thicker' nails
now, I believe, from eating Jello(R) whenever it's available to me. [I don't make it
for myself ] That's usually when I'm at a buffet, or potluck when someone brings
a Jello(R) salad.
anyway, I believe adding Gelatin to your diet may help with strengthening your nails...
and hair!
Your Mileage May Vary (YMMV ?), as the saying goes. But that's my story and I'm
sticking with it.
BTW, whenever I lead a song circle for an hour or so, I develop a curved hollow in
my index fingernail where all that friction wears away the nail. Funny, the strings
don't seem to be wearing like my nails are. I'm sure they are, though.
Got to eat more Jello(R)!
keep uke'in',
I have my nails cut very short on both hands and I don't have any problem at all strumming with my index finger. Mostly I am strumming with the fleshy part at the tip because it sticks out so much farther than the nail... so far no pain, no bleeding, no irritation. I guess I must have developed strumming callouses??
I mentioned the Fred Kelly's Freedom Picks above, but there is another type of fingerpicks that I recently tried that I enjoy greatly: the ProPik FingerTone picks. Those are banjo-style picks, but most of the pad of the finger is uncovered, so the strings are (or can be) hit by both the rounded metal and the flesh. They look like this. I was surprised at how good this sounded, especially with my sopranos that tend to lose volume up the neck when played with just fingers. It's also possible to strum with them, which really doesn't work with most fingerpicks. Fingerpicks that cover the whole pad are also noisy and sound metallic. These FingerTone ones have a natural sound, at least in my ears, with much greater volume and clarity. They are also very comfortable, unlike most fingerpicks that cut into the area around the nail.
They are not worn like the Alaska Picks, but the nail looking part goes on the underside of the finger, like this. The only trouble with them is that you pretty much have to buy two or three of each size to figure out which sizes work for you. For me, it is L on middle, M on index, and S on ring finger. Recommendations based on hand size I had read didn't really work out for me, so I had to order twice before I had a set that fit my fingers. I use them with a heavy Slick Pick thumbpick (similar sound, I find), but thumbpicks exist in so many shapes and forms that it's all very subjective.
I have my nails cut very short on both hands and I don't have any problem at all strumming with my index finger. Mostly I am strumming with the fleshy part at the tip because it sticks out so much farther than the nail... so far no pain, no bleeding, no irritation. I guess I must have developed strumming callouses??