Nails

Hi!

I'm wondering how folks here keep their nails. I've seen recommendations for keeping the fretting hand very short, others that says keep the strumming hand's nails short, further opinions that strumming nails don' t have to be short, some who use long nails on their strumming hand for strumming and picking, etc. I was watching a video of Grace Vanderwaal showing how to play one of her songs and noticed when they did close up images of her fretting hand, she actually has fairly long nails on that hand (not saying she's the final word on such things and she didn't talk about it at all, but I noticed at as simply another uke player).

What works well for you and why? I've been keeping my fret hand nails short right now but I'm not sure at all about the strumming hand. I haven't yet decided for sure on what type of strum is most comfortable for me yet and I know even less hpw how using my nails affect that. I'd love to hear what works for you and why.

Thanks so much!

Former guitarist here, so generally,short nails on fretting hand
longer on strumming/picking hand. But as ever, what works best
FOR YOU.Experiment and find what suits you and what you think
works well for the sound you are aiming for.
No hard and fast answer, just try various combinations until it 'fits'!

:agree: It's what works for you that matters.

I find that I need short nails to fret cleanly, (like most people), whilst I tend to strum & pick mainly with my thumb.

Myself i am happy if i have a longer index fingernail for strumming, but it is no biggie. I don't file it and if I get a crack I just clip it short. Or when it seldomly grows too long

I play solos on C, E and A strings with the short nailed thumb that allows me a rest stroke on C and E. Index finger only works with short nail for melody play same as thumb. But thumb is much better and more intuitive.

Those are mine.

EDIT:
Also one bad habit I try avoid is open the beer can with index finger. Or is that 2 bad habits?

Bill1 said:

For the picking and strumming hand, if you have your nails too short it you may end up with painful quick and finger tips. On your strumming hand, you need to take care of the quick and your finger tips if they are hitting the strings all the time. So maybe a minimum of 2mm or just to the end of your fingertip is advised. You can have them longer if you like the noise long nails make.

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That is certainly an unknown phenomena for me. Maybe if it is about steel strings and your knowledge you have got from them?. I have never been fond of destroying the nails in acoustic guitar and maybe with short nails, but honestly I have never been able to produce much good sound without a pick. Maybe with them some soreness using just skin?

But with nylons in guitar or nylguts I have in my uke, it does not matter how much I strum or pick, no pain whatsoever with short or practically no nails.
Are fluorocarbons so different in this regard? Those I have not tried.

I keep my fretting hand nails as short as possible. At this point, I could probably let them grow a bit, but it just feels comfortable to have them short enough that they don't contact the fretboard even coming straight downward.

On my picking hand, it's been a long, long struggle to get nails that are consistent enough that I can use them to improve my tone. My thumbnail shreds if I look at it wrong. I've been using glass nail files and following Matt's techniques, which really helped me understand how to shape and maintain the nails. I also use a lacquer on top of my thumb, the others are strong enough without it.

I have awful nails - really weak, that chip and split at the slightest provocation. I keep the left hand super short (cut back once a week) and when I can, I try to keep the nails on my right hand just *barely* longer than the fingertip. My right thumb nail refuses to grow out at all, so I use a modified guitar thumb pick that I file down so it's much shorter than off the shelf.

I've tried not bothering with growing out the right hand nails at all, but since I'm mostly a fingerpicker and not a strummer I don't get the sound I want without nails. And I've considered acrylics, but since I hate beauty treatments (I can barely even make it in for a haircut a few times a year!), I can't imagine committing to the upkeep.

I don't do anything special with mine. I keep them trimmed up, left hand nails a little longer than right hand nails, but I don't get persnickety about it. They wear funny, each fingernail different than the others. When they get so long or wear in a weird enough way that they are noticeable, I round them off.

I can really only comment on my fret hand which I keep trimmed quite short. I think you'll notice when your nails get in the way...work the D chord (2220). For strumming, I chopped of the tip of my index finger when I was a pup and my fingernail now looks almost like a bird beak (I know, right?!?). I still keep this nail short but since it curves in, it works amazingly well for strumming. My picking thumb is fine as long as it's trimmed short on the outer edge else my nail catches the strings. NO clue why I typed all this...I'm bored I guess. LOL. GOOD LUCK!

Bill1 said:

Well not everyone is superman and not everyone has fingertips of steel. A few mere mortals and beginners actually have normal fingertips which need to be looked after.
Also some beginners like to get some helpful advice when they ask a question in the beginners section.
I personally keep the same length nails for steel strings, nylon, black nylon and fluorocarbons. I follow the fingernail advice published by Segovia many years ago in hardcopy. I think this is the book, it has details and photos of Segovia's fingernails. https://www.amazon.com/Segovia-Technique-Vladimir-Bobri/dp/0933224494

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Nails are so much depending of our genes. Mine are weak and I have seen some people whose nails are maybe 3 or even 5 times thicker than mine, So I feel to some above posters with nail problems. Though as I posted I don't think the nail(s) are such a a big thing, except maybe fingerpicking, for playing ukulele. For upward strum I rather prefer the nailles index finger sound.

Segovia was a somewhat arrogant person in his opinions. Electric guitars were not acceptable to him as musical instruments etc his music taste was somewhat limited. But of course he was fine in his own universe of classical guitar. I have a book where he teaches a young girl in some pics, in english it's name could be "Segovia, my book of guitar.", a beginners one. There are pics of his picking hand and whle not exactly monkey nails, anyways much thicker than mine.

Classical guitar is a kind of perverse instrument, because of the need of nails. Think poor Fransisco Tarrega, who in his older age was forced to play nailles. At his time no fake structural nails available.

I don't think nails are such a big thing with ukulele, except maybe for a louder sound. Or in your case because as a superman you are able to have fine nails, but yes your fingertips are somewhat sensitive

ubulele said:

If my left hand nails aren't shortened nearly to the quick, they interfere with clean fretting. The fingers need to make contact at a variety of angles; nails can force the fingertips into the wrong angle when pressure is applied.

My right hand nails (index, middle and ring fingers) I keep trimmed fairly short and uniformly rounded—just a few millimeters of white showing, just visible over the tips if I hold up my hand with the palm facing me. The thumb nail I keep a little longer, with a little more nail on the outside side (but trimmed relatively flat from the base to prevent that part of the nail from hooking the string). The pinkie I seldom use to pluck, but I usually clip it like the other nails.

When I was mainly playing classical guitar, I kept my nails a bit longer on the right hand, with more special shaping, but there the hand comes in at a different and more consistent angle than when I'm playing uke, so nails trimmed that way tend to snag the uke strings too much.

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"me too" ^^ & "what he said"

[previous text deleted because I refuse to be repeatedly maligned here on UU]

Booli said:

"me too" ^^ & "what he said"

also this topic has been discussed previously at great length, and at least a dozen times in the past 4 years here in the forum, so instead of copypasta the same text, maybe the OP can search for 'nails' or 'fingernails' or 'finger nails' to read those previous threads...

I for one, am not fond of repeating myself since it makes me feel retarded.

Please carry on...

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Maybe try understand that most people want personal replies to them? I have seen that type of reply so often from you that I maybe suspect now some? Sorry if sounding rude but arrogance is also a big trap.

[previous text deleted because I refuse to be repeatedly maligned here on UU]

Booli said:

I'm definitely not happy right now at all.

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That was not my intention and I am sorry if my reply caused this. Same time, I have seen your regularly posting about looking up old messages ... it makes even us who reply in the same thread feel kind of belitled. The search is good as you say, but I learn new things many times just giving advises and opinions.

We are not computers and I notice you are a human too

I played fingerstyle guitar, both acoustic and electric, for many years, and I haven't changed how I care for my nails since I started playing uke. The nails on my fretting hand are very short, and I keep a bit of length on my picking hand. They're long enough to catch the strings, and I keep them filed in an oval shape. I find that if I let them get too long, they catch on the strings.

BTW, I've never found Booli to be anything but very helpful and friendly.

[previous text deleted because I refuse to be repeatedly maligned here on UU]

Booli said:

Rather than drag this out in a futile attempt to explain and justify, instead, I'm just done here.

As I said before, and now will repeat again. please carry on.

After posting this I am off this thread and will not see further replies.

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Seems a bit extreme but I'm new here. Of course I still have an opinion...anyone who presents the answer "google it" deserves a little shade thrown their way regardless of how they've acted in the past. It comes across as snarky and dismissive and makes new members feel bullied. If you don't want to answer the question...don't. But don't chime in if your going to belittle someone for asking a simple question. More often than not when someone says "Google it", they're being callous. I'll STFU now.

Hi lifereinspired - thanks for asking the question. I keep the nails on both hands very short. The comment about fretting a D chord was spot on for the left hand. If nails get in the way, then I make sure to cut them down. On the right hand nails, I find that even with being very short I can "catch" the string in the nail for a good clear pluck when fingerpicking. I usually strum with the pads of the fingers as I like that sound.

for me the fingernail issue is a style/lifestyle matter. In life outside of ukulele I cannot abide fingernails. I work with my hands 12 hours a day and if my nail catches on something, that is life giving me a warning that it is going to rip my fingernail off. Accordingly, I immediately gnaw the nail down lest it be ripped off. If the nail gets ripped off, then my hand is too tender to strum or pick for 3 or 4 days thereafter. Generally I keep the nails really low. Sometimes I'll let the picking hand's nails get a little longer out of laziness. However, once I feel a nail catch on a string or make that annoying <<snikt>> sound I trim it down.

In a similar vein, my playing style follows my lifestyle. I am relatively simple person. I have never trimmed my mustache or sideburns, so I am surely not going to apply acrylic nails for ukulele playing or even buy a special plectrum.

It is conceivable that being stridently nailless will affect me playing elite level flamenco or three-finger tremolo. I'll just have to take solace in playing other things. As it is, I conceive of the ukulele as a solo instrument, so I mainly practice finger style. I use the same part of my fingers to pick as I do to fret chords. When I strum, I normally use my thumb knuckle for upstrokes (always have). So I don't use my fingernails and I am happy.

But that's just me. If you aren't me, may I suggest you watch the Q&A videos Stu Fuchs has been doing. About a week ago, he did a video addressing nail usage and nail care. I didn't watch it because, as I mentioned above, it isn't my thing. However, it could be insightful to those of you who aren't me.

Nails? Kind of depends on what kind of style you want to do. If all you want to do is be a happy strummer or use a felt pick then you don't really need nails.
I have longer nails on my strum hand esp the thumb and index. I absolutely hate it. I like to rock climb and my hobby clashes with my music hobby sadly. Lots of breakages, but that's life! Luckily I have found my pinky nail and ring finger nail on the right hand don't seem to really matter at my current level and style so i just clip those.

Off-Topic (so mods feel free to start or move to a new thread) : Aloha Spirit? Was there ever an 'Aloha Spirit' on this board? Maybe a long time ago? As a relative new comer I don't see it. I lurked for a bit just to see what it was like before asking my first question. My personal experience is that Booli has been an awesome source of information and very funny, so def not picking on him. But my experience is that as a new comer if you ask the "wrong" kind of question you get 'slammed' (even after using search feature to see if an old thread exists). Perhaps there is a cultural barrier, language barrier, or maybe some people are just 'aspie'? Not sure. I just do what I do in other forums and that is put up 'hard armor' to deal with such people. It's the total opposite experience I have had when meeting other uke folks in real life.