Acrylic Nails and 'Ukes

carolbonomo

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Can you play 'uke with acrylic nails? sSme of the guys on the list talk about gluing fake nails to their fingers to create picks (or desiring to do so), but my friend Richard says I CANNOT play 'uke with acrylic nails glued on top of my real ones, which I should keep as short as possible.

He's a banjo player. Maybe he doesn't know anything. Anybody tried it?:music:
 
Hmmm acrylic nails. Alright if you’re a girl I suppose. But for a guy; how far can you go to be an ukulele enthusiast before you cross the line and just become a big ukulele queen? but then again its 2009....why not.
 
It really doesn't take much beyond patience and a little time with a nail file to have your actual nails do the trick.
They don't have to be super long. Just a long enough to extend beyond the pad of your finger to get a good strum or pluck. (I also put a little nail strengthener on now and again.)
 
I wear fake nails because I pick my skin (gross, I know) when I’m anxious, and they’re the only thing that prevents me from doing it without noticing.
I also just really like the way they look lol.
I get the “dip nails” instead of the acrylics.
I just prefer them.
It definitely took some getting used to at first, but once I got used to some of the changes I had to make in order to play certain chords, it was just as easy to play with them as without.
They definitely make finger picking easier, but certain chords might be a little harder to do depending on the length you go for.
I liked to have mine a decent length.
I would get mine almond shaped, which gave me a bit more give as far as the length I could go for, I think.
With a more squared tip I imagine you’d have to go a bit shorter than I did, but it’s definitely possible once you get the hang of it.
There are tons of musicians who have gotten used to playing with very long nails.
Dolly Parton, for instance.
Just sharing my personal experience
 
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