Fingernails vs No Fingernails

Melodious Thunk

Melodious Thunk

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Howdy,

I am new to ukulele. My uke should arrive sometime this coming Tuesday.

It seems to me that most of the uke players that I enjoy listening to (and enjoy their tone) have long fingernails. Ukulelezaza is an example. In preparation for getting my uke, I've been growing my nails out. I must say that I really dislike having long nails. Plus, I am already weird enough. I don't know if I am liking the idea of having a few long nails on one hand. My question is... are there any players out there that get a good "classic" soprano uke tone without nails? I am aware of products like aLaska picks, but I really don't care for those (I've tried them on guitar).

Thanks in advance,

Ryan
 
I am "no nails" soprano player. Can't stand long nails and can control the sound of the ukulele much better without nails. You will find that the skin on your strumming/picking hand builds up a bit of calloused skin around the nail, which gets a good sound.
 
If you keep the fingernails fairly short—about 1mm past the tip—you can easily vary the angle to use a flesh stroke or nail stroke tone. For the thumbnail, it needs to be a little longer—about 3mm—but it is even easier to alternate your tone between flesh tone and nail strokes. It's nice to have a choice and I love both sounds. One you have nails, they sound best with a rounded contour sanded to a smooth perfection (1000 grit plus sandpaper). I even buff mine with several grades of Micromesh.
 
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I have very weak nails an for the past decade or so, have been visiting Lily's Nails, our local nail joint, to have acrylic gel nails applied. Like Segovia, I like them so that they're just visible over the end of my fingers. I get the index,bird and ring fingers done. I started doing this to only one nail to help with clawhammer banjo, but to keep my guitar playing fingers balanced, I got the other two done as well.
Susan, the person who does my nails, knows exactly how I like them, and I have referred a couple of my friends and students to her.
 
I don't think that long fingernails are required equipment.
 
I dislike playing my ukuleles without longer nails on my strumming/picking hand. The tone is much more clear and the volume is much better for me.
 
Welcome Milwaukee, that is a question only you can answer. Start with short nails, then let them grow. See what you think. This is a personal choice, only you can answer this question. Enjoy and be patient.
 
I can't handle long fingernails at all and I pick just with my fingertips. That feels great to me and is loud enough for rooms with up to about 20 people without amplification.
 
Jim Yates said:
I have very weak nails an for the past decade or so
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Have you tried Biotin? I'm generally not a vitamin or supplements guy. But I also have weak nails that would split up the length of the nail, not break across. (This is before I started playing) Very painful and difficult to grow out because the crack would just keep spreading toward, or even into, the nail bed. Within a month of taking Biotin daily, the cracks were disappearing. I haven't had a nail crack in the year or so since. Just don't tell Susan that I suggested another option! ;)
 
I used to have the John Pearse book Hold Down A Chord and he describes a technique for strengthening your nails where by you apply thing layers of tissue to your nails with nail varnish. In my guitar playing days I did try this but to be honest it was a bit of a faff, and your nails look a bit weird. I keep my nails very short now, whether I’m playing steel or nylon strings. I like the tone I get fine.
 
I just keep my nails on the right hand a tiny bit longer than the left, maybe in the range of 3 days to a week's growth. I'll wait until the length annoys me and trim back to 1-2mm. Depends on your playing style and sound you want/need to produce as to what works for you.
 
glennerd said:
I just keep my nails on the right hand a tiny bit longer than the left, maybe in the range of 3 days to a week's growth. I'll wait until the length annoys me and trim back to 1-2mm. Depends on your playing style and sound you want/need to produce as to what works for you.
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Same here - if you like the sound of nails, they don't have to be that long, just long enough to make contact with the string.
 
Thanks for all of the responses! They give me some things to look at and think over.
 
JJFN said:
Welcome Milwaukee, that is a question only you can answer. Start with short nails, then let them grow. See what you think. This is a personal choice, only you can answer this question. Enjoy and be patient.
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Ditto. I've found I like a little nail. Mine aren't long at all because they're constantly broken doing moped work.
 
I prefer to play with my nails. Unfortunately, I typically gnaw them down to nothing. So...I usually play without nails. Hehehe...
 
dkbrantley said:
I prefer to play with my nails. Unfortunately, I typically gnaw them down to nothing. So...I usually play without nails. Hehehe...
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Keeping nails in good shape, it requires discipline. Like myself, I'd like to open beer can with my right hand and using nail. That is a no no. Use left hand for that lid.

And if you want bite ur fingernails, just use the little finger's one. It is not that usable anyways. Just you have to always and all the time know that your playing nails are to be protected against what ever you do.

Is that worth the effort and constant mind bending is another guestion surely? In time it can get easier though with habits changing and you won't need think so much all the time of what you are doing.
 
I cannot abide playing with my nails. My occupation is rather physical and I have torn off nails or had objects bend them back. When I play with fingernails I get the same feeling on a much smaller scale. I get the feeling that they are going to be pulled off. I know it is a baseless psychological problem as I actually have rather strong nails. However I cater to this phobia and always play with fingertips. That means I will probably never have the speed to play flamenco guitar or tremolo pick 1/64th notes, but I am at peace with that.
 
I’m a fingertip kinda guy. I can’t stand the sensation of plucking the strings with fingernails. If I’m not paying attention and they get a little long and I catch a string with a nail, I immediately go trim it.
 
I've been picking my fingernails off since I was a baby so it's been a tough habit to break. Even today, if I'm in a stressful situation or emotionally invested in a book/movie/show/etc, odds are good I'll come out the other side with bloody fingers.

The benefit is that fingertips make for a better jazz strum tone (to me). Part of me thinks that when I start recording rhythm and lead, they'll be separated by different ukes but, most importantly, the presence or lack of fingernails.

All that said, I am getting better at keeping my fingernails, but they don't get crazy long. I've noticed that if they're longer, my accuracy goes down, probably because of muscle memory.
 
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