Just as a singer's vocal cords influence her voice quality, a guitarist's nails also have a one-on-one relationship to his or her tone production. The nails’ shape and length must be near-perfect, or the results will prove disastrous - clicks or roughness in the tone. Furthermore, improperly shaped nails will catch on the strings, impeding the flow of the guitarist’s right-hand finger movements. To avert such perils, a guitarist needs to learn quality control - how to care for his or her nails.
It might take time and some experiments before you discover the best way to care for your own nails. Each player’s nails are unique, with a slightly different contour. Tailor your nail care program, therefore, to your own peculiar needs. Nail care might present some difficulties at first, but rest assured, almost every problem has a solution. Even some of the world’s best guitarists have endured nail problems.
Proper nail care takes only three easy-to-remember steps: shaping, sanding, and buffing.
Shaping
In the first step, shape the nail with a diamond dust file (manufactured from bits of synthetic gems), available in drug stores. Your nails are in their best shape when they are short enough to avoid catching, but long enough to provide the proper amount of resistance. This better enables them to strike the strings when the fingers move quickly. A good rule of thumb recommends that your fingernails, when you look at them from their back side (the side on the palm of your hand) should be about one-sixteenth of an inch above the flesh. The thumbnail should be somewhat longer - about one-eighth of an inch. When shaping your nails, avoid irregularities and peaks. Most nails should have slightly rounded surfaces that follow the contour of the person’s fingertip. That shape allows the nail to pass over the string with the correct amount of resistance. When 'planting' (placing) a well-rounded nail on the string, it touches the string on its left side, ending the stroke by releasing easily from the middle of the nail.
Sanding
The second step is to sand your nails. Sanding is done with fine finishing paper. This step removes most of the roughness left by the file. Use 500- to 700-grade silicon carbide paper to sand your nails. Wrap a piece of the paper tightly around your file. Similar to the method that you used when you filed your nails, sand the entire playing edge with light strokes. Use the paper to round off the playing edge further and thus reduce snagging. In this sanding process, make sure to remove all the rough remains of the filing, especially on the underside of your nails. Take care to do this job well. If you do not, you will find yourself wondering why your tone sounds so scratchy.
Buffing
The final step of caring for the nails is buffing. You could also use a well-worn piece of 600-grade finishing paper, or alternatively a fresh piece of 800-grade paper. The entire playing surface of the nail should be rubbed with the buffing material. Make sure not to miss the underside of your nails. The entire playing surface should end with a glassy, smooth finish. You can test for smoothness by running your left-hand thumbnail across the playing surface of each nail. Every bit of roughness and every nick should be removed so that the nail does not catch. Doing this final step will produce a smooth, silky tone on your guitar.
The Thumbnail
A well-shaped thumbnail is a vital asset to the guitarist. When stroking properly, your thumbnail will produce clearly articulated bass notes. These notes will project well, even in concert. If your nail is not well-shaped, or if you do not use it carefully, there will be too much of your skin striking the string. Consequently, your bass will sound muddy, and it will be difficult to discern where the notes begin, and end. They will sound muddy. The muted flesh tone has its place as a special effect, but the clear nail tone is what you will use most often.
To sum up, take time each day to examine your nails, for they connect you to your instrument. In a very real sense, they are a part of your instrument, for they impact your tone. Just as you would not play without tuning your instrument, do not forget the importance of nail care.
Feel free to visit LA Guitar Academy's website for professional guitar lessons in the Los Angeles area, or go to LAGA Online's home page to take online guitar lessons from the LAGA Faculty.
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