| You may have noticed that in order to play Classical | | | | upwards and the thumb going downwards. The little |
| Guitar players keep their right hand finger nails long but | | | | finger is used to support the hand and usually rests on |
| on their left they are usually clipped very short. The | | | | the face of the guitar just beneath the strings. |
| reason that the right hand nails are kept long is | | | | Flamenco players however use all their fingers to |
| because they are used to pluck the strings and to play | | | | strike the strings and mostly use a down stroke from |
| correctly a combination of the finger tip and nail is used | | | | the fingers. The "pima" sequence of the fingers is |
| to strike the string. | | | | often used as an annotation to Classical Guitar music |
| There has been much debate over how short or long | | | | and this is one way that you can tell music that is |
| the right hand nails should be in order to correctly play | | | | specifically for the Classical Guitar. |
| Classical Guitar, some players like the hard sound of | | | | Another aspect is the shape of the finger nails Scott |
| just the nail striking the string and others prefer the | | | | Tennant the author of Pumping Nylon and one of |
| softer sound of the meat of the finger. There is no | | | | today's better players likes to shape the nails squarer |
| "Correct" way it is a matter of personal preference | | | | than usual and advises that they should be angled so |
| and the ambiance that the piece is supposed to | | | | that the straight part strikes the string evenly, this |
| project. Part of the joy of playing Classical Guitar is the | | | | enables a smoother release of the string. Segovia is |
| practicing of various pieces and experimenting with the | | | | said to have kept his nails shorter and not much longer |
| different sounds as your mood changes. | | | | than twice the width of the strings. Whichever shape |
| If you want to see what I mean about the styles then | | | | and length you choose it will be necessary to use a |
| you can watch the You Tube videos of John Williams | | | | high quality fine nail file preferably a stainless steel one, |
| and Andres Segovia playing Asturias they play in very | | | | as these last longer, some extremely fine grained |
| different ways and yet both versions are beautiful! | | | | jeweler's sandpaper and a high quality leather nail |
| Both these players are and were the best in the world | | | | buffer. These are used in sequence to shape the nail |
| in their respective eras. Andres preferred shorter nails | | | | and then smooth the tip, so that there are no parts |
| and used the top part of his fingers more and John | | | | that may snag the string. The buffer is used to polish |
| uses more of the nail, which gives the more staccato | | | | all parts of the nail so that the string release is |
| sound to his music. | | | | extremely smooth and predictable. |
| The right hand fingers used in picking are the thumb (p) | | | | John Williams playing Asturias |
| the index (i) the middle (m) and the ring (a) each finger | | | | Andres Segovia playing Asturias |
| operates separately from the others and either side of | | | | I hope that this article was informative and that you |
| the nail can be used to strike the strings. However it is | | | | enjoyed reading it. |
| usual for the fingers to strike the strings coming | | | | |