I just flat-topped my fingernails. Major fail. I was sporting long round nails a while ago. Not anymore. The resulting sound is thinner, more metallic and warped. I hates it, big time.
I flattened out the rounded edge to see if square works better for me. I played with this shape a few months ago. But since correcting my right hand position, I realized I haven't really put the square to the test. Now that that's over and done with I wanna move on and never look back.
Ok, maybe I do like to keep the shape on the thumb at least. But I really am moving on!
... But I do like how the square looks.
I won't be playing my best for a while, at least until I grow out my nails again.
Post-dinner update: I trimmed down my fingernails. And I feel much better playing now. I'm practicing how to stop buzzing the strings and right hand position, the right way. I just zoomed through my repertoire; the sound is a lot softer, but it sounds great and I feel great! (think: headbanging to Carulli)
*If you're wondering why nails are such a big deal, read this. *Tips on how to shape your nails here!
I just realized this week that my plucking hand (right) position may be wrong. May be because although classical teaching has set rules for proper playing positions (body, feet, arms and hands) I also understand that guitarists can wield their guitars freely. Music playing is free!
But the consequences of wrong positions will deter effective and safe playing. Quality also dies.
This is why I want to share a video that can help you position your plucking hand.
Again, it is not crucial to follow every bit of detail. Guitarists, musicians in general, should play in whatever way they want.
Right now, I'm struggling with right hand positioning over left hand positioning. The first time I picked up classical I played with a splayed right hand:
Okaaaay, my fingers don't look that... evil in the splayed position :) But the idea is that the fingers are separate and open. With the splayed position, I played solely with my fingertips. I was able to reach the last 3 strings (G-B-E, or the 4th, 5th, and 6th) easily. The sound was, well... metallic (yes, it's possible to produce a metallic sound with nylon strings) and stringy. But I found it was adequate at the beginning. Now, I tried playing with a closed fist like so:
and Yes! Try difference is superb! I was skeptic about fingernail playing at first. But the closed fist position made me believe that it is possible to produce a better sound. With a closed fist, both fingertips and nails hit the strings, producing a warmer sound. The closed fist made it harder to reach the 4th-6th strings, but I think I'll get it with practice.
Now I practice in front of the mirror. My plucking hand still reverts to splayed position, but I'm doing my best to keep my fingers close together. Just like a demure little girl.
* I invented the terms splayed position and closed fist position for clarification purposes. They're not technical terms, but you're welcome to use them :)
** HAHA the drawings! I couldn't find an image that quite captured the look of the splayed position, so I drew one :) And then I went ahead and drew the closed fist just cause I felt like a winner!
