Can You Play Guitar With Long Nails

When yous first starting time learning how to play guitar, y'all're usually told to continue your nails short.

For many players, this isn't a big deal. But what if you work as a manicurist? Or what if having nice easily is essential for your look? Does this hateful that you should give up?

Of grade not! In that location'southward lots of means to play guitar that sound simply fine (or even better) with long nails.

Believe information technology or non, a manicure doesn't have to hold y'all back from learning guitar.

Before nosotros look at these nail-saving strategies, it'due south helpful to consider why your instructors tell yous to trim your nails. This will help y'all decide if it's worth it to keep your manicure, especially when y'all want to learn more advanced techniques.

Contents

• 1 Why Trim Your Nails?
• ii Strategies for Long Nails
  • 2.1 Fingerpicking
  • two.two Fretting on a low angle
  • 2.three Alternate tuning
• 3 Final Thoughts

Why Trim Your Nails?

In guild to produce the clearest, fullest sound on your guitar and be able to switch chop-chop between chords, it's easier to keep your nails brusque––at to the lowest degree on your fretting hand.

By applying pressure level with the pads of your fingertips, yous avoid damaging your fingers. You gain more control of your tone past fugitive fret buzz. Plus, you lot can quickly motility around the fretboard without having to painstakingly position your fingertips at a proper angle.

Luckily, you have a bit more than leeway on your strumming hand. Unless you lot have extra long Rihanna-type acrylics, you lot can hold a selection without losing your grip. Merely you might accidentally snag a cord while y'all're fingerpicking, creating an unpleasant twang.

As a teenager––before I was serious near guitar––I used to love growing my natural nails and painting them in bright colors. I yet paint them today, but I make sure that they don't grow long enough to interfere with my Due east-shaped barre chords or legato licks.

When I showed up for my first lesson with long nails, I was gently told by my instructor that I had to start trimming them to my fingertips. I was disappointed at beginning, simply I was willing to brand the sacrifice to become a better guitarist. Little did I know that yous really can accept the all-time of both worlds, if you lot use the right techniques…

Strategies for Long Nails

To play guitar with long nails on your strumming hand, fretting paw or both, you tin apply the following strategies:

Fingerpicking

Believe information technology or non, many guitarists prefer longer nails on their strumming hand. This makes it easier to play fingerstyle, especially on a classical guitar.

Of course, you lot can pick nylon strings with the pads of your fingers. Just to boost your volume and brighten your tone, it's improve to grow out your natural nails or extend them with acrylics.

There are no difficult and fast rules for classical guitar fingernails. Some musicians keep them just by their fingertips, while others grow them until they're up to an inch longer. Some prefer to round them off, shape them flat or sloped, or file them into sharp, selection-like points. The most important thing is that your strings slide smoothly off your nails equally you fingerpick.

Unfortunately, heavy estimate steel strings tin can damage your natural nails. This is why many acoustic players wear finger picks for protection. Though they're frequently associated with banjos, many blues and land guitarists find that they add together a bright, treble-heavy tone to their songs.

Some other pop option for musicians of all genders is to wear acrylics on their strumming mitt. These can help you play well-baked, consistent notes. They're also a lot less clunky to habiliment than finger picks.

Curious about the salon handling for fingerstyle guitarists? Check out this video.

Fretting on a low angle

Every bit you can see, long nails can work wonders for fingerpicking. But what near your fretting hand?

While it is harder to accomplish a clear sound when you're not directly on your fingertips, you can even so fret your chords and notes with the flat part of your fingers. You just have to press them onto your fretboard at a low angle, keeping the edge of your nails far from the string. You lot'll probably get some fret buzz at first, but with a bit of practice, this volition go a lot easier.

Instead of fretting on your fingertips, try fretting on the bending where the pads of your fingers tin press comfortably on your strings.

This technique is specially helpful for muting unwanted strings. For instance, when yous practice a rock, blues or metallic song with power chords, you tin flatten your final finger against the strings below it to silence them. You can exercise the same thing in riffs where you play only one string at a time.

When you fret an E-cord ability chord on an angle, you don't accept to worry about hit your third, second or beginning strings past accident when you lot strum. The aforementioned principle applies for two-string power chords, where you can also mute the fourth string with your ring finger.

Still, fretting on an angle isn't the most ideal method. Information technology limits the types of chords you can use and slows your dexterity on the fretboard. It can give you joint pain depending on how you lot build your finger muscles. And while it'due south not incommunicable to fret with extra long acrylics, it's a technique that non many musicians have even tried to master.

Dolly Parton is proof that you can have crazy long nails and notwithstanding fret your standard-tuned C and D chords (with a capo). Only it takes a lot of do to be able to play with your fingers pressed at such a small bending and still brand your notes band loud and clear (0:17-four:11).

If yous're a beginner who practices once a week or less, this probably won't exist a dealbreaker. But if yous're serious about learning guitar, it'due south better to experiment with some alternate tunings.

Alternate tuning

The best way to go on long nails on your fretting hand is to shift from the standard EADGBE guitar tuning to an alternate tuning, where you tin barre a single finger across your strings.

The nearly popular selection for many long-nailed musicians––peculiarly in the blues, country and folk scenes––is to play in open tuning. This ways that when you lot strum all six open strings, y'all hear a major or pocket-size chord. For example, in Open E (Dolly Parton's usual tuning), y'all transform EADGBE into EBEG♯BE, giving y'all an Due east major. Other mutual options include Open up D (DADF♯Advertizing) and Open M (DGDGBD).

Let'southward say that you lot've tuned your guitar to Open up D. If y'all barre one finger across all of the strings on the beginning fret, you lot'll get an D ♯ /E♭major. Move your finger to the second fret for an E major, the third fret for an F major and and so on. Yous can play any major chord this style, simply by moving your finger upward and downwards the fretboard.

This Open D demo shows that you can nevertheless achieve a great sound without destroying your manicure.

The downside with open up tuning is that yous can't play extended chords, similar 7ths or 9ths. But with a strong strumming or fingerpicking rhythm, y'all can brand up for this lack of diversity.

With alternating guitar tunings like Open East and Drop D, you can play major chords or ability chords respectively––simply by barring your alphabetize finger across your frets.

Some other bang-up option is to utilize Drop D tuning. By downtuning your 6th string one full tone to get DADGBE, you can adjust your E-string power chord shape to accommodate your manicure. Instead of playing with your alphabetize finger ii frets above the other one (or two) on the sixth string, y'all tin apply one finger to barre the sixth, fifth and fourth strings.

For example, disallowment your finger on the get-go fret of your guitar gives you an D♯ /E♭5 power chord. Barring your finger on the second gives yous an E5, and so on. You lot tin play the rhythm guitar part for many punk and metal songs just by moving this finger up and down the fretboard.

Even with Drop D tuning, you might run into complicated riffs or alternate power chord shapes that go far difficult––if not impossible––to play with super long acrylics. Plus, most of these songs are strummed instead of fingerpicked. Just as long as your nails are brusk enough to fret at an angle and play with a pick, you lot can still succeed at playing guitar.

Final Thoughts

With and then many options out there, at that place's no reason why you can't play guitar and keep your long nails if you really want to. You'll but accept to arrange how you pick your strings, fret your chords and tune your strings.

Yous may not exist able to fret extended chords or incorporate advanced pb guitar techniques. All the same, with these minor adjustments, y'all can become a skilled rhythm guitarist with fingers that look bang-up and play even meliorate.

Source: https://beginnerguitarhq.com/how-to-play-guitar-with-long-nails/

Posted by: stonepuffined.blogspot.com

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