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Fingernail Basics

This is not an article about how to shape your nails. Because I don’t know. It too me two years to find a nail shape that works for me. This is an article with some general thing to think about.

  1. Length

    How long do your nails really need to be? I think that depends on what sort of sound you like and your technique. For me, long (super long, anyway) nails get in the way. I tend to have too work to hard to play with long nails. On the other hand, super short nails feel equally awkward. Find a balance. The good thing about nails is that they grow. I’d start with shortish nails (about even with the finger tip), and keep the edges nice (see below). As your nails grow, evaluate and see what you like. Like anything, you can take notes about this in your practice log.

    Another thing is that your nails might actually need to be longer depend on your genetics. That is, your nail bed matters. That’s the part that give the nice pinkish color to your nails. Some people have very small nail bed which requires a lot of a white nail to show to get a decent length. Others have nail beds that extend all the way out to their fingertips. People with shorter nail beds will probably appear to have longer nails than those with bigger nail beds. I have a friend who looks like he has half-inch long claws for fingernails–turns out his nail beds are tiny. His nails barely poke out beyond his fingertips.

  2. Use the Right File

    Emery boards are not good. Nor should you (EVER) use a nail clipper on the right hand nails. File them. A “diamond dust” file should be used. You want a very fine file that won’t take a lot of nail off all at once. If you can’t find something like that, just get a decent diamond dust file and run it over some rock or concrete to take some of the files potency away.**

  3. Edges

    The edges of your nails shouldn’t contain any jagged breaks or odd angles. A good way to think of if is that, if you were to lay your nail out flat, the edge would be a straight line. Whatever shape you decide to use, avoid odd contours on the nail.

  4. Buff

    Every had your nails wear away from playing? Or maybe you’ve felt that you finger nails were catching on the strings or not releasing cleanly? That has to do with the edge. Assuming you don’t have any odd contours on which the string can catch, the next step is getting it smooth. Some super fine, wet/dry sandpaper works well for this–available at your local hardware store, it should be black in color. Other options are nail buffers or some sort of specialized emery paper.

    A good test is to hold the edge of the nail up to a light, it should be shiny and reflective – there should be a nice gleam on the edge.

Anatomy of the Guitar Players Nail

There’s a contact point and a release point on the nail. The contact point, for most of us, is on the left side of the nail where it meets the flesh of the fingertip. Those who play with a more Ida Presti style technique will have a contact point on the right side.

The release point is where the nail leaves the string. We want this string’s travel along the nail to be easy. That’s what we avoid rough contours and buff the edge of the nail. I always think of the release point as the longest point of the nail.

Shapes?

There’s many different ways to do this, and I have no clue what’s right for you. The best method is experimentation. I’ve been hesitant to write an article about nails because I feel that I don’t know anything. It took a lot of experimenting to figure out what works for me.

There’s the ramp style of shaping a nail mentioned in Pumping Nylon or just a nice curved shape. Or anything in between! There’s many options. Start with one shape and experiment for a while, then try something else out. Take notes, choose what you like best.

Don’t be afraid to combine shapes. What works well on one finger might not work well on another. Mix and match if need be. Nails don’t have to look uniform. They just have to sound good.

I use a pseudo curved shape, but I put my release points more towards the right side of my nails instead of in the middle. Except for a, which has a release point closer to the center.

**Similarly, if you can’t find sand paper fine enough for your needs, just rub the sand paper on itself for a while to smooth it down a bit.

Got some nail tips? What works for your nails? Want to vent your nail frustrations? Post a comment below!

July with Giuliani: Op. 48, No. 1

Brian Barone’s July with Giuliani kicks off today. I thought it’d be fun to take part, so here I am. Below is a video of my interpretation. This was recorded after working on the piece for about an hour.

Musical Observations

The mood of the piece should largely be determined by the first measures tempo and dynamic markings. Vivace suggest a reasonably quick tempo with a light, lively character while Mezzo-forte suggests a nice, strong sound. Light with a full sound.

The form of the piece is simple binary. Though editions vary (see here, here, and here), I think this piece is very certainly in cut time. The suspensions on strong beats and the general feel of the piece lends itself to two beats/impulses for each measure and the harmonic rhythm of the entire piece aligns with that.

The repeated notes in the pick ups into measure one are particularly expressive, in the same way the last two beats of measure two into the first beat of measure 3 (repeated G’s) are expressive. I would like to hear more of a crescendo into the C on the downbeat of measure 1, then the resolution of of that first suspension nice and quiet. Same for measure four: crescendo through the repeated G’s into the downbeat and relax into the suspensions resolution. Each suspension should have an accent on the dissonant note and a relaxation (diminuendo) into the resolution – that should be the main feature of the open bars.

The pick to measure five to measure eight is the next section and changes character a bit. Name the bass sticks out to me. We’ve gone from quarter notes to half notes in the bass and that’s very striking.

The large ascending gesture from measures 9 to 12 begs a crescendo, followed by a diminuendo from measures 12 to 15. Again measures 9-15 changes the bass, and Giuliani is kind enough to mark sF for us on every beat during this section. That’s significant, he wants that chromatic bass line to come out, so let it! I think it’s also important to let the melody sing out, but to my ear the focus during this section is in the bass.

Measure 16 changes the character yet again, and the bass returns to the quarter notes from measure 1. To my ear this creates a bit more tension in the music as the bass picks up, this tension is resolved during the final measures. There should be a crescendo through measure 16 (again repeated notes in the melody!) in preparation for the curiously loud ending.

The ending is very striking to me, usually pieces end quiet, but this one Giuliani marks loud. There should still be a bit of ritard starting in measure 17. I put it on beats three and four, but that’s open to interpretation as well.

On the Technical Side of Things

Lots of shifts, and the fingerings in the editions linked above are very good. I would say to use guide fingers wherever possible, but also don’t forget to prep fingers over strings as that does help. The first measures are more easily accomplished if you leave a half bar down. Whatever the fingering, the goal is to get a very legato, connected sound. Change fingerings as necessary to achieve that.

So how does my interpretation stack up to the above observations?

It’s not great. I would classify the playing above as mediocre at best. The suspensions and resolutions need more subtle accents and resolutions. I think the overall tempo is okay (maybe a bit quicker), but it needs more lightness. Some technical difficulties need to be smoothed out, but that comes with time more than anything else (needs more than an hour of practice). In general, I think the interpretation is not refined enough. Part of the greatness in the classical style is the subtlety, and I don’t have that captured yet.

Mindless Technique

I saw, in a forum post, a mildly disturbing phrase: “They are mindless exercises but they do the job.”

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know that I’m a thinker. I think a lot about music and practicing. Writing here has only reinforced my sometimes dangerous thinking habit.

So, I have to ask, is mindless technical practice really worth it? If you’re not paying attention to something can you really hope to improve it?

I think the answer to both questions is no. I spent (wasted) a fair amount of time in undergrad on ridiculous technical routines meant to make me into some super virtuoso. I would go into the routine on day one with fire and passion–I’d pay attention to everything. By day three, my attention was no longer on the technical exercises. I was thinking about dinner. Or something.

Practicing should never be mindless. To expect virtuosity or technical facility from mindless playing of exercises is a less than intelligent idea.

So What Do We Do?

A large part of the Suzuki method of instruction, from my understanding, has nothing to do with music. Developing an appropriate attention span in a student is one of it’s priorities from the start. For working with young students that means finding ways to capture their attention for progressively longer periods of time.

We can take a lesson away from that. Technique practice is something that really requires extreme mental focus – we have to concentrate on every movement. The goal is to use technique practice time to make perfect movements in simplified exercises. If you can’t focus that intensely for your entire technical routine, break it up. Spend 10 minutes here or there doing technique.

I take a similar approach. I like to alternating things in my own technical practice. I might spend 10 minutes doing arpeggios, then switch gears to slurs or something else. If I find myself loosing focus, I acknowledge that my mind is wandering then gently put it back on track.

Getting stressed about a wandering mind is not the solution. Simply observe what’s happening and push yourself back to focus. This is a useful performance technique as well. When you find yourself on stage thinking about what kind of drinks you’re going to get after the concert, acknowledge that your mind has strayed and gently refocus.

The goal is to find a balance between your ability to focus intensely and the needs of a technical routine – to avoid mindless repetition in favor of mindful observance and careful correction.

Don’t Forget the Obvious

Details. Musical analysis. Note grouping. The list goes on – there are literally thousands of details in a single piece of music. But we can’t forget the obvious.

What are the opening dynamic and tempo markings? What character do they suggest? When do the dynamics change? When does the texture of the music change?

The thing about composers is that they try to use every resource available to them to convey the emotional and musical detail they wish. To that end, even the simplest of characteristics is fair game.

Don’t forget the obvious. The broader aspects and the general feel of the piece are often the most important things.

Monday Motivation: Scarlatti Edition

“Play the music, not the instrument.”
-Proverb

Today we feature Italian virtuoso Aniello Desiderio. This is video is part one of a 10 part documentary on youtube, so if you like it, there’s more! for you listening enjoyment.