Im assuming this is the correct place for this post:

I have an exceedingly annoying problem with the fingernail on my index finger, and i dont need to tell any of you how important the index finger Nail is for flamenco guitar.

when i was a child i trapped it in a door splitting the nail length ways causing it to grow that way for the rest of my life.

what happens is as well as the projected nail(over the fingertip) gowing in like a V shape it also hooks forward slightly so that the string is not running correctly thru and along the gap beween nail and flesh and often gets snagged or misses the string all together or just sounds dull and lifeless due to just being played with flesh and not nail.
if i try to get the string to run correctly by filling the underside of the nail to try to diminish the V into a more regular nail shape ....it gets very thin and splits.
i also play a little classical guitar and i have been embarressed by the sound quality when playing live due to the fingernail problem..it is very frustrating and has even made me consider my future in this kind of guitaring.

i suppose what i need is inspiration im the Form of a DJango reinhart charachter to say "you can do it look what happened to me and i still play flamenco" lol.

if it was any other fingernail i dont think it would Matter so much.
i have tryed using a synthetic fingernail...but didnt really get on with them as the glue made my fingernail go weird
any suggestions or experiances would be helpfull....thanks

Comus, My opinion is somewhat different than the normal. First you must stop focusing on trying to learn to play virtuoso guitar using flamenco palos. Getting good tone and a clean sound should be way down on the list for now. Most important is doing a lot of listening and then trying to play simple falsetas and rhythms perfect for compas before moving on. It is not as important if your sound is dull and buzzy as it is that your timing and phrasing are correct for the palo you are playing. How one touches the strings is very different in classical and flamenco and most times the classical influences the flamenco and takes away the feeling necessary in flamenco. The focus is on a clean, sweet, and flowing sound, not the driving, dark, and dissonant sound that is necessary to express flamenco. Compare Andres Segovia to Melchor de Marchena and you will get the idea. I keep my nails filed about even with the finger tips, except the little finger I like longer to help my SAMI rasqueado. Also my thumb nail I keep longer to give dynamics when using the upstroke. You may never find a way to have your nail perfect, but that won't stop you from playing flamenco. If your goal is to become a solo virtuoso flamenco guitarist, then it could be an issue, but to play correct sounding flamenco on the guitar, it is a problem that will fade in the background.

Practice scales using your thumb and ligatos more than using the IM picato. Falsetas using ligatos are much more difficult to play correct than a fast flashy picato and the ligatos are more expressive than the blur of cold rapid notes.

If you live near Tomas Jimenez you might consider taking one of his classes. You can watch brief videos of some of his classes posted on this forum. You will soon adopt his saying, "We said that we can do this."

Manos Lentas wrote:Comus, My opinion is somewhat different than the normal. First you must stop focusing on trying to learn to play virtuoso guitar using flamenco palos. Getting good tone and a clean sound should be way down on the list for now. Most important is doing a lot of listening and then trying to play simple falsetas and rhythms perfect for compas before moving on. It is not as important if your sound is dull and buzzy as it is that your timing and phrasing are correct for the palo you are playing. How one touches the strings is very different in classical and flamenco and most times the classical influences the flamenco and takes away the feeling necessary in flamenco. The focus is on a clean, sweet, and flowing sound, not the driving, dark, and dissonant sound that is necessary to express flamenco. Compare Andres Segovia to Melchor de Marchena and you will get the idea. I keep my nails filed about even with the finger tips, except the little finger I like longer to help my SAMI rasqueado. Also my thumb nail I keep longer to give dynamics when using the upstroke. You may never find a way to have your nail perfect, but that won't stop you from playing flamenco. If your goal is to become a solo virtuoso flamenco guitarist, then it could be an issue, but to play correct sounding flamenco on the guitar, it is a problem that will fade in the background.

Practice scales using your thumb and ligatos more than using the IM picato. Falsetas using ligatos are much more difficult to play correct than a fast flashy picato and the ligatos are more expressive than the blur of cold rapid notes.

If you live near Tomas Jimenez you might consider taking one of his classes. You can watch brief videos of some of his classes posted on this forum. You will soon adopt his saying, "We said that we can do this."

Thank you for your words of encouragment...i will consider all that you have said and try to put it into practice...i kinda got it into my head that i wasnt playing proper(sic) flamenco unless i played falsettas Picado style with index and middle finger...i have a very good training DVD called pumping nylon by Scott tennant it is primerilly for classical players but he has a good picado teqnique and lots of good exercises for finger strength and stamina etc.

I am really struggling with Compas and i not sure why...perhaps because andaluscian rytham does not come naturally to me
but i am working with it and i have flamenco metronome...so will continue to plug away..thanks for your time and effort manos

do you have a picture of your nail?

and you are not in such bad shape because at least it's not your thumb. so many things are primarily thumb work. and maybe try m,a picados.

check out this video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Vcf9K5BTNk

at_leo_87 wrote:do you have a picture of your nail?

and you are not in such bad shape because at least it's not your thumb. so many things are primarily thumb work. and maybe try m,a picados.

check out this video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Vcf9K5BTNk

Thanks Leo

I will attempt to photograph my nail so you can see what the problem is and post...or even draw a picture and post to illustrate the problem...also thanks for the link....i will check it out and take note

Hi Leo thanks for the link to the vid...but hat dosnt solve my problem i am aware that it is not the nail that forms the sound..so the length of the nail is not the issue.

the issue is that playing at speed the string runs along the space between nail and flesh incorrectly and even playing slowly the tone is all wrong due to the the way the fingernail hooks over the flesh allowing only limited access to nail and flesh.

if i try to file the nail to limit the hooking effect..then i run into the second problem..which is that existing nail exposed is cracked lenghttways so still no great sound

I have a similar problem, caused by pushing a string into its exactly right position slot on the bridge a few years ago.

When I perform, I normally apply a couple of layers of clear nail polish to that nail. It allows me to do what I need to do without affecting the sound very much and nobody notices.


Alan

Hola Comus,
I agree with Sam that technique is only one aspect of flamenco but of course from what you say this nail problem is really being a nuisance and may make it difficult for you to do anything much with that finger or to enjoy flamenco.
My personal opinion is that it may be worth considering a flamenco guitar teacher near to you of your choice who may be able to look at it and help think of a way to work with it.
Without seeing your nail my tendency would be to say avoid building a nail from chemicals etc and try to find an angle of playing and of movement which is not too bad.
As it is broken in to this shape ^ when you look from the end I imagine that it will be necessary to find a very short way together with maybe playing just off the corner of the nail as classical guitarists do. That is not great for a flamenco sound but if you lift the finger away from the string before each strike you may be able to get an impetus that helps to get a flamenco sound.
Using a brittle sounding string such as Luthier may also help to compensate for any roundness of tome that a very off the side approach may create.
Good luck with it.
Saludos
Tomas

I broke a mid-finger on my left hand.I finally went to a hospital that specializes in perfomer's in juires.
They took one look at me and laughhed and sent me home.

Anyway-have you tried the nail wrap places that are all over even small cities?
You can get someone else doing you finger-much easier than trying to use one hand to fix the other
You can get silk rap, nylon wrap, and combination and tell how you want it built up
The best part is that most of the "wrappers" are foreign emmigrants with little English and it's a trip to be a man walking in and asking that they do only one hand.