Finger Picking

[ReevesRd]

Ever since the pandemic, I have struggled with keeping my fingernails. What with alcohol wipes and the such, my fingernails have become brittle.

What do you do to keep your fingernails strong?

Do any of you use artificial nails?

I've read several articles and spoken to several finger-style players. But I wanted to throw out the topic here to see what some of you thought.
Thanks

 

[jedzep]

I found using collagen in powder form, 1 tsp stirred into any liquid every couple of days (I use low sodium V-8), strengthened my nails. When doctors said I'd lose a big toenail to fungus (sorry if you're eating), this surprisingly grew my nail back healthy (didn't lose it) during treatment. Then I noticed my fingernails benefitted. Found it on Amazon. It really is unflavored and truly dissolves completely.

 

[Westerly Wood]

I historically keep my nails trimmed and finger pick with my finger tips, vs the nails. I guess I just got used to it over the decades of this approach. IMHO, I would never want to glue anything unnatural to my fingernails.

 

[GGJaguar]

You had me at peptides.

 

[Rayk]

What do you do to keep your fingernails strong

I chew them off .

 

[Guildedagain]

Cutout ping pong balls and glue them to your nails ;[]

A) Stop using alcohol.

B) Use healing salve, put on nails heavy under gloves, let it soak in.

C) Some weird tips I picked up when obsessing over making nails thicker. Use lemon juice on them because it's good, possibly instead of alcohol.

Squeeze drops of garlic oil on them straight from the press and let it dry.

 

[Guildedagain]

Also, don't play guitar, it's just shreds nails, especially big strings on dreadnoughts, which brings to mind actually folk, silk strings, way easier on fingers/nails.

 

[ReevesRd]

I historically keep my nails trimmed and finger pick with my finger tips, vs the nails. I guess I just got used to it over the decades of this approach. IMHO, I would never want to glue anything unnatural to my fingernails.

I used to do this. It gives a different tone.

 

[walrus]

Previous thread about acrylic nails...

https://letstalkguild.com/ltg/index.php?threads/acrylic-fingernails.198525/

walrus

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

Big believer in collagen here!

After losing over 85 lbs, I had a lot of extra skin hanging off of me. One of the ways I read to remove this is to take collagen daily.

I've been taking 6 tablets of this a day for a couple of years and now I'm starting to see abs!



Side benefits are extremely durable nails and thicker hair!

 

[GGJaguar]

Side benefits are extremely durable nails and thicker hair!

My hair is probably too thinned out to be repairable, but it's worth a try.

 

[Prince of Darkness]

Probably not a lot of use, but a couple of interesting pages on finger nails and picking from the Zither Banjo website.

The zither-banjo web site

The zither-banjo web site

 

[Guildedagain]

Luckily no Zither fever here, yet, but fell for harpsichords pretty bad during the pandemic, looking ahead to not being about to "pound strings" as I got older, but had to hide it not play with wife in house because she knows I don't know that many weird 7th chords and even if I did they wouldn't sound as good.

 

[adorshki]

Also, don't play guitar, it's just shreds nails, especially big strings on dreadnoughts, which brings to mind actually folk, silk strings, way easier on fingers/nails.

Actually it's the thinner gauges that shred 'em. Ask me how I know. There was a time I wouldn't play the F65ce if I needed to keep my nails in good shape for some reason. Even using a pick, I still "hybridize" a little, so one way or another them nails'd get a mite shredded.

 

[Maguchi]

Ever since the pandemic, I have struggled with keeping my fingernails. What with alcohol wipes and the such, my fingernails have become brittle.

What do you do to keep your fingernails strong?

Do any of you use artificial nails?

I've read several articles and spoken to several finger-style players. But I wanted to throw out the topic here to see what some of you thought.
Thanks

I historically keep my nails trimmed and finger pick with my finger tips, vs the nails. I guess I just got used to it over the decades of this approach. IMHO, I would never want to glue anything unnatural to my fingernails.

Yeah, I tried with fingernails, but on a steel string my fingernails wouldn't hold up and would splinter eventually. I also tried cutting my fingernails short like on my fretting hand and used my fingertips. I like using the fingertips best for control and tone, but it was quieter and lower volume, so depending on the venue, I might have to amplify my acoustic. I also tried both plastic and metal fingerpicks and the volume boost was great, but it just felt awkward, slower. and less accurate

P.S. Hybrid picking is really cool too. I love using a regular pick held by the thumb and index finger and using my middle and ring finger to fingerpick.

 

[Prince of Darkness]

Luckily no Zither fever here, yet, but fell for harpsichords pretty bad during the pandemic, looking ahead to not being about to "pound strings" as I got older, but had to hide it not play with wife in house because she knows I don't know that many weird 7th chords and even if I did they wouldn't sound as good.

Must admit, I've been toying with the idea of getting an autoharp. A local market had one last two times I was there Main reason that I haven't bought it, is that I've not found time to learn to play my banjo yet (an old zither banjo) and wonder how long it would take me to get round to learning the autoharp!

 

[Bill Ashton]

Cutout ping pong balls and glue them to your nails ;[]

A) Stop using alcohol.

B) Use healing salve, put on nails heavy under gloves, let it soak in.

C) Some weird tips I picked up when obsessing over making nails thicker. Use lemon juice on them because it's good, possibly instead of alcohol.

Squeeze drops of garlic oil on them straight from the press and let it dry.

And just for those of you that do not know Clives's work, I will add this...

 

[jedzep]

Yep. One of the best! Here, have your mind blown!

 

[dreadnut]

I have just built up callouses on my picking fingers, mostly I just use my nails to backstroke the strings.

 

[adorshki]

Must admit, I've been toying with the idea of getting an autoharp. A local market had one last two times I was there Main reason that I haven't bought it, is that I've not found time to learn to play my banjo yet (an old zither banjo) and wonder how long it would take me to get round to learning the autoharp!

My dear departed gramma (on mama's side, wouldn't you know) played the autoharp. Well enough for the sound to enthrall my 4 year-old ears. My aunt told me she played it for her as she passed on, and it's mine in her will.

Gramma was a schoolmarm and had me reading in kindergarten. She tried to teach me how to play piano once, but I couldn't get past why the chords and progressions didn't make real words. Wassup wit dis limited alphabet?

When I got into guitar at 12, the folks bought me a classical and lessons as a sop to my real desire to get right into electric.

In retrospect, thanks folks. The first lesson was devoted to the ergonomics of the instrument and the fretboard layout: enabling full legato picking of the chromatic scale over 2 octaves. The ergonomic thing was a mind blower and maybe the single most important thing I ever learned about playing....