How to shape guitar nails

The use of fingernails on your right hand is key to producing a loud, clear and brilliant sound on a classical guitar. There is of course no single way that you should manage your nails as an acoustic or classical guitarist. Indeed, many classical guitarists opt not to go for the 'classical nail' because their profession outside of their guitar playing - whether this might be as a medic or a engineer - means that they must keep them shorter. However, for those who are able to have longer nails, they can become extremely useful as a means of getting the most out of the tonal colour of your instrument.

How to grow guitar nails

The nails that you will be looking to grow if you are a classical guitarist will be on the thumb, index, middle, and ring fingers. Generally, most people will need to grow their nails for around 1-2 weeks to have enough nail to shape and file down. The thumb nail will need to grow a bit longer, so you may need to grow it for a time period closer to 4-8 weeks. With your normal hand stance, the length of the thumbnail should be approximately the distance between the end of the thumbnail and the string.

How long should classical guitar nails be?

There are downsides to having your nails too short. You may create too much friction on your finger tips, and you might find it difficult to catch the string with your nail when plucking. However, with that said, it is a common misconception that longer nails amount to a better tone.

In fact, if your nails are too long, you can actually limit the tonal range you will be able to play with, since you will not be able to use a combination of nail and finger at contact point. Ideally, at contact point, you will be able to have both flesh and nail touch the string. With all this in mind, it is advisable not to let the nail grow more than around 2mm above the fingertip level.

Guitar nails shape

As mentioned above, the shape needs to be able to allow your finger flesh and nail to touch the string at the initial contact point. This will give you the ultimate balance of tone and control. What you are after with you finger nail shape is a nail which will not snag on the string. When the string is snagged in this way, the string will vibrate in a back-and-forth motion which will not give you the best sound. The rich tone that is sought after instead comes from there being a smooth release point, where the string slides off the nail and therefore activates the string in a circular vibrating motion.

As a result, although there are many different shapes you can go for, a general rule is that you do not want any sharp corners or pointy peaks which will activate these harsher, higher frequencies when they catch on the string. Instead, any smooth shape is more attractive. As a beginner, you might like simply to start with the smooth, half-moon type shape; more advanced classical guitarists might then want to move this rounded crest along to the right side of the nail (for right handers), whilst keeping it just as smooth.

How to file guitar nails

Once again, it is important to note that no two guitarists are the same, and so there is not one universal way to file your nails for classical guitar playing. However, when you go about filing your nails, you should be aiming initially to remove any sharp edges, whilst you create your chosen rounded shape with your file. To get the right nail edge, you should be filing at around a 30 degree angle, rather than square on the nail. The next basic step is to remove any excess material on the underside of your nails with a buffer. You will also want to remove any callouses on the skin with this buffer. Then, you will simply need to polish either side of the nail with sandpaper.

Guitar nails kit

There are lots of different tools for job, so it will always be advisable to explore the various options so that you can find the right ones for you. You will firstly want some kind of a file; these work a lot better than using clippers initially to shape your nail, as clippers won't be able to work with the natural curvature of your nail. For buffing, you will then want some form of nail paper; we have plenty of this in store for you to purchase, along with files. Emery boards or paper with finer abrasiveness is better than coarser surfaces which can serve to tear and damage the nail. If you have a look through the collection of accessories at the London Guitar Studio, you will see that we have some handy all in one kits which will give you all that you need not only for nail management but also nail repair.

Strengthening guitar nails

If you have soft or brittle nails, then fear not! There are certain products you can use which have been designed to strengthen your nails in just a few weeks. For example, nail repair oils can be purchased from London Guitar Studio. You simply need to apply a layer of it to your nails on two consecutive days and then apply the nail remover repair liquid on the third day, and this will help your nails be strong enough not to splinter or become damaged after a few weeks of treatment. If you do have a broken nail, you can also avail yourself of nail replacement kits which we also have here in-store. These can be used also to strengthen up a weaker or shorter nail.