Hello everyone. I recently cut my nails since they were long and they were getting caught on my strings. Well, I cut them and the problem still hasn’t gone away. And I’m not sure what’s causing this problem. Please help.
3 Likes
I have nails on my first fingers (pointer) and thumbs which, when trimmed as closely as possible, are still right up to the edge of the finger, even a bit beyond it; in other words, no skin is exposed between the ends of those nails and ends of those fingers.
So, for plucking, I have to keep my first finger filed down as much as possible, to avoid it causing noise on the string. I can’t say it actually gets caught on the string if I don’t file it, but it sure makes an obnoxious noise if I don’t. Keep an emery board handy is my advice.
This nail problem does not affect using my fingers on my fretting hand, since I’m using the pads of the fingers. If you’re having the catching problem when fretting, I’m not sure what to advise, other than to keep them filed as closely as you can without causing pain.
6 Likes
Thanks for the advice. I’ll try filing them and see if that works. Btw, this is about plucking, not fretting. Just wanted to get that out the way 
4 Likes
Maybe change the angle of your wrist, so you change the angle that your fingers pluck across the string and rest on the next string.
make sure you are plucking across and not pulling up, away from the string you want to rest on after the pluck.
if you flatten your wrist a little, the angle of your fingers will point your fingernails up, away from the string, and if you pull thru the string, maybe you will miss your nail?
Don’t make an extreme adjustment, just a little, and try it out, and if it is still happening, adjust a little more, and keep adjusting a very small amount, until the problem goes away.
3 Likes
I’ve been noticing despite what I thought were cleanly trimmed nails my index finger gives a twang & all this time I thought it was my playing technique when it was a fingernail no more than 1/16th of an inch too long. Amazing immediate improvement after a good trimming.
1 Like
I think it’s the angle of your fingertip when you pluck a string.
Try consciously looking at your finger as you alternate pluck strings - slowly.
Don’t tense up or do anything out of the ordinary: just pluck, or chug, as you alternate pluck.
The point is to see/recognize what you’re actually doing.
I suspect, from what you’ve said, you’re hooking your finger at the first joint too much as you pluck. Try keeping it straight as you pluck across the string, not up the string.
It might work.
4 Likes
Actually its been combination of both of both hooking & fingernail. The second I severely shortened my index fingernail it mostly stopped except for occaisonally hooking the string as you said w/ a tensed up index finger.
For me, f I still get the fingernail twang, it’s because I haven’t filed my nail enough after clipping it. I file down as much as I can all around the nail edge.
For me it’s always the middle finger. I think where it is longer, and when plucking the same string as the index, it naturally tends to hook over a little. Easily corrected by dropping my wrist a little…when I remember! Problem is I used to play finger picking guitar and for that you have to do pretty much the opposite (and grow the finger nails!).
Yeah! This^^
It’s the angle of attack and the action. You’ll eventually need to practice both intentionally. It’s the raking motion and more importantly where your contact begins for me it’s at the meaty part of your fingers and not the tip. When you get better you can strike it anywhere but when you start focus of the meaty part.
Thinks sniper, sure headshots are cool but center mass is the protocol.
2 Likes
That turned dark fast.
3 Likes
Oh 
I was thinking ghost recon I play ha ha.
4 Likes