? for the “nail” players

[Liam M]

Hopefully the Alaska Piks will be arriving this Saturday.

[Liam M]

Finally!!!

[Liam M]

Another!!

[jennifer-buehler]

You bite the strings? 🙂

[Audrey Nickel]

Oh Lord…my cat does that too!

[Karen Johns]

Hee Hee Hee- do you plan on growing your nails out all curved like theirs too? Imagine the ring you’d get from your strings!

[Audrey Nickel]

My lever harp shudders at the very thought!

Speaking of which, it’s interesting, but I’m already noticing an automatic difference in how I put my hands on each harp.

[Liam M]

I was just downstaris in the parlor and wanted to show my wife the next part of the song I decyphering, Oh Senor, but Clarsita was upstairs in my study…. So I picked up the faithful old Paki….and played her with my stubs in the wire claw. I am advancing so much faster with the claw that I believe I am totally ruined for the hitchhiker. It is proably just me, but my hands and wrists are extremely uncomfortable in the classic nylon posture. Playing is now a pleasure and not an effort.

I trimmed all of my nails back to even them out and start again. And I am anxiously awaiting the post to see if the Alaska Piks have arrived so I can trim a set up before I fly out again Sunday. I believe this time I will try and take Clarsita in the overhead, I have traveled with her in the plastic trunk…. but I want to try the overhead. Let’s see how it goes.

[Liam M]

The post has arrived… The Alaska Piks are here!!

[Audrey Nickel]

I picked up some Alaska Piks today at my local music store.

[Liam M]

Well I can grow accustomed to them. I believe they will work.

I ordered a full set of brass and a full set of plastic. I find the brass to be far more comfortable, the plastic were too tight and pulled considerably at my nail. I actually eft them on after I stopped practice and just tried to become used to them. I found I needed to soften the extreme edges of my nails slight;y to make the mounting easier, but once done the fit was quick and easy. I did pick up the habit of occasionally gripping my leg to ensure the Pik seating.

I need to practice quite a bit, but I found my strikes to be considerably more consistent. The sound with the brass was pleasant, but the plastic seemed to be more prone to being buzzed on the backside due to the greater thickness then the brass. I think I could tell whether plastic or brass was being used just by the sound… but I will test that theory later when my wife is willing to cooperate. (She is “Back in civilization” and needed to satisfy her urge to shop!!)

All in all, I think this may be a good solution for my particular case.

[Liam M]

Well I am back, been gone for a bit with a lot of travel and packing and unpacking.

The brass Alaska Piks are definitely my answer. Although it takes some getting used to and when not properly formed, they actually hurt… they are worth the effort.

I am now attacking the lead in to House of the Rising Sun… which had eluded me before because of the stretch between the notes and a curious phenomena I have noted concerning my nails, they curve when grown out.

I am learning that this is possibly genetic or a diet deficiency. In any event, it causes the string to be caught and “Plucked” when struck, rather then a smooth release with a pleasant tone. Rapid scales with significant space between the notes, such as in Rising Sun exacerbated the plucking effect and caused even my ears to shout for relief. Now with the non curving Alaska Pik, I find I can slide off the string smoothly creating a much pleasanter tone which I can modulate the amplitude of far easier.

In forming the Piks, I chanced upon a trick to transport and store them as well. I have them numbered to correspond to the finger they are shaped for and I marked them red and blue with my Sharpies that I use for my strings. Well looking at the Sharpy, I realized it would be an excellent anvil to shape the Pik… and then progressed to keeping the Piks neatly stored on the marker when not in use. Even the thumb Pik which is the largest slides right under the markers pocket clip and the rest slide on in order after it.

It takes a minute of two to mount the Piks, but it is worth it. Still trying to bring my thumb into play more and not use the pinky, (Ok I confess, I bought 5 Piks for each hand!!), but my tempo has increased and I find striking the nots to be far easier.

Oh and my nails? I have not broken a single one since the Piks arrived, they are all behaving!!

[Liam M]

Oh and Karen, I had my finger pads doused in Super Glue and they still hurt! How do you do it?

[Liam M]

I am watching a MySpace of Jochen Vogel Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and I hear a struck note sharpening like a guitar!!!!

[bernhard-schmidt]

Liam,

but this is a known effekt for harpist.

Nice that you listen to Jochen Vogel harpmusic. He is our well known metall player her in Germany.

Regards

[Author]

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