Nail polish

[unknown-user]

I found this amusing, the harp can touch so many areas of your life…

I painted my nails to help keep them strong, and the fact that they are a different color (and also very shiny) is distracting me while I play! I don’t pay attention to the sheet music while my fingers are glinting across the strings… 😉

It was great to help with finger positioning though, I was able to clearly see when my fingers weren’t pointed downward (and thumbs upward).

Anyone else have a similar experience?

I actually hate painting my nails and I only did to keep them healthy, hoping that in the long run it would help my harp playing and the appearance of “harp hands”.

And I of course have the sense to remove the polish if it becomes a major problem, but for now I found it amusing as I realized I was playing a song from memory and just watching my hands!

God bless!

— Natalie

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

Your nails should be plenty strong if you have a regular diet, without adding polish. Because they are such a visual nuisance, polished nails are considered a no-no. The polish also thickens the nails enough to cause more buzzing.

[unknown-user]

Oh I used to be a nail-biter. I’ve stopped for quite awhile now, but my nails were shorter than my fingertips. This meant if they grew just a tiny bit they’d catch on the strings. I’m trying to grow them to my fingertips and get them to re-attach to the nail bed. It’s working well except for the colorful distraction, it’s actually helping me a great deal with finger positioning though. Now if my finger is slightly off my nail will catch the string, and in just a few days I’m starting to finally adjust to proper pedal harp arm and hands position. Hopefully in a few week I can remove the polish and file my nails back into place.

[jessica-wolff]

Generally, painting your nails is not likely to keep them healthy; just the opposite. Aesthetically, the subtlest of semitransparent tones is the least disturbing (for a musician, I mean).

I have a different nail problem; I have longish nails on one hand (play guitar and banjo as well as harp). Yes, it sounds scratchy on the harp. But I defy you to play a fast tremolo on the guitar without nails. The usual devices are not an option, not with classical guitar.

[unknown-user]

Oh I know, I hate painting my nails because of the extremely unnatural ingredients. But my nails would rip if they got wet, so washing dishes and taking a shower became problems. The nail polish forms a “shield” and keeps them from ripping when they get wet. I can’t wait for them to get a little stronger and then I can take all this polish off!

I’ve heard about that, I imagine nails must sound better than a pick. Classical guitar is beautiful!

— Natalie

[tony-morosco]

If using polish is necessary isn’t there clear polish? At least then you won’t be distracted by the color.

[unknown-user]

Yes but I ran out and I’ve had a crazy week and haven’t been able to get to a store yet. But yes, I was definitely going to switch to that once I could. I don’t understand why girls do this for fun, I may be the only girl who doesn’t like it but I still think it’s pointless!

— Natalie

[Sheena Hudson]

That’s really nice and very interesting. 🙂
I just wish I could play the harp though.
I have been wanting to learn to play it but have been too busy or lazy to do so. 🙁

[unknown-user]

Thank you! I love getting comments from people interested in the harp. I’m the only harpist aside from my teacher that I know of nearby, so I tend to be pretty chatty on these forums. 😉

It took a year or two of constant “harping” (forgive the cheesy pun) on my mother to convince her to even look into playing the harp. She sent out an email to our homeschool group just to appease me, and my wonderful teacher replied enthusiastically. Thanks to God I found a little lap harp and started playing, just for fun. It really proves there is a God, because there is no understandable reason as to why an 11 year old girl who had never shown that much interest in music suddenly refused to let the harp go. It took over 4 years for my whole family (including my church family) to save up for a pedal harp! I’ve been playing pedal harp for a little over a year now, and I’m actually diligently practicing for the first time in all these years. So there’s the short story on how I got a harp.

I remember wanting to play very badly but not even having a harp yet. Do you have one? If I didn’t have a teacher I’d get nothing done, so maybe the secret to learning would be to have lessons? When I started out I told my teacher I wanted to learn for fun and possibly get jobs in the future playing at weddings. I told her I didn’t have to be a pro and she respected that. Now I’m thinking about maybe getting more serious, and she adjusts the lessons accordingly. Finding a good teacher is like finding something more valuable than gold, you just can’t replace them!

Thanks so much for the response!

— Natalie

[Sarah Mullen]

I always wear nail polish when I’m performing.

[Annette McMullen]

As the mother of a harpist and a long-time lover of the harp, I have to say that nail polish, except where it blends in with the natural color of the nails, is distracting for the audience as well as the harpist.

[brianna-halpern]

Its really nice to see a harpist that’s doesn’t think wearing nail polish is a mortal sin. I agree with Sarah. My advice would be once you pick those nude tones, don’t use a top or base coat (or anything with high shine or sparkles). I find this cuts back on the infamous buzzing. True, it won’t last as long, but you can always paint them later. I think the most distracting thing to a harpist that wears polish is when your polish chips. I tend to fixate on it if there is a large chunk of color missing. I like to use a nail laquer or even a peel-off nail polish so if there is a blemish, I can just peel the whole thing off

[shelby-m]

I’m a total girly-girl to the bone.

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

I personally find it very unpleasant to see a harpist performing with

[brianna-halpern]

Funny you should bring that up. I find it interesting when people bring up the word “distracting” when talking about cosmetics in any type of a performance. I guess it depends on what type of venue the polish is intended for. The only circumstance I could see polish being a problem would be anywhere my performance will be judged professionally. There was one time I jokingly asked my conductor if I could perform for the class while wearing a trench coat and a bowler hat. He said “When you can play like Harpo Marx, I’ll let you wear the coat.” He had a point. If someone is talented enough to be in situations where their hands really are being watched that closely, and their performance is SO good that the only way for the judges to knitpick your score is to scrutinize your “distracting” nail color, there’s a good chance they are talented enough to pull off whatever color they want in a more casual setting or one with the audience so far away their fingernails could not be seen. Where’s the line? Whether its nail polish, a tattoo you just can’t hide, or a whacky Mohawk, is it safe to say what really matters is if the player is comfortable enough to put on their best performance?

[Author]

Posts