playing wire harp and nylon/flurocarbon

[Sherri Matthew]

Two things: first, wait a few days for it to grow back sufficiently so I can do something with it (mine grow fast), second, rotate my hand slightly while playing so to hit the wire with a part of the nail that I haven’t trimmed away. As it grows back I just trim it overall so it’s nicely rounded and won’t break again or snag.

With my playing, I tend to rotate my hands a little anyway so I get a slightly different sound depending on which part of the nail strikes the string. They curve on the ends for some reason. So I can kind of hide the shorter nail in my playing technique that way. I know what you mean though… a shorter nail means a duller sound.

[randal]

Yes, altering and modifying attack angle, and playing with salvaged nail remnants…I know it well ! I was as much athlete as musician…one simply cannot play b-ball and expect to not lose nails : (

Btw, my apologies to Deb–I’ve taken over your thread talking about my gouged harp and my fingernails!

[deb-l]

randal, are you able to play classical guitar with nails on the left hand? I was thinking it may be possible to play left with fingerpads and dampen. thanks for taking up the thread, it’s been an interesting read and I’ve learned a lot about wire harps

I’m curious about classical guitar, does it take many years of lessons to learn? I love classical but I enjoy teaching myself, figuring things out on my own which is why I play folk. But I listen to classical. I thought of getting another flute (sold mine to pay for harps) which I took lessons for and practiced regularly for years. I could even play some Piazolla and whatever classical I wish on flute, folk on lever harp. Actually flute and wire harp make a nice combination too..

[randal]

Nails are pretty much anathema to playing fingerboard instruments–because we use our finger TIPS in fingering these instruments. So, no, I’m not able to play guitar WELL or the other fingerboard instruments, properly. Although i can fudge a bit angling my fingers and using the pads more–this is neither particularly effective nor fun, for me, having come up studying in the classical/technically rigorous manner…i’ll play the banjo a bit , and citterns and bouzoukis…and try to keep my left hand nails at a reasonable length to enable SOME facility. Nails interefere especially with playing “fretless” fingerboard instruments–like violin and oud: with frets, the string is actually “stopped” by the fret–the finger applying pressure to the string against the fret…but without frets “stopping” the string, the physical aspect of the finger upon the string is different–requiring the technically correct oblique angle of the finger on the string, and use of the finger tip. (there are playing techniques in certain fingerboard stringed instruments–such as some “old-time” banjo playing, and I believe sarod, where an alloy fingerboard is used in conjunction with fingering with the nail to accentuate glissando and portamento effects, etc). This has been a thoughtful and deliberate transition, to wire harp, for me as I’ve recently been studying oud–for which nails really preclude any serious attempt (as with fiddle, there’s just not room on the fingerboard to permit much fudging of fingering technique)

WRT learning and “how long?” and so forth…like all such things–there are many variables to consider, but early pedagogy does provide nice easy pieces that are enjoyable to play and sound nice. I don’t think enjoyment is necessarily predicated on advanced repertoire; there are many idiomatic approaches that are easily accessible, fun, and nice-sounding on guitar…probably one reason for its immense popularity. It’s an instrument that accommodates a casual approach and recreational playing. I found quite a bit of commonality between the guitar right hand and harp technique: aside from the many overt and nuanced differences, fundamentally the fingers upon the strings and many techniques felt quite natural to me immediately

You should play flute again! I dabble a little with keyless flute–it’s “within me” as woodwinds were my first instrument(s); I actually got back into flute as an alternative to English concertina–a lovely instrument, but I could never get on with the alternating-hands scalar system of EC, which to me isn’t intuitive like woodwinds, strings, or Anglo concertina

[deb-l]

I’ve played mandolin, viola, cello, flute. I loved the flute, but I always longed to play a string instrument. Cello and harp are my two favorites. I’m not sure if cello is harder than harp or just harder for an adult to learn. The only instrument I can’t give up is lever harp. Not for pedals.. and not for wire : )

[Author]

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