> > > > That is a good question - although some people apparently do and > > did in the past. I actually play with short nails myself as I > > found my nails caught between the two strings of a course. > > Perhaps I am doing it all wrong! I started playing the vihuela > > first so didn't think it necessary to change my sort of lute-style > > technique (but thumb out rather than thumb in).
> I keep shortish nails myself, tapered down on the attack side. I prepare > the stroke and use a combination of flesh and nail. When playing early > thingies with courses of paired strings, I approach at an angle to > incorporate less nail and more flesh. > > Best, > Eugene I do understand you both about the use of nails, perhaps those guitarrists had a special way to prepare their nails... Funny that there is no mention of this practice on their treatises. Certainly, if they used nails it probably was in the way Eugene described above and not as classical guitarrists do believe... I really would like to study with Rolf Lislevand to underestand better the way the right hand works. > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > --
