The December’s twanging is back again, so is E. Carulli. This time it is a waltz in the key of E major. If you were stubborn enough, you could probably even dance to this waltz .
This is my first recoding without fingernails (they keep breaking and it is very difficult to go about every day’s business and be careful to not damage or crack any). It is not easy to produce sound with just fingertips and after almost 2 years of having long fingernails the fingertips are very sensitive.
As the year is approaching it’s end it is clear to me that I won’t be able to complete the challenge within 12 months span, it is likely that it will stretch to February.
Delightful Radek! No fingernails but the tone of your guitar is always top! Hope it doesn’t sound selfish but now we all have two more months of your classical recordings As I’m sure we all love them!
Ok…constructive feedback: your right hand looks very graceful which to my student’s eyes means technique is good!
Radek, what a delightful listen! I enjoyed every second. So well played, wow!
Fingertips seem to work just fine at least it sounds very smooth and mellow.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Radek ,
beautifully played. … and that will take some time getting used to for you playing without fingernails, but not for us, it still sounds great . I’m glad I immediately started playing with short nails thanks to Justin’s words, it saves me a lot of hassle with keeping in shape and no stress if one breaks
Greetings
Beautifully played Radek. That was terrific.
On a technical point. Justin says your thumb should be in front of your fingers for fingerstyle. However your thumb is mostly behind your fingers and you can play beautifully. Just proves that we shouldn’t get hung up on rules!
How have I missed your posts before Radek? That was beautiful. It looks like you aren’t using a classical guitar either which is interesting. I am just starting to put my toe in the Classical waters but I have a long way to go, thanks for the inspiration.
Good to hear and see another of these exercises Radek, sounded exquisite. And good to my ears despite your move away from nails. After out last conversation on the subject mine too are shorter, which oddly works better on the Takamine. Tone sounds a little more rounded so if it works it works. I see Gordon mentioned the thumb but guess you will stick to what works for you and your thumb movements are quite small so you avoid snagging.
Looking forward to the next instalment !
Thank you Silvia, always happy to see your comments. Yes, at least two more months and then maybe another classical challenge with increased level of difficulty. As for the right hand, this is very kind of you, in my early recordings it was not so, perhaps over time everything finds it place?
Thanks Helen! Playing without long fingernails is now bit challenging but hopefully it will improve over time when and fingertips on the right hand start resebling those on the left hand .
Hello Roger . Thank you kindly. There is a practical aspect of “standard fingernails”, unless someone is a professional musician, they are very hard to maintain and it is very frustrating if one gets broken.
Thank you Gordon. Now when you mentioned, my thumb is indeed not where it should be by the definition. It could have something to do with my index finger movement, it moves a lot more comparing to how most people play. It was a source of my frustration for a while (I tried but couldn’t control it’s movement) but then I discovered French guitarist which fingers moved a lot more and it all sounded great.
Welcome Kim, thank you for the comment. No, I don’t own any classical instrument at the moment but it doesn’t stop me from trying. One great thing about classical music is that even complex pieces can be gracefully degraded to simple, approachable versions allowing clear progression in later stages. Good luck on your journey!
Thank you kindly Phil, happy that you enjoyed it .
Great to see your comment Toby! I remember our talk about fingernails shape, as it looks things have changed for me, mostly out of necessity. You are right, there are unexpected benefits of not having long nails when playing. There is no need to even out the edges before and while you play, notes can sound rough and sharp if the shape or the edge is not right, not a problem with fingertips. Two of my favourite fingerstyle artists also plays without long nails, it is encouraging to try.
Thank you Mal, I really appreciate it!
Thank you kindly Klint, it is nice to know that people still enjoy little bit of classic .
Thanks David, glad you liked it. It came better then expected after loosing all the fingernails few days earlier. I do miss them but it’s just life and practicality.
Thank you Stefan. The reason I cut off my nails were other activities and second hobby in particular (fencing). I suspect there are no nails that would survive such treatment .
Thanks Stefan. It is sort of old thing, I was in re-enactment group over 20 years ago so it was relatively easy to recall all the basics and drills. I started 2 months ago but I have a feeling it is getting more and more into my guitar routine. At some point I will have to make a decision.
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No fingernails but the tone of your guitar is always top! Hope it doesn’t sound selfish but now we all have two more months of your classical recordings 
As I’m sure we all love them!
… and that will take some time getting used to for you playing without fingernails, but not for us, it still sounds great 
