If you fingerpick, you also know that fingernails are always developing rough, cracked or chipped edges. And, if you’re like the Former Me, you just reach for a nail file to deal with them. However, the Current Me has discovered the perfect response to fingernail surface problems: 3M 500-grit sandpaper. The grit is so fine that it feels like velvet to the touch, and it produces a flawlessly smooth surface on your fingernail edges. One place to get it is Strings By Mail (stringsbymail.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1320), 6 sheets for $4.99.
[photo: Kyknoord]
If you fingerpick, you know that Murphy’s Law decrees that you’ll break a fingernail right before a performance or recording session. Whenever it happens is always at the worst time. So it’s good to know that if you crack or tear a fingernail and the pieces are still attached, you can easily repair it by painting the nail with heavy-duty glue. My personal choice is Instant Krazy Glue in the brush bottle. If the glue alone doesn’t do the trick, layer a couple of layers of tissue paper and then glue. Looks wild but it works!
Fingerpicking can open a world of new possibilities for your playing. It allows you to break chords down to their individual notes and then deliver the notes in varying order with rhythm and syncopation. You can create intricate patterns, delicate or driving, that are captivating to listeners. I still remember being blown away by the talent of my 10-year-old friend Howie Hoffman at summer camp who could fingerpick lightning-fast patterns on his banjo. Here was a kid my own age who could wail! He immediately became a major inspiration behind my own desire to be a good player.