MITCH DALTON
The studio guitarist’s guide to happiness and personal fulfilment, as related by our resident session ace. This month: Fingernails.
Clytemnestra - “What nails thee, raising this ado for us?”(Aeschylus, possibly mis-heard). I can say with exaggeration that I’ve suffered for my music. And now it’s your turn. Because this month we turn to a critical question, one that wielders of ’59 Les Pauls cranked to 11 through Marshall JTMs rarely ask. But should. And that enquiry, my aurally challenged friends, is: “Hey Mitch, how do I produce a mellifluous tone from the Korean Spanish guitar languishing unloved in my boudoir?” The great virtuoso Andre Segovia, godfather of modern classical guitar, is frequently quoted as saying - “If you don’t possess good nails, then give up.” Mind you, his namesake Tony, who runs the hardware store in my village, begs to differ.
No matter. I must admit that my nylon-strung sensibilities are often offended when I stumble upon examples of scratchy acoustic renditions on TV and movie soundtracks. And my irritation is compounded when the instrument is clearly being given a thrashing by a plucker with a plastic plectrum.Having spent a number of decades attempting to acquire a serviceable classical guitar technique, I recognise that it’s outside the scope of this wee article to cram in a conservatoire’s worth of fax ‘n’ info. However, allow me to point you in the general direction of your local branch of Boots, an unlikely Mecca for guitarists' perquisites. Within this emporium you will discover the aisle marked ‘Nail Care’. Place three packs of ‘Salon Smooth Nail Files’ in your basket, followed deftly by three ‘Four-Way Blocks’ and a bottle of Nail Hardener (Patented Hardening Formula With Hexanal).
If you deem it prudent, place a copy of this month’s issue of International Body Builder strategically across the contents and head for Check Out. Avoid eye contact with the young lady at check out and her perfectly manicured bright green cuticles... and flee. Once back in the privacy of your own guitar salon, you should commence to file the nails of the picking hand using the emery boards provided. You will note that these are double sided. Use the coarse surface initially, followed by the finer side, to produce a smooth finish that follows the contours of your fingertips symmetrically. Leave enough fingernail to protrude above the flesh of the fingertip. You should finish by employing the four-way block in sequence - File - Remove Ridges - Smooth and Shine. The first of these operations may not be necessary since you have already, er… filed.
Back in the mists of time my professor - Carlos Bonell - would give me sheets of ultra-fine ‘Grade 0’ emery paper, as used in the jewellery trade. They’re also worth investigating in order to maintain the polished finish of the nails. Lest you conclude that the foregoing seems unnecessarily elaborate and time consuming, I must reply that the only point of contact between you and the guitar is the tip of your nail and the tiny area of adjacent flesh. It’s critical, to be fair. Should the unthinkable, cataclysmic disaster occur and you experience a breakage, perhaps during an over-enthusiastic rendition of the Tarrega Tremolo Study or a Smoke On The Water based incident, return to your boards, smooth away the remnant, and wait. ‘Tis all that you can do, sadly. Very rarely, a nail will split. And often it will continue to split, unless you apply the astutely purchased nail hardener and allow the depressing (but admittedly non-life threatening) injury to grow out while avoiding further damage. You are now prepped and
“LAST NIGHT I HAPPENED UPON AN EPISODE OF SHAKESPEARE & HATHAWAY AND WAS NOT COMPLETELY APPALLED AT MY EFFORTS”
ready to literally try your hand at both the tirando (free) stroke, in which the string is plucked and the nail glides over the adjacent strings, and the apoyando (rest) stroke in which the finger comes to rest on the adjacent string. The latter can provide a rounder, punchier sound and is ideal for romantic solo passages. If forced to select but one folio for your sojourn on an imaginary desert island, I suggest that you look no further than Twenty Five Melodious And Progressive Studies Op.60, by the great Matteo Carcassi to refine your technique and tone production.
Last night I happened upon an episode of Shakespeare And Hathaway and found myself not completely appalled by my efforts, admittedly assisted by the Kevin Aram guitar, Debbie Wiseman’s pretty tunes, Mat Bertram’s top-drawer engineering skills and the Boots inventory.
I started to reminisce. All the way back to Widows and much else for Stanley Myers (a Romanillos model), through to Colin Towns’s Doc Martin (Greg Smallman), Ms.Wiseman’s Father Brown and a whole bunch of movies, commercials and records in between. All I can say, dear readers, is, the guitars may change but the manicure stays the same.