How to Care for Guitar-Playing Fingernails

If you use your fingernails for playing guitar, you need to spend time on them every day. Since neglect can lead to damage quite easily, treat your nails as carefully as you would treat your guitar.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Nail file
• Nail clippers
• Nail buffing kit (optional)

How to Care for Guitar-Playing Fingernails

1. Decide on a length of nail that is appropriate for your own personal style.

2. File your nails every day to maintain that shape. Don't fall into the habit of only dealing with your nails when they get too long as your technique will suffer from the variation.

3. File each nail individually, making sure that no extraneous material hangs loose.

4. Clean the edges to be sure there are no imperfections which could catch on the strings.

5. Buff your nails using a buffing kit for the best results. The smoother your nails are, the cleaner each note will sound.

Tips & Warnings

• If you break a nail, consider using false nails. There are many styles, so find a style that suits your playing habits.

• Do not file your nails shorter than necessary. If your nails take too long to grow, you will lose valuable practice time.