• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Nail separation in plucking fingers

Insederec

Insederec

Dec 10, 2012
152
146
29
San Antonio, TX
#1
My right hand technique is an odd case. I've got a 90 degree hitchhiker's thumb, the last joints in my right hand collapse (I have tried a more "proper" bent fingers approach which does work but no matter how I trim my nails all I can hear is a very bright and sharp sound of my nails and I can't get any sort of volume out of it without slowing down to a crawl, so instead I angle my hand back to get the meat to hit it, which collapses the joints, which slows me down also but not as bad), and (sort of the heart of the issue?) my fingernails separate from the nail bed, at least from the way I play. It's mildly uncomfortable but it never becomes inflamed or bleeds or anything like that, I can just see the white part that extends out of the nail bed creep inward about a millimeter or so. Sometimes it just makes me want to play with a pick so it doesn't hurt, even if I'm playing funk. I think the separation is not because when I hit the string the string pulls it, but more like the pad of my finger does some unknown thing and it pushes the skin in just the right way. I do think it happens to a bigger degree when the tip of the pad of my finger grazes the string though.

I've played for 9 years and it's always been this way, although the nail thing is in the past couple years because I've gotten confident enough to really dig in when I pluck. Can anybody give me any advice to fix my technique, and does anybody else have the problem with the collapsing joints? Maybe I just haven't practiced the "right way" enough and once I work on it it will be fine.
 
Last edited:
#3
Sure.

nail.jpg
fingers.jpg


EDIT: Man, I should probably clean my bass.
 
#4
My joint doesn't bend like yours so no pressure on my nails. Try keeping your joint straighter.

Also, some vitamins like B12 and D3 helped my nails in general along with some whole milk every day.

Playing with a pick will get it done.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Lvjoebass
#5
I can see from the photos that you have unusual technique, and that you are playing with way too much force. A few suggestions in no particular order:

1. Have your bass set up so it is comfortable and easy to play. (I can't tell this from your photos.)

2. Take some lessons. I'm not a believer that there is one size fits all "correct" technique. But I do believe there is such a thing as "incorrect" technique. Specifically, I would like to see your plucking fingers straighter and more relaxed, and also maybe stop using your thumb as a firm "anchor."

3. Turn up your amp MUCH louder, and play with a MUCH lighter touch. As in, 10% or less of the amount of force you are currently using.

4. Nothing wrong with using a pick.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Mystic Michael and Lobster11
#7
Insederec said:
My joint doesn't collapse quite as much as in the picture, I exaggerated to demonstrate, but you are still probably right. I did take lessons a long while back, but I've been thinking it would be good to do it again if I can afford it.
Click to expand...

I have the same 180 thumb, collapseable finger joints and weak nails.

You have to concentrate on arching your fingers so it doesn't happen. Keep a little positive tension in your finger muscles. Right now what you're doing is the equivalent of running in a way that hyperextends your knees. You have to keep them bent a little. Don't let them flop back until they stop on their own. It is doable, but takes effort to get it to be automatic eventually.

Keep your nails cut short. Like never ever past the tip of your finger. That plus good right hand technique will get rid of the problem.

Keep your left thumb in mind too. Having that collapse behind the neck will give you all sorts of problems with your finger tendons.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rabidhamster
#8
lz4005 said:
(snip)
Keep your nails cut short.
(snip)
Keep your left thumb in mind too. Having that collapse behind the neck will give you all sorts of problems with your finger tendons.
Click to expand...
What you see is as long as they ever get. And as far as my left hand, you're exactly right. I find that the joint in my left pinky also collapses, which is partially because it's difficult to get my thumb in the right position. Having it perpendicular to the neck is actually impossible for me because my thumb refuses to bend that way, so it has to be diagonal or horizontal, making my fingers want to point toward the body. I've been working on making sure they point upwards, like you do with classical guitar.
I've got a lot to learn. Having a teacher is sounding better and better the more I think about it.
 
#9
Insederec said:
What you see is as long as they ever get. And as far as my left hand, you're exactly right. I find that the joint in my left pinky also collapses, which is partially because it's difficult to get my thumb in the right position. Having it perpendicular to the neck is actually impossible for me because my thumb refuses to bend that way, so it has to be diagonal or horizontal, making my fingers want to point toward the body. I've been working on making sure they point upwards, like you do with classical guitar.
I've got a lot to learn. Having a teacher is sounding better and better the more I think about it.
Click to expand...

The solution to the left hand is to use correct technique, in terms of minimal thumb pressure. It is there to give stability and/or a pivot point to your hand, not to aid in the force used to push down on the strings at all. Ever.

An exercise I have my students do is to play a song they're familiar with without touching the back of the neck at all. You should be pulling back gently with your arm, not clamping with your hand.

If you can hold a crispy taco without crushing it or dropping it you can use correct hand pressure on a bass.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Insederec and Mushroo
#13
I keep the first knuckle on my plucking fingers mainly straight with a slight curve. All of the "plucking" movement comes from the second knuckle and the "force" of the attack comes from the finger/hand joint.

As far as where I hit the string with my finger, I start a little farther towards the fleshy part and end before it stars to curve back towards the top of the finger.
Here is a picture:
IKwQqtW.jpg


And my bass is just as dirty :)
 
#15
Play lighter. That happens to mine only when I play way too hard or too much. You need to have a good setup that is low enough.

Try the "floating thumb," where your thumb extends down over the strings you're not playing (like if you are playing a note on the D string, the thumb is what is muting the E and A). I find that straightens out my wrist more and puts my playing fingers at a more natural curve. Lowering your whole hand closer to the bass means that when you're playing , and pulling your finger across the string to land on the next (you are doing that now), it doesn't back-bend that joint as much.

Good luck. Technique can be an ever-changing thing over the decades.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Spacecase
#17
things that make your nails stronger ... vitamins ... filing versus cutting ...

i've played piano since i was 6 ... 53 yrs later , still have super short , pretty much no nails ... my calluses are thicker than my nails ( white part ) ...

maybe a small hand exercise ball ... work on those finger muscles ..! bending your knuckles in strange ways really hurts later on when you get arthritis ..!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Watchootognbout
#19
Try this. Touch the tip of your thumb to the tip of your fore finger.
Now push them into each other til the fore finger collapses. How much force did you have to exert?

Now reduce that til the first joint doesn't collapse.

Reduced it til you don't have an indentation in either thumb or finger tip.

Now reduced it a bit more.


You shouldn't need to put any more force into your picking fingers then that.
 
#20
Insederec said:
My right hand technique is an odd case. I've got a 90 degree hitchhiker's thumb, the last joints in my right hand collapse (I have tried a more "proper" bent fingers approach which does work but no matter how I trim my nails all I can hear is a very bright and sharp sound of my nails and I can't get any sort of volume out of it without slowing down to a crawl, so instead I angle my hand back to get the meat to hit it, which collapses the joints, which slows me down also but not as bad), and (sort of the heart of the issue?) my fingernails separate from the nail bed, at least from the way I play. It's mildly uncomfortable but it never becomes inflamed or bleeds or anything like that, I can just see the white part that extends out of the nail bed creep inward about a millimeter or so. Sometimes it just makes me want to play with a pick so it doesn't hurt, even if I'm playing funk. I think the separation is not because when I hit the string the string pulls it, but more like the pad of my finger does some unknown thing and it pushes the skin in just the right way. I do think it happens to a bigger degree when the tip of the pad of my finger grazes the string though.

I've played for 9 years and it's always been this way, although the nail thing is in the past couple years because I've gotten confident enough to really dig in when I pluck. Can anybody give me any advice to fix my technique, and does anybody else have the problem with the collapsing joints? Maybe I just haven't practiced the "right way" enough and once I work on it it will be fine.
Click to expand...

is that Index finger plucking in the picture? if so move your hand up.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back