 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Sarah
Date: 2000-06-27 19:32
I'm going into 7th grade and I have long nails... I played in band in 6th grade w/out long nails... wil long nails affect my playing?
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Author: paul
Date: 2000-06-27 20:38
I'll skip all of the aesthetic problems of scratching and scraping a perfectly good horn and cut to the chase.
In my opinion, having long nails will adversely affect your clarinet playing. You might want to consider having your nails only as long as you can tolerate for typing on a keyboard.
Extra long nails may affect your speed of fingering, your accuracy of fingering, and they may limit you on some of your options for fingering strategies. Further, the ideal angle for holding your fingers (slightly curved and ready for action) may be compromised with long nails.
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2000-06-27 20:54
Sarah wrote:
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I'm going into 7th grade and I have long nails... I played in band in 6th grade w/out long nails... wil long nails affect my playing?
Sarah -
If they do, they do. If they don't, they don't. The only way to tell is to try. In theory, long nails might slow down your fingers with extra weight, or make you hold fingers crooked to get your fingertips on the holes and keys, but this is one time when no one can answer the question except you.
For what it's worth (and remember, I'm a guy), I've always kept my nails very short. It's what feels good for me.
Keep playing.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Amber
Date: 2000-06-27 23:31
Ditto for me!! I hate having long nails while playing! I have a clipper in my case it bothers me so much. But how long is too long is different for each person! I know of one girl who keeps her nails long, and she plays very well, but you can hear her nails clattering on her clarinet when she plays. Very distracting and she has lost first chair a few times partly because of this! She is now seriously thinking of cutting them. I keep telling her she can use mine, but she chickens out at the last second. But she is coming closer. I hope for her sake she does!
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Author: Contragirl
Date: 2000-06-28 03:01
Nails are pretty bad, I've noticed. It's kind of annoying when your pinky nail is pressed on when you have to play. Too much of a tangle and mess trying to play with nails.
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Author: Eoin
Date: 2000-06-28 08:00
Sacrifice your nails to the music!
I played guitar for years and went round with long nails on one hand, short on the other!
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Author: Lelia
Date: 2000-06-28 16:59
I notice right away when my pinkie finger nails grow out, especially. Hate that clicking! I play the piano, too, and spend a lot of time on the computer keyboard, so long nails would be way more trouble than they're worth for me. When I was in junior high and high school, long nails were very fashionable, but I actually liked being different, because to me, keeping my nails short was a way of making a definite commitment to music and writing -- and showing off the commitment.
You could look around the room at the fingernails, at an orchestra concert or a piano recital, and see right away who was serious and who wasn't. The teachers noticed, too. I remember once when I was scared to death before a recital, because I had to play right after a girl who was several years older than me and looked a lot more sophisticated. My teacher whispered scornfully, "Look at those *nails*. Don't worry about *her*...." The girl did have a lovely long set of decorated claws (white frosted polish was "in" that year...) and they clicked like little castanets! Very distracting! I didn't play well at all, alas, but at least I didn't *click*!
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Author: Dee
Date: 2000-06-28 22:46
Lelia wrote:
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... You could look around the room at the fingernails, at an orchestra concert or a piano recital, and see right away who was serious and who wasn't. The teachers noticed, too.
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Yes they most definitely notice how you look for a performance. My daughter and I had to have long black dresses to wear in one concert band that we belonged to. Shortly after that, we moved to a new state and she had her first high school music contest. For that contest, she decided to wear that dress, simple hose and comfortable black shoes, and to wear her hair in a simple chignon. Her judge noted right on the form that she "looked very professional." She got a I on her solo. Now she did play well but the image didn't hurt her any and if she was borderline would have made the difference.
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Author: Robin
Date: 2000-07-01 08:12
Interesting discussion!
When I was three, for reasons that I do not know, I put my left hand into the food processor. The surgeons did a great job. My pointer and index finger are just a little mis-shapen. But...the nails of these fingers protrude over the end of the fingers, and it is impossible to cut them back like the others.
Now, while long nails are something you might want to avoid if they are such for cosmetic purposes (for the reasons descirbed above), I have had no technical difficulty with my nails. As far as I am concerned, a "healthy curve" of the fingers shouldn't have the nails anywhere near the keys - even if they are longish.
I have seen many clarinet players get serious RSI partly for the reason that they had overly curved fingers. When I flattened my fingers a little, I realised just how much tension was involved in keeping them curved. I'm not advocating slack, dead-flat fingers, but I do recommend just checking how much tension you use in keeping your fingers curved - you may be surprised!
Robin.
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Author: tree
Date: 2000-07-03 02:41
Your pinky nails will get caught on the keys and bend....and man does it hurt!!!!!!! I'm speaking from experience tree
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Author: DLE
Date: 2000-07-05 10:22
Robin has a very good point. In fact you all do.
MY point is that like someone before me (I think it was Dee), I play the piano as well as the clarinet, so I need to cut my nails to play the piano properly anyway. I've never actually worried about nails with the clarinet before though - this is new territory.
What Robin has said has got me a little worried about my technique whilst playing the clarinet. I do keep my fingers very curved whilst playing the clarinet and I do get pins+needles in my hands from time to time, but I've never complained about it before. My teacher says that my technique is bad and that my hand is too stiff. Because I don't pay attention to my nails on the clarinet, I don't 'feel' the instrument whilst I'm playing it - unlike the piano. Nails must be a contributing factor then... hugh!
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