Get Started With: Strengthening, Cultivating & Shaping Your Nails For Fingerstyle

It’s possible to play fingerstyle guitar with or without nails. Many players use plastic or metal thumbpicks. Some even use metal (less frequently plastic) fingerpicks—mostly for specialty instruments like Dobros, steel-body guitars, and resonator guitars, or to get a particular (steely) sound from their flattop guitar. Other players extend their natural nails with plastic nails or even cut-up Ping-Pong balls!

But here, guitarist Andrew DuBrock talks about nails—how to cultivate them and also keep them in tip-top shape.