Making Fingerpicks for Portuguese Guitar: PART 1

[AGLightner]

This is great. I must say, for something as potentially obscure as the need for Portuguese finger picks, I am pumped to have found this series. you nailed it.

I'm just starting out, but thanks to this video, I saw an old pill bottle and thought AHA! I can use this.

also, the slide in intro shot is priceless. it's posts like this that really make me appreciate the internet. Thanks again.

[mrmoose33]

i just learned something pretty cool today

[FernandezMusic]

@mrmoose33 I'm glad you found this interesting. Ron.

[Hoopermazing]

I dig dude's Papa Geppetto hand tool... but not having that vice bolted or clamped to the table is very curious.

[FernandezMusic]

@Hoopermazing Dear Pinocchio, The vice I used in this video is one I commonly use to work on bone saddles and nut. The idea of attaching the vice to a plank of wood is not my idea, I took the idea from an old guitarmaker. I used this "vice on a plank" for the video because it allowed me to show the operations most clearly. I should have bolted it down for the video. If I were working alone I would probably just put the wood into the vice on the end of my work bench. Regards, Papa Gepetto.

[geoffreyefloyd]

@FernandezMusic do you sell these? I've been trying to find a nail substitute for literally 5 years...and haven't even come close. I would love to have these for fingerstyle playing. Id probably play way more guitar again, havent really touched it much for several years haha.

Geoffrey

[FernandezMusic]

@geoffreyefloyd Hi. I do not sell these picks. You must custom make them for your fingers and thumb. That is why I show the method for creating a template with a piece of cardboard. Regards, Ron

[geoffreyefloyd]

@FernandezMusic I guess I can see that you would need to customize them quite a bit...hmm is it possible to buy these somewhere? You mentioned in your video that they were sold somewhere.

Regards,

Geoffrey

[FernandezMusic]

@geoffreyefloyd The picks I show how to make are not available any place--you must make them. There are similar over the nail picks from Alaska Piks (spelled with a "k" and no "c"). They are made in the US and available on line.

[geoffreyefloyd]

@FernandezMusic gotcha thx for the help. Can you also tell why the alaska pik is not suitable for that lisbon style? Is it because theres like...some brushing of the strings with your finger?

[FernandezMusic]

@geoffreyefloyd The index unha for Coimbra style is the shape of your natural finger while the index unha for Lisbon style has a 90 or 120 degree edge. The Coimbra style mainly uses a rest stroke, while the Lisbon style mainly uses a free stroke.

[vibratingstring]

Wait a minute--that was the wrong thumb!

[vibratingstring]

This is interesting to watch and really fun to hear the finished result.

But your vise jumping around on your bench makes me cringe! :-)

[fretlessfrailer]

Could one use traditional finger & thumbpicks for the Portuguese guitar?

[FernandezMusic]

@fretlessfrailer If you want to play in the authentic Portuguese Style you need to use strong fingernails or the special picks I show in my 2 videos. The reason the traditional American steel string picks are not appropriate is that you cannot do the DEDILHO stroke with the index finger. The dedilho (in Spanish dedillo) is a back and forth stroke with the index finger. Also the American style picks do not allow you to hold your right hand in the traditional manner.

[JeremyMoar]

would these be ideal for playing a song such as ocean by the john butler trio? I;m 16 and looking for an alternative to growing my nails long

[FernandezMusic]

@JeremyMoar Hi, I have been traveling so I could not answer sooner. If you are playing an American type steel string guitar I recommend the use of Alaska Piks. You can see them on my Fernandez Music website in the Portuguese guitar lesson. You can find Alaska Piks on-line.

[sirjames45]

Thanks for the info!! 1. I would like to try these for electric guitar.

2.Where can one buy a portuguese Guitar?

I have tried to find one on the internet, but I can't find one.

[FernandezMusic]

@sirjames45

Hi. I am the main importer in the North America for Portuguese guitarras. I am in California. Look up my website: Fernandez Music.

These professional style Portuguese fingerpicks can work for electric guitar. They are quite different from Traditional American style fingerpicks

[faunoram]

you made a great job doing this tutorial but theres some poeple that dont understand a thing and dont appreciate your effort !

cheers !

saludos !

[FernandezMusic]

@faunoram

Thank you for your comment. I put a lot of work into the video. The method I show is the result of much practical experience. Some of the commentators understand what I am showing while some others missed the point. Those who missed the point confused these unique Portuguese style fingerpicks with commercially made fingerpicks for American steel string guitars. Obrigado.

[educassiano]

Amzaing. Could we use these for standard classical guitar as well?

[FernandezMusic]

While I use these special fingerpicks (called unhas in Portuguese) on the Portuguese guitarra, I never use them on classical and flamenco guitars. These fingerpicks are best for metal strings--they help produce a loud sound and protect the fingertips. In contrast, the Spanish method of playing nylon-string guitars involves a combination of the nail and the flesh of the fingertip--such a technique allows great control of tone color.

[skaterfied01]

Why not just keep your actual finger nails on your plucking finger at a decent length?

[FernandezMusic]

I am showing the type of finger picks used by professional Portuguese guitarra player as currently used in Lisbon and Coimbra. For anyone playing many hours a night natural fingernails are too soft and break easily. Also these picks produce a louder sound than the fingernails. My research shows that professional player sin Portugal have used such artificial nails since at least 1890. Early ones were made of tortoise shell, thin metals and cellulose.

[skaterfied01]

Do your fingers not get sweaty and make the tape come off?

[FernandezMusic]

Sweaty fingers do not seem to be a problem because we use surgical tape. Some players use an elastic chord.

[p1rha]

@skaterfied01 You still have to grow you nails a bit to support the plastic nails. And Mr. Fernandez, we don't make the nails, we just buy them in a music store like you buy guitar picks, at least for Coimbra style which is the only one i know. Maybe they made them 20-30 years ago, but nowadays you buy them for 40 cents each.

Some people have different nail/finger shapes and like to mould the artificial nail after they buy it. They usually use boiling water, but i suppose a flame is also ok.

[sillybros96]

buyin all dat stuff might as well go out and buy a real fingerpick

b/c it cost a whole lot less then burners saws and machines so thats just what i will do

[FernandezMusic]

You should note that this type of fingerpick is NOT like those used by acoustic guitar player. It fits under the fingernail so it is an extension of the natural fingernail. The reason I posted this was because there are no commercially available picks with a 90 or 120 degree edge which is essential to play the Lisbon style of Portuguese guitarra. If you watch Part 2 of this video you will see that you can make this style of fingerpick very simply from a prescription drug container.

[FernandezMusic]

If you want to play American steel string guitar these picks are not what you need and you should buy commercially made fingerpicks. In Portugal all of the professional make their own picks, some use polypropylene or acrylic and some even use tortoise shell. I am showing this as a method for making authentic Portuguese style picks which must be custom made, not for making American style fingerpicks which are easily available at any music store.

[MorkaGraven]

I have the EXACT same caliper/vernier. :D

[Otavio987]

oh ok =D i will let my fingernails grow =DD

[Otavio987]

is there a problem if i play with these finger picks in my classical guitar?

[FernandezMusic]

When I play classical guitar I use my natural fingernails because I get the quality of sound I want. You could try but I expect that you will not like the sound of the picks against the nylon strings. When I play the Portuguese guitarra I use these fingerpicks because they provide the traditional sound for the guitarra. Also, since the strings are metal I need some kind of pick; natural nails will get worn down very quickly against metal strings.

[dsayan]

do you play both strings of each set everytime?

[FernandezMusic]

Yes, you play both strings each time--just like a mandolin.

[SpiritPedro]

What's the song's name?

[hroosopar]

Thanks very much for your help..about how doing fingers for portuguese guitar

Obrigado

[Especabo]

gracias!!!!

[phubandit]

Very nice video, great instructions!

[aquaphone]

Awesome video, thanks!

[AlanBrown111]

Congratulations Ron...two great videos to reveal some of the mysteries of the Portuguese guitar. Happy New Year to all guitarristas!

[SpiritPedro]

Thank you very much!