Making Fingerpicks for Portuguese Guitar: PART 1

Ron Fernandez shows the Coimbra and Lisboa styles of unhas (fingerpicks) used for playing the guitarra portuguesa. Then, he shows how to make a wooden form for bending the sheet material used for the unhas, and how to make a template to fit your thumb and index finger. There are additional steps shown in PART 2.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• guitarra
• portuguesa
• Fazendo unhas
• fadoguitar
• Lisboa
• Coimbra

[mrmoose33]

i just learned something pretty cool today

[FernandezMusic]

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

[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.

[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.

[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 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 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 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 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