I’ve played steel-string acoustic for years, mostly strumming and light fingerpicking, and I recently picked up a nylon-string classical guitar. I love the warm tone, but I’m finding my right-hand technique feels clumsy, especially when playing fingerstyle passages.
For those who made the switch, what were the biggest technique changes you had to focus on?
Transitioning from Steel String to Nylon – Technique Adjustments
Transitioning from Steel String to Nylon – Technique Adjustments
One thing that helped me was slowing everything down and working on rest strokes and free strokes separately.
On steel string I tended to play more casually, but classical technique really rewards precision of movement, angle of attack, and consistent hand placement. Even five minutes a day of slow scales focusing on tone can make a big difference over a few weeks.
On steel string I tended to play more casually, but classical technique really rewards precision of movement, angle of attack, and consistent hand placement. Even five minutes a day of slow scales focusing on tone can make a big difference over a few weeks.
Transitioning from Steel String to Nylon – Technique Adjustments
For me the biggest change was using more of the fingernail rather than the fingertip. It took a while to find a nail shape that gave a consistent tone.