Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Somewhat OT: Do you paint your nails?

For some reason I really want to paint my fingernails. But of course like most people my nails are very short. Will it look funny?? Any color recommendations that work better with short nails? I'm thinking a pale color to start with, but should it pinkish, or white-ish?? I'm pretty sure red would be distracting when playing!

I paint mine black with silver glitter.
I might be wrong but I think wayne uses more sedate pastel colours.

Pink, I love it!

Are you serious?. I thought that only women painted their nails.

Maybe I'm getting old.

lol.... thank you for posting this!

I've been SO traumatized for the last year and a half, having to cut my nails so short!!!!!!!!

Really, I have historically had really incredible nails. People asked if I had a French manicure, but no, just my own nails.... and now, not even a glimmer of white.

I too have considered doing some polish but worried about getting it on the keys!!!

I'd go with what ever colour suits your fancy. I have bright reds, pinks, coppers and burgundies, ..... I just haven't worn them for a while.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I am female.

The last time I painted my nails was in 1999, a few months before I started piano. Actually, I had painted them for my wedding, a very nice sort of frosted, subtle pink-white color. But back them I had slightly long-ish nails (still short compared to fake nails though).

And let me just add that if any fellow wants to paint his nails, I think that's ok. Just no long nails please! Since I started playing piano, I have come to find very long nails kind of gross, male or female.

Recardo, how totally sexist of you I am surprised.
I started painting my nails many moons ago to hide the dirt underneath them.
I was lucky , I worked respraying cars, in the days of good old cellulose paint, so had access to many good colours, Ideal for nails.
I progressed to ladies clothes just for special occasions, and then for piano playing as I feel that victorian replica corsets are excellent for posture.
I must warn you though they dont come cheap and have to be hand made.
Shoes are difficult, Heels are best, but one simply has to learn how to swivel them correctly on the pointed heel for best use of the Piano pedels.
I prefer a shorter skirt, I can get away with it as my legs have good form, and they allow more ease of movement on the Piano stool.
Theres just so much more choice in ladies attire athan mens don't you think? And of course better colours.

Casinitaly, so you don't think piano-length nails (i.e. very very short) would look bad painted?? I don't think the paInt would get on the keyboard (maybe if you were doing a serious glissando every measure). But I am pretty sure a bright or dark color would be distracting, so red and black are out!

Very good answer Rostosky. I like your British humor. It's really amusing.

How can you say red and black would be out?
Suppose you wore gloves?

Rostosky, you're not being helpful! I am definitely not going to play piano with gloves on! (Although I considered it when we were living in Japan and didn't have central heating)

I know, this is what happens when you dont pay your electric bills.
How about if you wore fingerless gloves so that you could see your new nail polish better?
Purple would show your fingers off really well.

If your still cold from not having central heating, dont go for blue.

Black fingerless gloves with purple nails .
What sort of false eyelashes do you wear whilst playing the piano?

arent u a guy lol ......weird

Me? No. Female. Piano player. Ergo, want to paint finger nails, don't want or like long nails.

Rostosky? Don't know. Piano player status assumed. But he's (or she's) just not being helpful, which is all I care about!

I think painting nails on short nails will look just fine. I got short nails too but I don't paint them lol. Anyone try playing piano with really long nails? Seems like it be really hard

There's a pianist in Japan, member of S.E.N.S, can't remember her name. Anyway, she plays kind of new age-y/pop type music. And she was a guest on some TV program, the host admired her somewhat long nails and asked if that got in the way when she played. She then launched into a very long explanation (at the piano that was so conveniently available) about how she plays with what she called a flat-finger technique and so the nails didn't get in the way, and actually the nails helped her in then beginning when she was still getting used to the technique. I thought the technique looked absolutely awful, and I remember wondering if that why all of S.E.N.S music is slow and either ballad-y or slow-style new age-y.

Anyway, my reaction to her nails was they looked very pretty, but her playing was boring!


Can an OT thread be hijacked? And self-hijacked at that?

I like the look of painted nails when they are freshly painted. I gave up painting mine. By the end of my day, the paint would be chipped and look terrible.

Ooh!! I hadn't thought of that! Hmm.. well, it is the Fourth weekend, so I'll try it and if I don't like it, or it chips a lot, I can remove it.

I paint each nail a different color. It helps tremendously with fingering!! Now, instead of having to remember the thumb is 1 and the pinkie is 5, I just remember that the pinkie is, of course, pink. I put little dots of color above each note in the score to help with remembering the fingering, and it works great!

Plus, the printed music is SOOO PRETTY now, visually as well as musically.

oh i get it now. great topic and thread contributes a lot