Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Thumbnail Care
Introduction: What if You Can't Grow Thumbnails?

Your thumbnails are your main connection with the tines of your kalimba, so taking good care of your thumb nails is of utmost importance. I run this series of tips about once a year, and each year I have to rewrite the last year's tips because I've learned so much over that year. And this year is no exception!

So, the FIRST tip in this series is for people who can't grow their thumb nails. For example, massage therapists cannot grow their thumb nails because they would puncture the skin of their clients if they did!

I know someone who plays kalimba with their thumb flesh instead of their thumb nail. Their thumb tips have thick callouses. Obviously, this person is highly committed to playing kalimba, because it took a lot of pain to get to this point.

If that doesn't sound like the way to go for you, you should check out the Alaska Pic. The Alaska Pic was designed to go on the fingers of guitar players. You need to have just a little bit of nail extending beyond the flesh, and that little bit of nail slides over the plastic of the Alaska Pic. If you can't slide the pic under your thumb nail, it won't be stiff and it won't work. I find the Alaska Pic to be a good thing for casual kalimba students who don't want to grow their nails, and I usually carry a pair of them in my Kalimba Kase just in case I break a nail at a performance.

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