I’ve just come back from a symposium on the 19th century guitar which was held in Innsbruck. The days were packed with talks and concerts from researchers across the world. It was a very special and memorable experience indeed. I gave a talk on the nail question in the 19th century — see the images at the bottom of this post.
A few months ago I also gave a lecture in Padua on no-nail players in the 20th century. In June I’ll be giving a much-revised version of this lecture at the GFA Symposium in Denver. I’ll also be giving a paper at the IGRC conference in Surrey in March; I have to confess I’m rather pleased with the title, ‘Pulp Friction: Discussions and Controversies Surrounding No-Nail Technique.’ Gradually, by various means, this research is getting out there. Now I just need to write the thesis…
I’ve added a page on Cornelius Daniel Schettler (1874-1931), who was the first guitarist to play Carnegie Hall. He led a curious life indeed — read here.
I haven’t come across any new no-nail recordings of late, so perhaps we should have an old one? Here’s Juan Mercadal playing La Maja de Goya (1964):
Symposium images:
The symposium ended, as was surely inevitable, with a recreation of the famous caricature Discussion entre les Carulistes et les Molinistes. (Well, it’s famous among guitar researchers!) There is no conclusive answer as to why the two camps are trying to violently whack each other with their guitars. I wish it had to do with nails, but sadly there is no evidence for it. A popular theory is that it had to do with whether or not to use the left-hand thumb.
No-Nail Guitar 
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