Extra points to whoever gets the references in the title of this newsletter. I was trying to think of some puns, and I’m afraid this is the best I could do. Unlike the protagonist of William Morris’s novel, we have not awoken into a guitar-utopia where none use fingernails or play the Ginastera sonata. But I can, at least, offer a cheerful supply of news.
First, the return of the godfather of modern no-nailers. Rob MacKillop has put out his first classical guitar recording in over a year. As many will know, Rob was hit with a horrendous illness and was in hospital for several months. Since then, he has withdrawn somewhat from the cyberspace, but we are still gifted with beautiful recordings from time to time. It is lovely to see the enthusiastic responses this video has received:
Last month I gave a lecture on 20th century no-nail players at the Guitar Foundation of America symposium in Denver (Colorado). The great thing about the symposium is that it is embedded within the GFA’s annual Convention — an enormous week of concerts, masterclasses, lectures, exhibitions, as well as the famous GFA competition. The classical guitar has nothing like it anywhere else. I was grateful to find much interest in my talk and research. I think it went a modest way towards spreading the word.
The symposium itself was superb, with a great range of papers and many stimulating discussions. Many thanks especially to Jonathan Leathwood for his immense work organising it. There were too many highlights to mention without feeling guilt for what I must leave out. When going to these kinds of events (although, as I say, this was on another scale entirely!), I come away with so much gratitude for the company of friends old and new.
I’ve uploaded the text of my recent Soundboard article on the ways to alternate between flesh and nail (with added pictures!) This might be some of the most useful research I’ve done. So often the nail/flesh debate has been presented as a binary choice — two diametric positions. The evidence of historic and modern alternation upsets that theory. Read it here.
Finally, I’ve added a page on Federico Orsolino, a remarkable no-nail guitarist. He was an Italian officer during the catastrophic invasion of the Soviet Union, then spent nearly two years in German camps. After the war, he became a notable performer, guitarist-writer and composer (I very much recommend his four-movement Sonata!) He was also a great advocate for the ‘eptacorde’ (seven string guitar). Read more here.
As an envoi, here I am playing some 19th century Russian 7 string guitar music. The Russian 7 string is tuned to open G major, so DGBDGBD. It was probably always played without nails, but there isn’t enough evidence to conclude this with certainty.
No-Nail Guitar 
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