5 Things Everyone Gets WRONG About Nylon String Guitar

Nylon string guitars are hard to play. You have to sit like a classical guitarist. The neck is too wide. You need long fingernails. And, of course, nylon string guitars are really only for classical or Spanish music.

None of these things are true.

The nylon string guitar has picked up a surprising number of misconceptions over the years, and I think much of it comes from one simple association: when people see nylon strings, they immediately think classical guitar.

Classical guitar is a wonderful tradition, but a nylon string guitar is an instrument. Classical is a style of music and a way of playing it. Those aren't the same thing.

In fact, one of the reasons I started The Versatile Guitarist was to show just how much you can do with this instrument.

So let's clear up five of the biggest myths about nylon string guitar.

Myth #1: Nylon String Guitars Are Hard to Play

I think this myth is largely a case of guilt by association.

When many people picture a nylon string guitar, they picture a classical guitarist: guitar resting on the elevated left leg, footstool underneath, formal posture, playing difficult classical repertoire in a quiet concert hall.

That can make the whole thing seem formal, intimidating and perhaps even unattainable.

But none of that means the instrument itself is difficult to play.

In fact, when someone is just beginning to learn guitar, I often recommend starting on a nylon string.

Why?

The strings themselves are softer and generally under lower tension than the strings on a steel string acoustic guitar. For a brand-new guitarist who hasn't developed calluses yet, that can make a huge difference.

A steel string acoustic is actually one of the more physically demanding guitars for a beginner. You're pressing relatively high-tension metal strings against the frets with fingertips that aren't accustomed to doing that yet.

Nylon strings can be much more forgiving.

You'll still develop calluses and finger strength as you practice, but you may have a considerably more comfortable introduction to the instrument.

Do You Have to Sit Like a Classical Guitarist?

No.

The traditional classical position—with the guitar on the left leg and the neck elevated—has real advantages, and there's a reason classical guitarists use it.

But owning a nylon string guitar doesn't obligate you to sit that way.

You can put it on your right leg, as most right-handed guitarists do when playing other styles. If you're left-handed, reverse that as appropriate.

You're not breaking any rules.

That's an important theme that will come up throughout this article:

You can play whatever you want, on whatever kind of guitar you want, in whatever way works for you. 

The guitar police are not coming.

Myth #2: Nylon String Guitars Are Expensive and Hard to Find 

There may have been more truth to this one years ago.

Walk into a typical guitar store today, however, and you'll find far more nylon string options than you might expect.

Companies such as Córdoba specialize in nylon string instruments, while major manufacturers such as Yamaha and Ibanez offer them as well. And you certainly don't have to spend thousands of dollars to get a playable instrument.

One of the nylon string guitars I play most often is a Yamaha I bought for around $300 roughly 20 years ago.

Why do I play it so much?

Because it's hanging on the wall at home.

It's right there in front of me, practically screaming at me to pick it up and play it.

There's a lesson in that, too. The guitar you actually pick up every day can be far more valuable to your development than the expensive guitar that stays safely tucked away in its case.

A Good Setup Can Make a Huge Difference 

Whatever guitar you buy, I recommend having a good guitar repair person or luthier look at the setup.

In particular, ask whether the action can be lowered while keeping the instrument free of excessive buzzing.

Action refers to the distance between the strings and the fretboard. If the strings sit unnecessarily high, you have to work harder every time you fret a note or chord.

Combine the naturally lower tension of nylon strings with comfortable action and you can end up with an exceptionally easy-playing guitar.

And that matters for more than comfort.

If your guitar feels good in your hands, you'll probably pick it up more often.

If you pick it up more often, you'll practice more.

If you practice more, you'll improve faster.

And if you're improving, you're probably going to have a lot more fun.

Myth #3: The Neck Is Too Wide 

I hear some version of this frequently from students and YouTube viewers:

"I'd love to play a nylon string guitar, but my hands are too small for that wide neck."

It's true that a traditional classical guitar usually has a wider nut and wider string spacing than a typical electric or steel string acoustic guitar.

But a traditional classical neck isn't your only choice.

Meet the Crossover Guitar

Many manufacturers now make what are commonly called crossover nylon string guitars.

These instruments retain nylon strings but use dimensions that feel more familiar to someone coming from electric or steel string guitar. Depending on the model, that can mean a narrower nut, closer string spacing, a different neck profile or other modern design features.

There are also three-quarter-size and half-size nylon string guitars that can be remarkably fun to play.

So if you've tried a traditional classical guitar and thought, "This neck is just too big for me," don't conclude that nylon strings aren't for you.

Try another nylon string guitar.

There are a lot of options.

And choosing a narrower neck isn't "cheating."

Personally, I like the wide neck of a traditional classical guitar for many things. The extra string spacing can be extremely useful for fingerstyle playing. On the other hand, even my flamenco blanca has a somewhat narrower nut, which I find can make certain fast picado passages easier to play.

Different instruments are good at different things.

Choose the one that feels right in your hands.

Myth #4: You Have to Play Fingerstyle - and You Need Long Fingernails

This is really two related myths rolled into one.

First:

You absolutely can play a nylon string guitar with a pick. 

There are some extraordinary guitarists who demonstrate this.

Al Di Meola has done incredible things with a pick on nylon strings. Willie Nelson famously plays Trigger, his nylon string guitar, with a pick. Rodrigo Sánchez of Rodrigo y Gabriela brings a tremendous amount of pick-based rock and metal vocabulary to nylon strings.

If you're coming from electric or steel string guitar, you don't have to throw away everything you already know just because you've picked up a nylon string instrument.

Use your pick.

Play your scales.

Play your riffs.

Shred if you want to.

What About Fingernails?

You don't need long fingernails, either.

Nails are a tool for producing a particular kind of attack and tone. They're not a membership requirement for the nylon string guitar club.

Personally, I like having some nail because it gives me additional grip or "purchase" on the string and lets me produce a more defined attack.

But sometimes I specifically don't want that sound.

For something like a soft, airy bossa nova passage, playing more with the flesh of the fingertip can produce a beautifully warm, muted sound.

Even with the thumb, changing the angle of attack can dramatically alter the tone. I can turn my thumb one way and get considerably more nail - a sharper sound almost reminiscent of a pick - or change the angle and get primarily flesh for a softer sound.

Neither one is correct.

They're different sounds.

Your nail length, picking approach and hand position should ultimately serve the music you're trying to make.

Myth #5: Nylon String Guitar Means Classical Guitar

This is the big one.

And it's probably the misconception most closely connected to why I created The Versatile Guitarist in the first place.

When people hear "nylon string guitar," they tend to think of a fairly narrow collection of styles:

Classical guitar.

Flamenco.

Spanish guitar.

Maybe bossa nova.

Those are all fantastic traditions, and you could spend a lifetime exploring any one of them.

But that's nowhere near the limit of what a nylon string guitar can do.

You can play jazz on nylon strings.

You can play blues.

You can play rock.

You can play popular music.

You can use a pick.

You can put a pickup in the guitar.

You can plug it into an amplifier.

You can use effects.

Nobody is going to stop you.

Bring Your Existing Guitar Vocabulary With You

If you're already an electric or steel string guitarist, you don't have to start over when you pick up a nylon string guitar.

Bring that vocabulary with you.

Play the blues phrases you already know.

Play your rock riffs.

Play with a pick.

Then start adding some of the techniques that are particularly well suited to nylon strings.

That's where things get really interesting.

For example, even if you have absolutely no desire to become a flamenco guitarist, learning flamenco right-hand techniques such as rasgueado can give you an entirely new rhythmic and percussive vocabulary.

Those techniques can produce an aggressive attack that I sometimes compare to plugging an electric guitar into an amplifier and adding distortion.

It's a completely different way of generating intensity - but you're doing it acoustically with your hand.

Now combine that with everything you already know from rock, blues, jazz, folk or whatever else you play.

Suddenly the lines between all these supposedly separate guitar worlds start disappearing.

Nylon String Guitar Is an Instrument, Not a Genre

That's really what all five of these myths boil down to.

A nylon string guitar doesn't tell you what music you're allowed to play.

It's simply another kind of guitar - and, in my opinion, one of the most versatile kinds you can own.

I love electric guitar. I love steel string acoustic guitar.

But my true love has always been the nylon string guitar precisely because I can do so many different things with it.

I can play a delicate bossa nova and enjoy the warmth of the nylon strings. I can dig into flamenco techniques and get an incredibly aggressive attack. I can play jazz, classical music, Spanish guitar, blues or rock. I can use my fingers or grab a pick. I can play acoustically or plug the guitar into an amplifier and start experimenting with effects.

The whole musical world is your oyster. 

So if you've avoided nylon string guitar because you thought it was too difficult, too expensive, too wide, required long fingernails or condemned you to a lifetime of playing classical music...

Maybe it's time to pick one up.

You might discover that instead of limiting what you can play, the nylon string guitar opens up an entirely new world of possibilities. 

In the video below I discuss these 5 persistent nylon string guitar myths: