Ukulele for Guitar Players

Playing Hand Shapes

"The 3-Nail Strike"

"The 3-Nail Strike" is a variation of The Chef’s Kiss shape, but without the thumb. Line up the tips of your 1st, 2nd and 3rd fingers and deliver a single, powerful downstroke using all three fingernails at once.

Fingernails are hard surfaces, producing a crisp, bright tone. With three striking together, the volume increases — like three guitar picks hitting the strings simultaneously.

Illustrated here in a clip from Brown Sugar by The Rolling Stones

This technique is used for strong, isolated downstrokes where you want the chord to ring without an immediate upstroke. It’s also effective for strum fills — rapid downstrokes that signal a transition, such as from verse to chorus.