Why Short Nails Are Vital

The length of your fingernails affects the angle at which your finger touches the fingerboard.  If your nail is too long, the finger will be forced to touch the string at a steep angle instead of perpendicular to the string, and this will affect your own comfort, intonation, vibrato, and even the life of your string!

Your fingers should be perpendicular to the string without your nail touching ANYTHING

Check out the fingernails on these famous violinists:

David Garrett: his finger is flat because he's mid-vibrato

Joshua Bell's fingers are hitting the fingerboard straight down

Julia Fischer wouldn't be caught dead with long nails

Itzhak Perlman's amazing vibrato would be impossible with long nails

Ray Chen can put his finger perpendicular to the table without the nail touching