This might sound like a funny topic but I’ve gotten this question quite a few times over the years.
In the past, I’ve had students who would let their fingernails grow to ridiculous lengths and they caused clicking whenever they played! This can be distracting!
Why are long fingernails a problem? Good hand position is extremely important when it comes to playing the piano. You want to be in a position that takes no effort to maintain. Naturally, your fingers curve into a comfortable position.
In this position, your fingernails would be the first things to strike the keys. Playing the piano with your fingers and hand in this position is much more natural than trying to play with them outstretched like this:
While this hand position might make it easier on long fingernails, playing the piano like this would cause a lot of unnecessary strain and make playing rapid passagework cumbersome.
So can you play the piano with long fingernails? Sure, but if you’re serious about playing, you need to trim them to a length that allows you to play the piano without creating extraneous noises with your nails and maintaining an ideal hand position.
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