By now, the student should be able to recognise the amazing degrees of tone variation which can be obtained by slightly changing the attack of the free and rest strokes, either by hand position or finger action. In general, a flatter nail stroke provides a brighter, sharper sound, whereas a more side-on nail stroke is rounder and more mellow. This great variety of tone (given exactly the same spot on the string), can be amplified immensely, as can be seen below.