Guitar Courses — Playing Harmonics

A harmonic is a tone that’s created by the guitar by touching the string above a fret on an open vibrating string. There are two kinds of harmonics Natural and Artificial or I prefer to phone them to pinch harmonics.

Natural Harmonics

Natural Harmonics can be produced by touching your index finger. Place your finger on the string above the fret, do not push too hard or you will mute the note, pluck the note and then pull on your finger off. Try it.

E|————|
B|————|
G|————|
D|————|
A|–12——|
E|————|

Timing is crucial when playing harmonics. If you listen to a muted audio or only notice, the duration of time you keep your finger will ascertain. Harmonics occur in a variety of areas along the fretboard.

The most usual ones are around the 5th, 7th, and 12th fret. The harmonics in these places will ring on precisely the same fret for all 6 strings. Consider playing with them. Put your finger over all 6 strings and then play against the very low E to the top E lifting your finger as your select strikes every series. You’ve got to work at this and it requires some time, but it seems cool.

E|———5—–|——–7—–|———-12–|
B|——–5——|——-7——|——–12—–|
G|——-5——-|——7——-|——-12——|
D|——5——–|—–7——–|——12——-|
A|—–5———|–7———|—–12——–|
E|–5———-|–7———-|–12———|

Pinch Harmonics

Harmonics are complete with the hand. I discovered this technique very hard to grasp. The ideal technique is to”choke” down in your choice so there’s hardly any pick vulnerable between your thumb and your index finger.

With time you will learn the pick must be portable in mind, and you’ll move it based on the way you play. Once you pluck a string the secret is to hit on the pick and twist your thumb so it touches the chain after hitting the series.

Why play with a pinch harmonic…. .well since they are cool when playing solos. You can mix string bends with pinch harmonics and vibrato to receive trendy sounding”squeals”. Once you do them they sound great.

The key is to dedicate some of your exercise time daily to play with pops and try adding a pinch with a few vibratos. Oh yea, it makes you want to play with the guitar since you can make some of the sounds!