Wednesday 20 October 2010

Advanced Guitar Lessons - Learning And Producing Natural And Pinch Harmonics

By Frank Morris

Once you've reached the main journey of your guitar playing, where you're simply going through the motions of learning many different techniques, scales and songs, it's time to enhance your skill set somewhat. As you delve into harder compositions and songs, you'll find that having the basic skills of chords, notes, bending and slides are simply inadequate. Whether you're into classical music or attempting to shred with the best, it's time to expand. Harmonics are some of the most difficult techniques to implement, but can be used to great effect with bends and in rock or heavy metal music. There are several forms of harmonic, each one used differently in each style of music. Metal would like use tap or pinch harmonics as they can provide high-pitched notes that squeal when bent for a brilliant musical effect. In lighter music, such as blues, you are more likely to find natural harmonics, where the need for a high-gain output isn't necessary. Here are advanced guitar lessons on producing harmonics.

Natural

Natural harmonics are the easiest to produce, but quite difficult to incorporate on the fly into your music. The resulting note is wherever you positioned your fret hand, meaning you can plan your song out easily or learn it beforehand. You simply place your fret finger lightly against the note you wish to play, but don't press down. Now pluck the string and pull your finger away from the string as fast as you can. This will prevent the initial sound from ringing out, but allow the harmonic to continue vibrating.

Usually, these harmonics work wonders in certain locations, but are much harder to produce in others. The 12th fret produces the clearest harmonics, but you can get them from the 8th, 5th and other frets as well. The key is to practice and see which works for you and try to produce music while incorporating harmonics or several harmonic notes in a row.

Pinch Harmonics

Pinch harmonics produce a very high-pitched squeal, especially when combined with a bend. However, the nature of this harmonic allows for personal taste in that it can be done in whatever way works for you. The most common method is to fret down on the note you wish to play. Now, unlike the natural harmonic, you produce the harmonic with your plucking hand. Press the plec against the string and then place the side of your thumb against the same string. Now, as you're plucking the note, pull your entire hand away. This should produce a harmonic, but if not, keep trying until it sounds right.

While difficult, the ability to make your guitar squeal is a powerful musical skill. Unfortunately, each note you play may require a different part of the string to produce a harmonic on. Some guitars require you do the harmonic over the pickup, while others prefer you do it elsewhere. As with before, it's practice that makes perfect. - 42265

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