Artificial Harmonics

[NoOzL]

Hey all, as the title says, how do you do them? :S been trying to figure it out for ages

i play alot of children of bodom and stuff like that so you can imagine the main reason why i really wanna learn how to do them

[kevincooper]

i play them by putting a left hand finger on a note, say g, first string 3rd fret, and then using my right hand index, rest my finger on the same string, on the g on the 15th fret, and use my ring finger on the right hand to play the string.

is that what you meant?

[NoOzL]

lemme go try it out :P

u prolly know them when u listen to alot of metal and shredding like i do :P

[benny_burny]

Originally Posted by kevincooper

i play them by putting a left hand finger on a note, say g, first string 3rd fret, and then using my right hand index, rest my finger on the same string, on the g on the 15th fret, and use my ring finger on the right hand to play the string.

is that what you meant?

No that's a natural.

With artifical play any of the strings as you normally would. Except when you hit the note with your pick, as you press down on the pick brush the string with your thumb. It'll take you a while to get used to it.

Zakk Wylde does his huge big harmonics by AH on the 6th string. Sounds very deep and fucking cool. Easy AH can be done on the 3rd and 4th string.

[benny_burny]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinch_harmonic

[kevincooper]

oh yeah, pinch harmonics, i was trying to remember what i called what you described, then you posted the link

this is another shredders thread i'll stay out of
(not you shredder, i don't purposely avoid your threads )

[shredder]

You're just saying that aren't you! <sniff> no no, the damage is done.

IMO it's just a matter of definition, I would call the version that kevincooper posted 'artificial harmonics' in the classical sense. A node is 'artificially' placed on the string (with a picking hand finger), dividing the area between the fretted note and the bridge into a certain ratio, making the dominant tone whatever order of harmonic is related to the chosen ratio.

The same principle is being brought into play with pinch harmonics - the pad of the thumb lightly brushing across the string a split second after the pick has initiated the note causes the same thing, in effect the contacting point - the pad of the thumb - becomes the 'harmonic node', and because this node is by necessity placed quite far up toward the bridge (as defined by your usual picking hand position), you will tend to get higher order/pitch harmonics (hence the high pitched squealing noise that characterises pinch harmonics). It also means that (as with higher order natural harmonics such as the 3rd/2nd fret) a harder picking attack - and a heavier pick, say 0.88 minimum - is recommended to make the harmonic really come out. And to get the classic Zakk Wylde squeals going, you really need to add wide smooth vibrato to the note (which is itself a technique worthy of plenty of time and practice).

The position of your picking hand (along the string) of course influences the pitch of the resulting harmonic (which is something you can use to your advantage, e.g. to get different pitches from the same fretted note), though you usually needn't memorise the exact position that your picking hand has to be at for a given fretted note, as the possible harmonic nodes so high up the string are so close together as to make it not really matter, the attack (hard) and attitude (e.g. vibrato) are generally the biggest focuses once you have the basic technique under your belt.

[Santah]

I do a lot of pinch harmonics when soloing... but I dont know exactly how I do it. Sort of happens by accident, cant do it on purpose or whenever I want... just happens when im getting into it

Guess that is because I am doing more focused and tight picking so it sometimes brushes the strings.

[OverDriven]

it also helps to use the bridge pickup

[Santah]

Uh I figured out how to do it every time. This is what we are talking about right?

http://www.flisk.theclan.com.au/mp3s/pinch.mp3

[OverDriven]

Originally Posted by Santah

Uh I figured out how to do it every time. This is what we are talking about right?

http://www.flisk.theclan.com.au/mp3s/pinch.mp3

yeah somewhat, i think he's talking about the highly distorted squeels, but you do get the pinch harmonics there, its just not as zakk wylde ish

[shredder]

Yeah that's right, good point about the bridge pickup too overdriven.

A trebly sound in general helps too obviously (which is part of why the bridge pickup is more effective for them), if you've got your treble controls turned down then they won't sound as well. This is easily seen if you have a wah pedal, a.h.'s will sound much louder/easier when the pedal is pushed down to the treble position. And plenty of gain helps of course, for the metal/Zakk variety of a.h.'s. They tend to be a bit easier on the middle strings (d & g) to start with, as with most harmonics.

[-Rift-]

I can do AH but not consistently and I usually bend the string upwardsas I do it otherwise its even more iffy. I asked a teacher a few weeks ago and he said show me what your doing.... and I nailed it everytime I was like I swear sometimes this just doesnt work! I guess on some fretts it just doesnt work as well?

Originally Posted by kevincooper

i play them by putting a left hand finger on a note, say g, first string 3rd fret, and then using my right hand index, rest my finger on the same string, on the g on the 15th fret, and use my ring finger on the right hand to play the string.

is that what you meant?

What is this? I'm giving it a shot but I'm getting nothing?

[shredder]

Originally Posted by -Rift-

What is this? I'm giving it a shot but I'm getting nothing?

It's basically the same as natural harmonics but you're fretting a note as well.

E.g. normally to play a natural harmonic that's one octave higher than the 0th fret (ie. the nut), you'd lightly touch the string 12 frets above (ie. the 12th fret).

If you want a harmonic that's one octave higher than the 5th fret, then you would (while fretting the 5th fret note as normal with your fretting hand) lightly touch the string 12 frets above that (ie. the 17th fret). Same thing with other standard harmonic intervals e.g. 5 frets above, 7 frets above, etc.

The classical technique described by Kevin involves touching the harmonic node with your picking hand (say with the tip of index finger) and using another finger (or thumb) on that same hand to pluck the string and make it sound out.

The Eddie Van Halen variation ("tap harmonics") is done by letting the original fretted note sound out first as normal, then after a chosen time you lightly touch/tap your fingertip onto the harmonic node, which will make the pitch of the note change to that of the harmonic obviously.

As always gain (and the other stuff mentioned above) helps with these things, unless you're doing it in a classical context in which case you're going to have to pretty much rely on good technique (damn that good technique!).

[lewman123]

The Artificial Harmonic was popularised by guitarists such as Billy Gibbons and Zakk Wylde. Although AHs are usually associated with highly distorted effects Billy Gibbons is a popular user of AH without much gain. This is more difficult than AH on distortion. Dont stress if you can't get your AHs sounding like Zakk Wylde or Judas Priest, they have special equipment made to make these sounds. Their guitars are equipped with pickups that amplify AHs well. Different Pickups amplify AHs better than others. Judas Priest and Zakk Wylde both play guitars with EMG humbuckers, which are some of the hottest pickups and some of the best at amplifying pinch harmonics. Hot pickups (EMG, Duncan JB, Duncan Live Wire, Bill Lawrence 500XL, etc.) do an excellent job of picking up pinch harmonics. Once you've practiced at home, ask to try out a guitar with "hot pickups" and a "high gain" amplifier at the local guitar shop if you want a taste(warning: it's easy to get spoiled/hooked!).