This lesson is all about pinch harmonics. According to Wikipedia, this is the correct term, but they are sometimes also called artificial harmonics, squeals, and so on. In order to get the most out of this lesson, you must be sure to watch my previous lessons because your success with pinch harmonics will be dependent on both your gear and also your playing technique.
A pinch harmonic is basically just a very high pitched sound that is very loud and piercing. To hit pinch harmonics, all you have to do is let the edge of your picking hand’s thumb lightly brush the string as you pick. So it helps to expose your thumb as much as possible. Add some wide vibrato and it will sound great.
Of course, there’s a lot more to pinch harmonics than that, otherwise everyone would be able to hit them consistently and easily. There are two parts to pinch harmonics:
The act of actually achieving the sound of a pinch harmonic instead of just muting the string. This is the hard part.
Having a great tone so that they sound louder and more piercing when you do hit them. Watch my previous equipment lessons for help with this.
Understanding the physics of pinch harmonics will help you hit them consistently. In order to get there, we have to understand all kinds of other harmonics.
Vibrating strings have what are called node points at special points called integer divisions. Don’t worry about exactly what that means though. Just know that harmonics occur on special locations on your guitar. Also, keep in mind that vibrating strings can mean open or fretted guitar strings, along with any other type of vibrating strings including violin strings, piano strings, a stretched out rubber band, a bridge’s steel suspension cables, or any other string.
This is very important. An open string vibrates from the nut to the bridge. A fretted string vibrates from the fret to the bridge.
A simple integer division is at the halfway point of the vibrating string. So for an open string, the halfway point is at the 12th fret. Other integer divisions are symmetric around the 12th fret.
You can achieve a natural harmonic by gently resting a finger on an integer division (12th fret is the easiest) and plucking the string. You aren’t fretting the string, just muting it gently. Try this on other frets as well.
As you move farther from the 12th fret, natural harmonics become more difficult to achieve because they allow for less margin of error. But they sound “better” because they are generally higher pitched and more “metal” sounding.
Now that you understand natural harmonics, try hitting touch harmonics. A touch harmonic is the same thing as a natural harmonic, except that you hit a fretted string rather than a open string. Since the length of the string changes when you fret it, you need to find your integer divisions again. An easy way to find the halfway point is to just add 12 to the fret you are on. For example, if you are fretting the 7th fret, your halfway point will be the 19th fret. Hit the note on the 7th fret, and then reach over with your right hand and gently mute the string on the 19th fret. You should hear a harmonic if you do it right.
Now you are ready to move on to pinch harmonics. When you played a touch harmonic, you probably hit the note, and then you had to reach over with your picking hand to hit the harmonic.
Now, imagine doing the same thing, but instead of reaching over and using a different finger, imagine instantaneously hitting the string with the side of your thumb as you pick the string to hit the harmonic. That’s a pinch harmonic.
To train yourself, try hitting the pinch harmonic on the halfway integer division. So using the same example as above, try fretting the 7th fret, but instead of picking at your normal position with your right hand, move your right hand over the 19th fret and try to hit a pinch harmonic there. You’ll notice that hitting a pinch harmonic is very easy there, but it doesn’t sound very high pitched. In order to get that high pitched sound, you need to train yourself to hit it at the bridge area, which is harder.
What we can learn from this is that your right hand position is crucial to how easy it is to hit pinch harmonics. If you are having difficulty hitting pinch harmonics, experiment with moving your right hand around a bit.
Add some wide vibrato to make your pinch harmonics sound awesome. You can combine pinch harmonics with other techniques like slides, and if you are adventurous enough you can try hitting pinch harmonics on multiple strings at the same time.
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