Guitar harmonics
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Guitar harmonics can be quiet and bell-like, as on an acoustic guitar, or they can be loud and squealy, as on an overdriven electric guitar.
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[edit] List of natural harmonics
These will be explained shortly.
- 12th fret: octave above open string
- 7th or 19th fret: Octave plus a perfect fifth above open string
- 5th or 24th fret: Two octaves above open string
- 4th, 9th, or 16th fret: two octaves plus four semitones above open string
There are more harmonics than these, but these are the easiest to produce and the most audible. They are ordered from lowest to highest in pitch.
[edit] Natural harmonics
Natural harmonics are the easiest to produce. A good place to begin is the 12th fret of the first string. With your fretting hand, lightly touch the finger against the string directly above the 12th fret. Do not hold it down, just touch it. Then strike it with your picking hand, and immediately release the string with your fretting hand. If executed properly, the result should be a high-pitched, ringing E (on a standard tuned guitar). It will be the same note as pressing against the fret will produce. Try it again at the 7th, 5th, and 4th frets, as in the list of natural harmonics: each will produce even higher sounds, much higher than can be produced on the guitar without using harmonics! However, each will also be quieter, so the higher harmonics may be nearly inaudible without overdrive.
[edit] Pinch harmonics
- See Pinch harmonic
Also known as Artificial Harmonics (though there is really nothing artificial about them). This is an advanced technique and was popularized by Billy Gibbons, Zakk Wylde, and many others as early as the 1970s including many Heavy Metal artists. These harmonics follow the same principles of physics as a natural harmonic, the difference being how the harmonic is produced. In this case a note is struck in a downwards motion with the pick and in the same motion the string is touched (one might really say brushed) with the edge of the thumb that is holding the pick. Or one can do it with the edge of the index fingernail, followed by the pick.
Pinch harmonics are most effective and audible using an electric guitar with overdrive or distortion and in some cases these harmonics are virtually inaudible using a clean (not distorted or overdriven) electric guitar or an acoustic. It can sound good when used properly even without much overdrive (Billy Gibbons is considered a master of low overdrive Pinch Harmonics) but it's not always clear or detectible. Use overdrive or distortion for best results especially while learning and practicing this technique.
With regards to difficulty: this technique, although rewarding, is mostly rewarding only in advanced situations (soloing and intense expressive riffing). It is difficult enough to easily frustrate a beginner and some intermediate players and since there are so many more rewarding and useful techniques worth spending time on as a beginner (scales, soloing, blues, riffing, strumming patterns), this technique is only recommended for intermediate or advanced players.
As mentioned above these harmonics are produced by striking a note with the pick and touching the string with the picking thumb. Grip the pick so that the tip barely peeks out between your fingertips(this is why they are called "pinch" harmonics). It's easier when you are fretting a note with the left hand so try fretting a note (perhaps the 5th fret on the 4th(D) string), and plucking the string just below the neck pickup pole pieces (maybe 1/8" toward the bridge from the pole pieces). With luck the artificial harmonic will ring, but if not don't despair.
The position of the plucking along the length of the string is one of the most important parts of this technique. While with regular picking the position of the picking along the string can make slight variations in the sound of the note, when executing pinch harmonics the right position is vital and tiny positional differences can make entirely different harmonics. So try adjusting the picking hand just millimeters up and down the string around the area of the pickups.
Try imagining the pick and your picking thumb plucking the string at the same time although the thumb is really just brushing past it. Consider it to be really one motion. Try thinking of your thumb and the pick as one entity and instead of picking straight down, pick down and a little bit(millimeters) out away from the face of the guitar so your picking motion is a sort of 'letter J' out from the face of the guitar and so the thumb brushes past the string and remember that the thumb should only touch the string for an instant just like the pick does.
This technique requires practice. Try executing pinch harmonics while fretting different notes and by striking the string in slightly different places all around the pickup area of the guitar. Many kinds of harmonic ringing sounds may be produced.
Without a pick, this technique may be simulated by plucking the string with the fingertip and lightly touching it with the fingernail, but this is even trickier and not very useful in practice.
These harmonics, as opposed to natural harmonics, end up being much more practical to use while playing and when mastered can be used boldly like Zakk Wylde making the harmonic part of the riff, or subtly and possibly unintentionally to add color and character to the notes or chords while playing almost anything.
Pinch harmonics can easily and effectively be combined with other techniques, such as bending or vibrato.
To hear pinch harmonics in action check out the following:
- Ozzy Osbourne's Ozzmosis(and several other albums) features Zakk Wylde (who is the king of pinch harmonic with masterful vibrato) so check out Track 6: Tomorrow from 1:20 to 2:00 ... I count 5 awesome pinch harmonics of different notes in that clip.
- In the movie Rock Star at the beginning, the lead guitarist in Blood Pollution (the Steel Dragon cover band) is "not hitting the squeal". The squeal they're speaking of is a pinch harmonic (and is actually Zakk Wylde playing the squeal in the movie).
- One of the best examples of a bend and a pinch harmonic is Judas Priest's Lochness off the album Angel of Retribution at about 1:10.
- In System of a Down's hit song BYOB it is the first bend in the chorus (Every bodys going to the party) part. It is the only PH in the song, so listen carefully
Don't despair if you can't get harmonics as clear as Judas Priest or Zakk Wylde, they've got equipment made just for making sounds like that. They both have expensive high gain amplifiers and their guitars are equipped with pickups that are naturally very good at pinch harmonics. Some pickups amplify pinch harmonics better than others (some pickups hardly amplify them at all). 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!).
[edit] Tapped harmonics
This technique, like tapping itself, was popularized by Eddie van Halen. Tapped harmonics are an extension of the tapping technique. The note is fretted as usual, but instead of striking the string, the string is tapped at one of the frets listed in the natural harmonic list. Do not hold the string down with the tapping hand, just bounce the finger lightly on and off the fret. This technique can be extended by fretting a note, then tapping relative to the fretted note. For instance, hold the third fret, and tap the fifteenth fret, for the twelfth fret harmonic, because 12+3=15.
[edit] Harp harmonics
A final technique is a combination of the natural and tapped harmonic techniques called a harp harmonic. Fret the note normally, and place the picking hand index finger on a natural harmonic relative to the fretted note (just as in tapped harmonics). Pluck the string with another finger and release the index finger, just as if producing a natural harmonic. This is the technique that harpists use to play harmonics on a harp.
[edit] 3rd Bridge
The 3rd bridge guitar is an electric prepared guitar with an additional 3rd bridge to create harmonic overtones. This can be a normal guitar with for instance a screwdriver placed under the strings, but can also be a custom made instrument.
Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth is well known for using this screwdriver technique on his guitars. Confusion Is Sex contains a lot of music with 3rd bridge sounds. Other musical examples of this technique are the intros of the song Bull in the Heather, again from Sonic Youth and Goodmorning Captain from Slint's album Spiderland.
Dissatisfied with the limitations of the preparation of a normal guitar several people began building an instrument to improve the harmonic possibillities. Glenn Branca has created several primitive but effective working models of 3rd bridge guitars. The pencilina of Bradford Reed is a more complicated example of a double 3rd bridge guitar. Experimental luthier Yuri Landman built a 12 string 3rd bridge guitar he called the Moodswinger for Aaron Hemphill of the Liars. The American band Neptune has also created selfmade 3rd bridge guitars with drumsticks used as a 3rd bridge.
Leo Fender designed two guitars, the Fender Jaguar and the Fender Jazzmaster, which accidentally have a primitive 3rd bridge mechanism in their floating bridge with limited timbre when used in an extended technique. When the strings are attacked behind the bridge a 3rd bridge sound is created.
The Japanese koto can be called an acoustic version of a 3rd bridge guitar.
[edit] How the 3rd bridge works
The 3rd bridge divides the strings into two segments with different pitches. Depending on where the string is played, a harmonic-like second tone is created. This sound is often described as a bell-like tone. The string resonates more or less when the back side is struck, depending on the position along the string. The reason this happens can be explained by the theory of acoustic resonance and microtonality. At harmonic nodal positions, the string resonates more than at other positions. For instance, dividing the string 1/3 + 2/3 creates a clear overtone, while 24/33 + 9/33 creates an indistict overtone.
