Hard Work Pays Off. Finally

[monkey69962000]

I got my false (pinch) harmonics down. It has taken me like 3 months to get them down perfectly. Finally. Just letting people know that when you work har at a technique you will eventually reach it.

Thanks and good luck with your playing,

Monkey

[TenderSurrender]

I got my false (pinch) harmonics down. It has taken me like 3 months to get them down perfectly. Finally. Just letting people know that when you work har at a technique you will eventually reach it.

Thanks and good luck with your playing,

Monkey

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Congrats man Im now trying to learn to do natural harmonics fast o that i can play some Yngwie

Once again congrats

[Marzocchi705]

Thats cool man, it took me like 6 month to learn, and i stll have my 'off' days when i cant to them.

[Devon Headen]

That's one of the few things I didn't have any trouble with. I must just be lucky, but I read a post (I think it was Wes) that told how he did them, and I was doing them up and down the neck in 20 minutes. It probably helps that I hold my pick in a perfect position for PHs whenever I play lead.

[monkey69962000]

That's one of the few things I didn't have any trouble with.

Well its not that i had too much trouble, but its that when i played them, some times i would get the false harmonic and the string note all at once, or i would get the string not with very little harmonic sound. Now they scream.

But i read that if you hold trhe pick like when you scoop a chip in a salsa, your middle and index finger together and your thumb on the otherside of the pick, that you can get them easier. But i tried the usual way becuase its a lot easier and faster to transition from normal playing to false harmonics.

By the way, if there is something that other people finally got after practice, post it here. You should feel good about you accomplishments and people should know that you worked to get that lick, technique, or other skill down.

Thanks,

Monkey

[CudBucket]

What kind of harmonics are we talking about here? Can you describe how you do them?

Thanks.

Dave

[Bia]

I too worked hard on getting it just right........there's nothing like hitting them while smokin out some heavy jam.

Edited March 14, 2005 by Bia

[PatientZero]

I've found that holding the pick sideways (picking with one of the round edges instead of the pointy one) works wonders. Just seems to slide from the pick and just graze the thumb. Congrats, now you can play Pantera and Zakk Wylde riffs.

[borge]

for some strange i have been able to do pinch harmonics since i started playing i think it has alot to do with how i hold the pick (index middle thumb )similar to a pencil.

but only recently have i really mastered the art and learnt all the sweet spots. u can get four different harmonic notes off a singular fretted note depending on where abouts along the string you pick (much like there a different natural harmonics)

on a different note

i recently saw a paul gilbert video and he talked about changing the way he held the pick(after many years of playing) so he could play really fast picking licks like malmstein. this made me paranoid that the way i held the pick was limiting my speed.im starting to wonder if i should change to the orthodox way aswell. has anyone done the same?

is it worth it?

[westhemann]

i have attempted to switch my picking grasp to play lead faster...but it makes my rythm suffer.

since i really like my pick attack on rythm,i just keep practicing on the lead playing.really leads are secondary for me

[Primal]

What kind of harmonics are we talking about here?  Can you describe how you do them?

Thanks.

Dave

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Pinch harmonics, pick squeals, etc. Listen to some Zakk Wylde and you will know EXACTLY what we are talking about.

I've been thinking about attempting to include pinch harmonics in my bass playing (possible? It would be innovative at the very least).

As of now, I don't really have any exotic techniques that I have perfected. I can tell you that I am working on my two-hand tapping and flamenco style strumming (a la Les Claypool) on bass. And of course, I am always working on my slap technique.

[borge]

i have attempted to switch my picking grasp to play lead faster...but it makes my rythm suffer.

since i  really like my pick attack on rythm,i just keep  practicing on the lead playing.really leads are secondary for me

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thats weird

its the opposite to me

my new grasp has a much better sounding attack but it made me slower until i got used to the different grip

but i had to change my main tapping finger which wasnt too hard as ive been practicing using all my fingers on some jennifer batten style tapping

and i had to practice a bit to get pinch harmonics back

but overall my new grip is alot better

[Curtis P]

I been practicing pinch harmonics now for about 2 months, and i havent got one yet

Curtis

[borge]

curtis

try pinching over the 12th fret of an open string (or 12 frets higher than a fretted note)

this is by far the easiest node to pinch, it should ring out 1 octave higher then the open (or fretted) note

the harder u pick it the harder it will snap back against ur thumb

and the harder it will squeal

[Curtis P]

thanks, i will try that

[Devon Headen]

That's a natural harmonic. Totally different than false "pinch" harmonics.

[borge]

but for a pinch harmonic to work it must be over a node and if there is a node then a natural harmonic is possible

eg do a natural harmonic at the 5th or 24th fret then do a pinch harmonic over the 24 fret its exactly the same note isnt it (2 octaves above open string) because ur using the same node it doesnt matter how u get the harmonic to ring (pinching, conventional natural harmonic, tapped harmonics, harp harmonics) it will be the same note

[jnewman]

Pinch harmonics, pick squeals, etc. Listen to some Zakk Wylde and you will know EXACTLY what we are talking about.

I've been thinking about attempting to include pinch harmonics in my bass playing (possible? It would be innovative at the very least).

As of now, I don't really have any exotic techniques that I have perfected. I can tell you that I am working on my two-hand tapping and flamenco style strumming (a la Les Claypool) on bass. And of course, I am always working on my slap technique.

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Listen to the opening sequence of "Birdland" by the Weather Report. There's a 25 second pinch harmonic bass riff to start the song off - it's an amazing sound.

[GregP]

but for a pinch harmonic to work it must be over a node and if there is a node then a natural harmonic is possible

eg do a natural harmonic at the 5th or 24th fret then do a pinch harmonic over the 24 fret its exactly the same note isnt it (2 octaves above open string) because ur using the same node it doesnt matter how u get the harmonic to ring (pinching, conventional natural harmonic, tapped harmonics, harp harmonics) it will be the same note

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Well....

Sort of.

I guess it depends on what your needs are. A node is simply a spot where the frequencies work out evenly, which means that any harmonics produced at a node will have a certain mathmatical consistency giving it more volume and a clearer 'bell-like' tone if you don't mess with it further.

Literally, you're probably right. I don't have enough knowledge of physics to argue too much. But those nodes are not always at fret locations. The easy ones are, but the sub-divided, teeny-tiny little ones that really make you SCREAM when you hit them aren't usually found at a nice even fret location.

You can get a pinch harmonic at virtually (maybe not literally) any location with a little effort. The degree to which it's easy to dig out DOES depend on frequency and 'node' for lack of a better word... but you can also get them in uneven nodal locations; it's just that the note will quickly lose its energy and cancel itself out. But there are some pretty nasty (in a good way) harmonics to be found in there, too.

When you're talking about the harmonics found at those more tidy locations, you're more often referring to 'harp' harmonics, which you've already said that you're familiar with. Unlike harp harmonics, a pinch harmonic's 'node' isn't so tidily found, and in those neat mathmatecial spots, they won't scream the way a Zakk Wylde or Billy Gibbons pinch harmonic will.

So, to recap-- you're right, in a literal sense, that you get 'best' results from a node (ie. loudest and most consistent). But I would argue that this is really a glorified harp harmonic, and that a good screaming pinch harmonic doesn't use the same intervals for its nodes. My picking hand digs out plenty of screams without needing to move it up to the fretboard area, and I can consistently get pinch harmonics without even 'knowing' where my picking hand is. Some are better and more satisfying than others, and it's obviously helpful to develop some 'physical memory' for where the best ones come from, but at the end of the day it's more about feeling them and just digging in for them.

Greg

[Devon Headen]

Sounds just right. I was going to try to write up something very similar until I saw this.

[Primal]

Listen to the opening sequence of "Birdland" by the Weather Report. There's a 25 second pinch harmonic bass riff to start the song off - it's an amazing sound.

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Actually, those are natural harmonics. Jaco frets the notes, uses his thumb to touch the string 12 frets above what he is fretting, and picks the string with his index finger. At least, that's how I play it. Its not pinch harmonics in the guitar sense.

[GregP]

I haven't heard the song, but what's being described in the post above is harp harmonics, not pinch.

Greg

[jnewman]

Hm... I guess I hadn't really thought about it, but I guess it makes sense that there's a different technique for bass, seeing as how most bassists don't use picks... heh. Oops.

Either way, it sounds pretty good .

[Primal]

Indeed, it is very cool. And GregP, I have no idea what harp harmonics are. Could you enlighten me?

[borge]

greg

im dont think were on the same page with nodes, heres a pic i found its not the best but itll do nodes

im not sure if u understand how many nodes there can be.

the reason guitars (actually any musical instrument) sound different from one another ( this is how u tell a trumpet from a violin )

is because of different "mixtures" of harmonics this is a simple example of harmonics mixing to give a "composite waveform"harmonics mixing

all of these harmonics ring out in varying amplitudes (volumes) every time u play a string. where u pick along the string, how hard u pick, what material u pick with all effect the "composite waveform". from there u can use certain techniques to "force" a certain frequecy to "jump above" by "holding a node still" and making the rest of the string ring at the frequency that the position of the node dictates

i hope this makes sense

Edited April 12, 2005 by borge