Pinch Harmonics, Help On Higher Frets

[Curtis P]

OK, i finally got pinch harmonics, i cant do them all the time, but i can do them!! finally!!

OK, i seem to be having a really hard time getting pinch harmonics anywhere past 9th fret, they just go muted, and dont ring out!! please help!

Thanks

Curtis

[GregP]

Imagine where the physical halfway point is in between the note you're fretting and the bridge. There's a nice big fat harmonic node there that'll make getting a pinch harmonic nice and easy.

There are other spots, too, but mostly you just have to have rock-solid technique, high gain distortion, and the confidence to just go for one. If your technique is good enough and gain high enough, you'll pretty much always get some sort of pinched harmonic.

Once you're good at visualizing 'on the fly' where that halfway point is, try moving the spot where you're "pinching" either closer to the neck or closer to the bridge, to find other tasty "nodes". The higher up you go on the frets, the less distance you'll have to move your picking hand in order to find a good spot, so just muck around a bit and you'll find a few.

After a while, your muscle memory (or whatever you want to call it) will have you moving almost instinctively to the right spot.

Greg

[Curtis P]

Thanks Greg!! I will have to try it tonight!!

Curtis

[Curtis P]

well, i can do pinch harmonics almost at will now, i only goof up sometimes, but so far i have been playing some Randy Rhoads that i couldnt play before because of pinch harmonics, and some Nuno Bettencourt stuff

Curtis

[GregP]

Good stuff! The thing is, once you've got the technique down cold, you can get them whenever you want and they just become a part of your skillset, to be called upon if desired.

I can't say that I get the exact harmonic I want ALL the time, but as I'm playing, if my hands and head are saying, "pinch'er" I can let one scream at least.

Also cool is that the better your technique gets, the less gain you need, so you can do cool little squealers with medium or no distortion, like on a lot of SRV tracks.

Greg

[Curtis P]

i noticed some of Nunos work is actually done in clean, i tried it, got one, but it was a little more tricky

Curtis

[wolfsd]

i noticed some of Nunos work is actually done in clean, i tried it, got one, but it was a little more tricky

Curtis

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I usually practice my pinching with no amp, as you can see....it would be a pain to bring home....

any way when i feel that my pinching is not up to snuff, i start with an open string, moving my picking hand between the neck and bridge pinching the whole time. then i do it all over again at the first fret...second...etc on all of the strings. when you get them easily with no amp...they come out with almost no effort when plugged in.

steve