Introduction
Welcome to my latest article for iBreatheMusic. Man, slowly this thing is really taking off, and there are lots of interesting discussions at the forums. Why donīt you join us there ? Donīt forget that you can also post questions about our articles there...
Anyway, my topic for today is "harmonics".
I mean, for a while I was convinced that harmonics were just nice little things to use for fills in a song ( like playing the good old divebomb ). Later, I listened to a lot of music by Eric Johnson and Steve Morse. Those guys created some absolutely beautiful effects with harmonics, playing melodies etc. that way. So I focussed on finding different kinds of harmonics and how to use them. And I can tell you, there is a lot to discover.
Those things are definitely more than just cheap effects. They can be used to play melodies or even be used as a part of the rhythm guitar-parts ( as in Van Halenīs "Poundcake" or Joe Satrianiīs "Summer Song".
And if you listen to Jeff Beck, you know already what kind of almost divine sounds you can get ( as heard in the beautiful "Where Were You" and "Two Rivers"... )
Anyway, letīs start off with the very basics.
The most popular kind of harmonics are the natural harmonics.
You get those by putting your finger on the strings ( donīt push them down, just lay your finger onto the string ), then picking that string with your left hand, and quickly taking away the left hand-finger. This works best at the 12th, 7th and 5th fret. ( I donīt wanna get too much into guitar science here, letīs just memorize those numbers for now, weīll get back to them ).
In the first MP3, youīll hear me playing the harmonics at the frets I mentioned above. First I hit the highest three strings at the same time, then I pick each one on itīs own.
Click HERE to hear this example.
As youīll hear, the pitch gets higher the closer the harmonic is to the nut. Again, letīs not get into guitar-physique too much. You can also try to generate them at lower or higher frets, but those are more difficult to generate. You can get some extremely high pitches though. Turn up the gain on your amp a bit and try to get harmonics at the 4th or even third fret. Or how about that squealing high harmonic that Joe Satriani used in "Satch Boogie" ? That was played at the 14th fret ( !! )
One interesting thing that Iīd like to point out about those natural harmonics:
You can create some very pretty sounds by combining them with regular, fretted notes, creating chords. An example? Play the natural harmonics at the 12th fret on the A-,D-,G-, B- and high E-string, and add a C on the low E-string ( 8th fret, regular note )... voilá, there goes your Cmaj13-chord.
Another one? Same strings, harmonics at the 7th fret. Add a fretted G at the 3rd fret of the low E-String, and youīll ( hopefully ) hear G maj13. You can also experience with open strings to create even nicer sounds... Joe Satriani did so to create some of the layers on his ballad "Rubina" ( from "Not Of This Earth" )
Alrighty, letīs get to our next audio-example. Just turn the page...
Natural and tapped harmonics
Ok, for this next MP3 I turned up the gain on my amp. I played the natural harmonics at the 12th, 7th and 5th fret ( G, B and high E-String ) and "dipped" with the whammy bar. This is pretty much a classic harmonic effect. And thatīs why I donīt need to explain much about it...
Click HERE to hear this example.
Ok, I mentioned "Two Rivers" by Jeff Beck. Here is something similar to the second guitar-riff of that song. Start on the low E-String by hitting the natural harmonic at the 5th fret. Then, move down the string while picking... that way, play the harmonic at the fourth, then the one at the third fret. On those rather small distances, you can get quite a few different harmonics. Experiment with that.
In the audio example, I repeat the same thing on the A-string.
Click HERE to hear this example.
Artificial ( or pinch ) harmonics
This is a very popular tool for rockguitarists. Iīm sure that all of you heard this sound before. And if you know some ZZ Top-Songs, you sure have heard Billy Gibbons use that technique in his own unique way.
Letīs for an example play a note on the G-String, and pick it with your guitar pick. You have to hold the pick a certain way so that, immediately after the pick left the string, the side of your thumb touches the string lightly. That way, the regular note is turned into an harmonic. ( Try to simulate it this way: pick the regular note, than touch the string with your fingertip at the position where you picked it... very carefully. The regular note should be turned into a high-pitched harmonic. If you can do this, try it with the way I described above ( touching the string with the side of your thumb ). This might take a while, but once you know how to do it, it will get easier and you most likely wonīt lose the ability to do it.
By the way, this is only one way to achieve those artificial / pinch harmonics. The other one ( the way Steve Morse and Billy Gibbons do it ) is:
Pick the note as above, then slightly touch it softly with the nail of your pinkie, immediately removing it again. Again, a regular note should be turned into an high-pitched harmonic.
Now, once you can nail this, try the following: While picking, move your picking hand forth and back along the string ( so you pick at a different position every time ) while creating those artificial harmonics. Youīll see that the pitch changes every time. And with your left hand, you keep fretting only that one note. Cool, huh ?
Try to find some "sweet spots", with sounds you like most. Zakk Wylde made this technique an essential part of his sound, and uses it to get some MEEEEAAAAN sounds. But heīs not the only example... Eddie Van Halen, Joe Satch, Michael Schenker... I can hardly think of a rock guitarist whoīs not using those harmonics to add some life to their solos... itīs a great phrasing tool as long as you donīt overdue it...
Here is an MP3 of me doing what I described above: picking artificial harmonics while moving up and down along the string with my picking hand...
Click HERE to hear this example.
...and, just for the sake of it, a short improvised solo using lots of those artificial harmonics...
Click HERE to hear this example.
Tapped Harmonics
This is one of the techniques made famous by Eddie Van Halen ( as in the intro of Van Halenīs "Mean Street"... also check out Nuno Bettencourtīs intro of the Extreme-song "Lilī Jack Horny" )
Hereīs how ya do it:
Fret a regular note ( letīs just say the A at the 2nd fret of the G-String ). Donīt pick the note, just fret it. Then, tap the same string exactly 12 frets above ( and above the fretwire of that 14th fret ). Tap the note hard and immediately take the tapping finger away again. What you should hear is an harmonic, exactly an octave above the fretted note.
Next, try other intervals between the fretted and the tapped note. Not all intervals will work, but youīll get cool results when tapping a major sixth ( 9 frets above the fretted note, in our example that would be at the 11th fret ), the fifth ( 7 frets above, so in our example the 9th fret ) and the fourth ( 5 frets above, so in our example: 7th fret ).
Noticing anything ? Yup, we do have those intervals again... 12th fret, 7th fret and 5th fret... the intervals I told you to remember when I talked about natural harmonics.
Here is an audio-example:
Click HERE to hear this example.
Ok, the more difficult variation would be to fret chords and tap those chords as harmonics... use the intervals I described above. Itīs a nice, funky-sounding effect.
Click HERE to hear this example.
Last variation:
Arpeggiate the chord youīre fretting by tapping each note of the chord an octave above ( kinda "mirroring" it ). This can be heard in Van Halenīs "Spanish Fly" and the aforementioned Extreme-song, or in my MP3:
Click HERE to hear this example.
Harp harmonics
Ok, if you have listened to some music by Steve Morse or Eric Johnson, youīre familiar to those harp harmonics. Other popular users are: Mike Landau, Steve Lukather, Lenny Breau, Tal Farlow...
It actually is a classical guitar technique, and is kinda similar to the tapped harmonics.
Letīs say weīre fretting that A ( 2nd fret, G-string ) again. Now, put the tip of your right hand index finger onto the fretwire of the 14th fret ( = an octave above the fretted note ), slightly touching it as if you wanna play a natural harmonic. Now, pick the string with either the pick ( which youīre holding with the other fingers of your right hand ) or your thumb ( which is a softer sound, less attack ).
You can use that technique to arpeggiate chords and even to play melodies. With a cleansound or acoustic guitar, you get a chiming, harp-like ( hence the name ) sound, while with some distortion, you get a nice, violin-sounding sound. I used this technique for the verse-melodies in "Atlanta Dawn" by the Eric Vandenberg Band.
Ok, in the audio-example, I am playing a slow, improvised melody with those harp harmonics ( generating them 12 frets above the fretted note. You certainly can also use the harmonics 5 or 7 frets above the fretted note... )
Click HERE to hear this example.
Another example, combining a country-style bend with harp harmonics. This is a lick from the song "Dreamland" by the Steve Morse Band ( from "Structural Damage" ):
Click HERE to hear this example.
To explain the second measure a bit further: with your left hand, fret the note at the 9th fret and bend it up a whole note. Like all the other notes in this lick, youīre sounding it as an harp harmonic ( 12 frets above the fretted notes ). Now, while you keep holding that bent note, play the A on the B-string. This doublestop-thing sounds a bit like a pedal-steel. Try to fade it in with the volume knob to get even closer to a pedal-steel sound. Anyway, slowly let go of the bent note... thatīs it...
OK, my final audio example demonstrates a very nice technique which I learned from Jamie Findlay. Eric Johnson has been using that same kinda lick several times.
Hereīs how ya do it. With your left hand, fret all strings at the 5th fret.
Now, use your right hand index finger and thumb ( the latter to pick the note ) to create the harp harmonic on the low E-String. Next, with your middle- or ring-finger, pick the regular note on the G-String ( no harp harmonic ). Create another harp harmonic on the 5th (17th ) fret of the A-string and a regular note on the B-String.
What you get is a nice cascade-like sound. It takes a while to get this to flow, but once it does, it has a nice, waterfall-like sound to it. Experiment with different chords and picking patterns.
Hereīs the TAB:
Click HERE to hear this example.
OK, thatīs it for now. I guess you can see by now that harmonics are more than just sound-effects. You can use them as different sonic colors, creating different sounds ( as opposed to regular fretted notes ) or even layers ( like in our last example )... just check out albums like "Venus Isle" by Eric Johnson...
To conclude this, here are a few listening recommendations:
Jeff Beck- Guitar Shop
Van Halen- "Fair Warning", "Live Right Here Right Now" ( check out the guitar-solo "316")
Steve Morse Band-"High Tension Wires" and "Structural Damage"
Eric Johnson- "Tones" and "Venus Isle"
ZZ Top- "Best Of..."
Pat Metheny Group
Tommy Emmanuel
Ted Greene
Ralph Towner
Tal Farlow
Lenny Breau
Michael Landau- Tales From The Bulge
Alrighty, see ya next time... or Iīll meet ya at the forums, right ?