Artificial Harmonics Guitar:
Artificial harmonics are a guitar technique that creates high-pitched, bell-like tones by precisely manipulating the string.
It’s like unlocking a hidden sound from your guitar that feels almost magical.
You’re not just playing a regular note—you’re coaxing out a harmonic by combining fretting and light touches with your picking hand.
It’s a bit tricky at first but super rewarding when you nail it!
How do you produce artificial harmonics?
- Basic Idea: You lightly touch the string with one hand (usually your picking hand) at a specific point while plucking it. This creates a harmonic sound instead of a regular note.
- Fretting and Picking: Unlike natural harmonics, which happen on open strings, artificial harmonics require you to fret a note with your fretting hand and find the harmonic sweet spot with your picking hand.
- Sweet Spots: These spots are often located at certain fractions of the string’s length, like 1/2, 1/3, or 1/4, and they produce the harmonic tones.
Why are Artificial Harmonics Cool?
Artificial harmonics can make your guitar playing sound like a harp, a flute, or even a singing voice. It’s perfect for adding a dramatic or unique flair to your solos.
Where You’ll Hear It:
- Rock and Metal: Guitarists like Eddie Van Halen and Zakk Wylde often use artificial harmonics to create screaming, pinch-like effects.
- Classical and Acoustic: These harmonics are used to add shimmering textures to melodic passages.
- Jazz and Fusion: Players experiment with artificial harmonics for their sophisticated and rich tonal palette.
This is how artificial harmonics are represented in standard notation and TABs:
In short,
artificial harmonics are a fun and impressive way to push your guitar skills and creativity to the next level. It might take some practice to nail them, but once you do, they’ll add an undeniably cool edge to your sound!