Knowing how to play guitar harmonics is to possess one of the most difficult skills a guitar player can learn. Harmonics can be produced in a number of ways, but the technique for doing so is a very specific one that requires an intimate knowledge of the guitar and how it produces notes. To create harmonics that sound good, and appear as notes from nowhere, a player has to fully understand the way his guitar strings vibrate, and the exact frets on which they can be produced.
It takes many years to master the split-second timing needed and gain the experience required to know upon which frets and strings harmonics can be created. It is a very tricky and delicate technique, and many guitarists never learn how to play guitar harmonics, no matter how hard they try or experienced a player they are. A harmonic is an unusual note and can be played at positions where the guitar string is divided into halves, thirds and quarters.
These are five, seven and twelve frets from the point at which the string is fretted, and is very difficult to count when you are playing, so you have to be very aware of your fingering and fret positions. This comes after years of practice, and beginners simply do not learn how to play guitar harmonics.
It is next to impossible to explain how to play harmonics in writing: even a CD is no good because the technique lies in your use of the fingers. Harmonics have to be demonstrated. They involve finding that point at the quarter, third or mid way on a string and then one technique is to lightly touch the string, quickly pluck it and remove your finger. The string does not touch the fret where you pluck it, and what happens is that the two parts of the string either side of the point at which you pluck it vibrate. The node is the point at which you touch the string, and the result is a bell like sound – a rich single note.
In fact, the twelfth harmonic (played 12 frets from the fretted string) can be used to check your guitar intonation, and whether or not your bridge needs adjusted, because the harmonic and the fundamental fretted note should be identical in pitch. If not, then an adjustment to the bridge is called for until they do. However, don’t worry about that right now if you are still learning. The other harmonics sound at a higher pitch than the fretted note. Where a harmonic is played on an open (unfretted) sting, that harmonic is known as a natural harmonic.
Harmonics take a lot of practice to learn, but they are like learning to swim or ride a bicycle: once you get it, you have it forever. The easiest way to learn, if there is such a thing, is to play on the 5th, 7th and 12th frets with the strings open. Once you are able to produce the harmonic on these frets, then practice 5, 7 and 12 frets down from fretted strings. It takes a lot of practice and understanding of your instrument to achieve to the point that you can use harmonics while playing solos, but it is worth learning how to play harmonics because it adds a depth to your playing that you could not otherwise achieve.
However, they are difficult to learn and by far the best way is to see them being played because it is not only knowing where to play them that you must learn, but how to play them. The fingering involves a specific technique, especially when playing an artificial harmonic on a fretted note with your right hand. A natural harmonic can be played with your left and right hand, but the fretted harmonic needs your right hand only. This can involve some nifty and complicated finger-work that involves lightly touching the string and plucking it at the same time with the same hand.
These techniques have to be demonstrated in order that you understand how they are played, and for that you need personal tuition or a DVD. Personal tuition is by far the better, but it can be expensive and each lesson is a one-off, whereas you can play a DVD several times over until you understand the technique.
However, there is a half-way house available online that combines the personal and the DVD methods of tuition. Some guitar teaching membership sites offer you a choice of instructors and guitar playing styles, among them the teaching of harmonics in a few different ways. You can choose that which suits you best, or even the guitar instructor you like best. Just like a DVD, you can view the lessons as often as is necessary, and you also generally get a written version to print out.
Such online guitar tuition membership sites show you how to play guitar harmonics in various styles, using different types of guitar in different styles of play from classical on a classical acoustic guitar to heavy metal on a Strat. You are sure to find a teacher and a style that suits you, and also the ideal way for you to learn how to play guitar harmonics.
Guitar harmonics are not easy to learn, but if you have a desire to master the technique visit http://www.ijamplay.com where you will find guitar teachers with different playing styles that include guitar harmonics in their course.
