Pinch Harmonics (Poll)

[Sirion]

Thumb. I wish I were able to do it on upstrokes with my index finger, so that I could do tremolo harmonics, but alas...

[Obsessive Compulsive]

A cool trick is immediately pull up the bar for crazy squeal. I think Joe Satriani does it a lot live.

[dave74]

Zac Wild does them by pressing his junk against the control plate on the backside of his Gibby. Facts

And we see the kind of mutants that result from such vulgar acts!

https://www.schecterguitars.com/guitars/wylde-audio

[Erlend_G]

nose :/

[GuitarStv]

I was playing around with this last night, and realized that it's actually pretty easy to do pinch harmonics with the index finger too . . . but where I use the meat of my thumb to pinch harmonic normally, I seem to always use the nail on my index finger. You just twist your wrist the right way and the harmonics pop right out.

[Bogner]

And we see the kind of mutants that result from such vulgar acts!
https://www.schecterguitars.com/guitars/wylde-audio

The blood eagle is cool if you reshaped the eagle beak and rounded it off proper. I guess they would then call that an explorer.

[LLL]

I was playing around with this last night, and realized that it's actually pretty easy to do pinch harmonics with the index finger too . . . but where I use the meat of my thumb to pinch harmonic normally, I seem to always use the nail on my index finger. You just twist your wrist the right way and the harmonics pop right out.

Yep, I use the nail. I cut it a certain way too.

[PFDarkside]

Does anyone have a photo of how to do it with a finger? I think I learned the Billy/Zakk technique and never tried anything else.

[Aceman]

LLL, based on the information, something to consider -

There are infinite ways to do the same thing on a guitar...that said;

* I have always considered a "pinch" harmonic to be because you "pinch" your thumb and finger together when digging the thumb into the string after the pick. I have never heard this called anything else - as apparently have not 50 other players
* I have heard of 'touch' harmonics that touching and playing the string over the harmonic node. I have seen players do this with both their left and right hands.
* There are also 'tap' harmonics - tapping on the fret 12 higher a fretted lower string. See EVH for a crap ton of examples.

Had you asked about 'touch' harmonics I suspect you'd have got answers about all sorts of answers like index finger, middle finger etc...

Are you sure, and just asking here, that you are not talking about those? And we are all talking about the classic pinch definition? So while I'm sure you can do it that way, just asking. And how did you develop this approach then? Just figured it out or did you see someone do it?

[Aceman]

Zac Wild does them by pressing his junk against the control plate on the backside of his Gibby. Facts

A friend, describing my style a long time ago said "You do a lot of the little squeelies"

And he was right. I did use them a lot. It was "my thing"

And then Zak Wylde came a long and ruined it....damn him!

[GuitarStv]

LLL, based on the information, something to consider -

There are infinite ways to do the same thing on a guitar...that said;

* I have always considered a "pinch" harmonic to be because you "pinch" your thumb and finger together when digging the thumb into the string after the pick. I have never heard this called anything else - as apparently have not 50 other players
* I have heard of 'touch' harmonics that touching and playing the string over the harmonic node. I have seen players do this with both their left and right hands.
* There are also 'tap' harmonics - tapping on the fret 12 higher a fretted lower string. See EVH for a crap ton of examples.

Had you asked about 'touch' harmonics I suspect you'd have got answers about all sorts of answers like index finger, middle finger etc...

Are you sure, and just asking here, that you are not talking about those? And we are all talking about the classic pinch definition? So while I'm sure you can do it that way, just asking. And how did you develop this approach then? Just figured it out or did you see someone do it?

It's still a pinch harmonic . . . just a different angle to get it. With thumb pinch harmonics I rotate my right hand clockwise after picking to brush the string with my thumb. With index finger pinch harmonics I rotate my right hand counter clockwise and brush the string with my fingernail.

[Cynical]

Side of the thumb for me.

My friend who taught me how to play has the weirdest technique I've ever seen; he uses the blade of his hand for them! He lightly rests the blade of his hand on the strings, as though he was palm muting but with much less force, and then gives the string he wants the pinch on a hard up-pick.

[LLL]

Not tapping harmonics, etc... and some of the poll answers were a joke.


How to get a pinch harmonic with your index finger?

Let's assume I'm sitting down with a guitar; ready to pick. If you're looking down at my (left, because I'm a lefty) pick hand, you're viewing the side of the hand.

You will see my thumb crossed over the index finger; touching the side of the index finger... together they form an approximately equidistant "X"

In between is the pick tip.

So, I make a pretty even "X" with my thumb and index finger; with pick in the middle.

All three (index finger, pick tip and thumb) are approximately equidistant as far a length (pick tip is sticking out a little longer).


So, looking down, we have 3 pick hand "points" of which to strike a string, from L to R, is index finger, pick tip, then thumb.


That being said, I could use my thumb for a pinch harmonic, but I could also use my index finger as well (and I do).

The fingernail on my index finger is specially cut to help facilitate better pinch harmonics; it's just like having two... picks at the same time (reminds me of Office Space quote...).

The index finger nail and pick hit ("pinch") the string at the same time.

It's the way I learned in the 80's; felt comfortable to me.

[playas]

Beyond natural harmonics I'm lost, especially regarding the names, but I never did figure out how to do pinch harmonics.

I do some where I tap the string lightly over the fret...others where I (usually bending at the same time) kind of hit the string sideways with the edge of the plectrum over certain nodes beyond the 2nd octave where the 24th fret would be.

Always interested to learn new skills so I'll have to try and follow some of these explanations to see what I can achieve.

[playas]

...Once I figure out why I'm seeing your thumb if I'm sitting down with a guitar.