Artificial Harmonics

[Draconamis]

I've been playing for about a year now, and only recently have I had the opportunity to practice more than half a hour a day namely because now I'm in college and there a serious lack of anyone who isn't into rap music, sports, and who wants to think about a sixth grade level.
With my extra time I've been working on Death songs in order to accustom myself to fast palm mutting between clean chords and notes, however I've found that Death uses a lot of Artificial harmonics at the ends of their riffs and (I know, get ot the point already) I've "learned" how to play them, It just doesn't sound as high as the ones on the album do. Is this just bad equipment, or am I playing them wrong?
For reference I usually push my thumb on my picking hand out further and use that to sort of pinch the string while picking, and barely holding my finger abov the fret where I want to play the A.H.

 

[Sunbane]

It's often a matter of exactly where on the string you do the harmonic. Try moving your picking hand closer to the bridge as you do the harmonic. It may take some experimentation (to find the nodes), but you can get several different "levels" of harmonics by moving the picking hand closer or further away from the bridge.

'bane

 

[BodomiC]

Artificial harmonic's suond depends only of the distance from the bridge, where you artificially pick the string. Higher notes comes when you pick lil'bit closer to the end of your fretboard.

You may try one more technique about that. Just try doing some hammer-on's and put your right hand's finger on the string, just touch it and slide up to your left hand still doing hammer-on's. Once you reach apropriate distence youll hear something simillar to A.H.

 

[Fifth_Horseman]

and barely holding my finger abov the fret where I want to play the A.H.

when playing an artificial harmonic you should just fret the note normally with your left hand, because the right hand creates the harmonic.
Then experiment with the right hand position when pinching the string.

The way you describe it you seem to mix natural harmonics with artificial harmonics... I don't even know if that works, gotta try it at home.

 

[BodomiC]

Something unnatural comes out of my amp when I do like he said

Anyway while you pick the string move your thumb little towards the pick and just after picking the string with pick put for one moment, very little moment, your thumb on the string. Thats the artificial harmonics bro

 

[FrostGiant]

It can also be called a pinch harmonic

 

[Ravenous Enemy]

ahhhhh. Thankyou, 'cos you've all had me in confusion. So artificial and piched harmonics are the same thing.... no they can't be. I'm confused again. I thought (just talking about sound now) an artifial harmonic is where you pick a note normally and then touch the string in a certain place to make a node, giving you two different notes, where as pinched harmonics are when you pick and touch the string at the same tiome, creating one higher pitched note. ??????

 

[lord667]

ahhhhh. Thankyou, 'cos you've all had me in confusion. So artificial and piched harmonics are the same thing.... no they can't be. I'm confused again. I thought (just talking about sound now) an artifial harmonic is where you pick a note normally and then touch the string in a certain place to make a node, giving you two different notes, where as pinched harmonics are when you pick and touch the string at the same tiome, creating one higher pitched note. ??????

No, artificial harmonics and pinched harmonics are the same. You're thinking of tap harmonics.

 

[Sunbane]

No, artificial harmonics and pinched harmonics are the same. You're thinking of tap harmonics.

Also known as natural harmonics.

 

[lord667]

Also known as natural harmonics.

No, that's the other kind, where you make the harmonic with your fretting hand. I think he means the ones where you tap a node with your right hand finger, as opposed to pinching it.

 

[AjDeath]

I always thought there were three different types, Natural, where you lightly put your finger above a fret and create a harmonic, pinch, when you hold your pick regularly but kind of scoop the string with your thumb, and artificial, holding you pick between thumb and middle finger and striking the string at the same time as your pick does with your index, am I wrong?

 

[Sunbane]

Hell, now I'm getting confused...

 

[BodomiC]

Im lost in all of that. I know two types, natural and artificial...

 

[serenesorrow]

The ones where you touch the node with a finger from your picking hand and then play the note are called "harp harmonics"

 

[FrostGiant]

I always thought there were three different types, Natural, where you lightly put your finger above a fret and create a harmonic, pinch, when you hold your pick regularly but kind of scoop the string with your thumb, and artificial, holding you pick between thumb and middle finger and striking the string at the same time as your pick does with your index, am I wrong?

Those last two are the exact same thing just different ways of doing it I think.

 

[Sunbane]

The ones where you touch the node with a finger from your picking hand and then play the note are called "harp harmonics"

But technically, wouldn't that be a natural harmonic, just that you play it with the picking hand?

'bane

 

[Episteme]

Artificial harmonic's suond depends only of the distance from the bridge, where you artificially pick the string. Higher notes comes when you pick lil'bit closer to the end of your fretboard.

You may try one more technique about that. Just try doing some hammer-on's and put your right hand's finger on the string, just touch it and slide up to your left hand still doing hammer-on's. Once you reach apropriate distence youll hear something simillar to A.H.

That is what most people seem to call Legato Harmonics. Joe Satriani does it quite alot.

Then there's the technique where you lightly rest your fingers over the nodes and pick. This is called Natural Harmonics. The sweet spots are the 5th, 7th, 4th and a little over the 2nd.

Then there's tap harmonics where you play a natural harmonic and tap it's octave over the 12th fret. e.g the 4th fret it would be 16th.

Artificial harmonics are squeals that Death and Zakk Wylde do quite alot. You grip your pick hard and as you pick the string, you brush your thumb across the string. Artificial harmonics are also called pick squeals, pinch harmonics. There are alot of other ways of producing this sound. You just have to practise alot and you'll finally get the hang of it, it's always good to do a little vibrato on the string after a pinch. You also get different overtones for these harmonics when you play it over different positions of the pickups.

Hope this helps.

 

[FrostGiant]

Harmonic A.

 

[Episteme]

:zombie:

 

[Sunbane]

Harmonic A.

Ok, that was bizarre. =)