Artificial Harmonics

[AjDeath]

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.

Actually that helped me realize that two different names for the same thing are well, the same friggin thing. Fucking guitarists and their fucking lingo, fucking.

 

[serenesorrow]

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

'bane

Yeah if you want, but you can also move the picking hand finger to different nodes to get different notes making it possible to get artificials as well as the naturals.

 

[nataservant]

I have a question. I've become pro at the downstroke A. Harmonic, but a dude I knew could pull one out of the upstroke.

Any suggestions on how I could pull that off?

 

[lord667]

I have a question. I've become pro at the downstroke A. Harmonic, but a dude I knew could pull one out of the upstroke.

Any suggestions on how I could pull that off?

Use the index-finger tip instead of the thumb flesh, I suppose. You could try the knuckle as well.

 

[Soul Conspiracy]

I use the end knuckle of my finger next to my little finger to get artificial harmonics, I've found it alot easier than the thumb thing. It hits the string about an inch from the pick and I find it very reliable. It's not what they tell you to do in guitar books though.

 

[Ravenous Enemy]

Thanks for clearing that up everyone.

Just two suggestions - to get the pinched harmonics when doing alternate picking just keep your thumb stuck out and if you have enough dist. it seems to work. I also find that using your little finger to do the pinched harmonis works really well, but not knuckles, that doesn't work for me at all.
2)If you have a big enough stretch you can get loads more natural harmonics than you think - e.g. if you fret any string at the first fret and then with a spare left hand finger lightly touch above the sixth fret, you get a semitone about the n. harmonic you would get on the fifth fret... if you see what I mean. Just experiment with this kind of thing and you can get loads of different n. harmonics.