Better Harmonics
You may wish to review Harmonics before continuing with this lesson
Once you understand the concept of harmonics and how to play them, there are a few things you can do to make them sound louder and better. To make it easier, we'll discuss these one hand at a time:
Left Hand
1) Touch the string at the desired node with the pad of the finger (where your fingerprint is) instead of the fingertip. The pad of your finger is softer and more forgiving, allowing a larger margin of error.
2) Experiment with touching the string at different locations near the fret, especially slightly in front of the fret. The frets are no longer stopping the string, but merely providing landmarks. Experimentation will locate the best sounding harmonic.
3) Take the left hand finger off of the string as soon as the harmonic is played. After that moment it begins acting as a mute, dampening the sound. Wait until you feel the vibration of the string, though. If you anticipate it, sometimes the left hand will leave prematurely, sounding the open string instead of the harmonic.
Right Hand
1) Don't hold back. Harmonics are, by their nature, timid. Play them forcefully and let your ear balance their dynamic level with natural notes. You will find that you need to put a lot more force than you would think behind each stroke to match the volume of natural notes.
2) Use Rest Strokes whenever possible. While you can't do this if you are arpeggiating, when playing single harmonics, a Rest Stroke helps to bring out the sound. I would recommend Rest Strokes with "p" for the wound bass strings and alternating Rest Strokes with "i" and "m" for the trebles.
3) Play near the bridge. Harmonics have a very limited range of timbre which tends to be on the dolce (sweet) side. They are not nearly as affected by playing ponticello (at the bridge). While a natural note sounds tinny there, a harmonic sounds clearer. You will also get a much smaller orbit of the string when playing near the bridge, allowing you to strike the harmonic more forcefully.
Left Hand
1) Touch the string at the desired node with the pad of the finger (where your fingerprint is) instead of the fingertip. The pad of your finger is softer and more forgiving, allowing a larger margin of error.
2) Experiment with touching the string at different locations near the fret, especially slightly in front of the fret. The frets are no longer stopping the string, but merely providing landmarks. Experimentation will locate the best sounding harmonic.
3) Take the left hand finger off of the string as soon as the harmonic is played. After that moment it begins acting as a mute, dampening the sound. Wait until you feel the vibration of the string, though. If you anticipate it, sometimes the left hand will leave prematurely, sounding the open string instead of the harmonic.
Right Hand
1) Don't hold back. Harmonics are, by their nature, timid. Play them forcefully and let your ear balance their dynamic level with natural notes. You will find that you need to put a lot more force than you would think behind each stroke to match the volume of natural notes.
2) Use Rest Strokes whenever possible. While you can't do this if you are arpeggiating, when playing single harmonics, a Rest Stroke helps to bring out the sound. I would recommend Rest Strokes with "p" for the wound bass strings and alternating Rest Strokes with "i" and "m" for the trebles.
3) Play near the bridge. Harmonics have a very limited range of timbre which tends to be on the dolce (sweet) side. They are not nearly as affected by playing ponticello (at the bridge). While a natural note sounds tinny there, a harmonic sounds clearer. You will also get a much smaller orbit of the string when playing near the bridge, allowing you to strike the harmonic more forcefully.
Copyright © 2011 by Thomas Coffey All Rights Reserved Internatonal Copyright Secured
