Pinch Harmonics, any tips? Options

[jollygreengiant]

whenever i try to play pinch harmonics the note is still not a clear squeal like how it should and wondered if my technique is wrong or if i just need more practice, any advice or recommended excersizes would be greatly appreciated

[Caelumamittendum]

I think it's basically down to technique, but has nothing to do with directly practicing, but more of experimenting up and down the string with your picking hand, as the sound (and pinched note) depend on that.

[Muris Varajic]

Yeah,pinched harmonics don't need real practicing like other aspects of playing,
those are tiny tricks that show up after some while and experimenting.
Plus,you should have correct tone to produce them,
meaning enough gain,treble and such.

[Ivan Milenkovic]

I can only suggest that you try with several presets more, and try to pinch the harmonic on various places on the string, until you find the sweet spot. The more you play with it, the more you will be good at it.

[Gerardo Siere]

The sweet place of the string is ussually just over the freet (you have to make tha pinch thing as you were using a slide), and you can try to pinch with pick or a stiff and hard part of a finger and pluck the string with another free finger.

[Canis]

Experimenting and getting to know your own guitar is the way to go =)

On my Schecter, I find it easiest to get good pinches just below my neck pickup, depending on what note and string I try to pinch

This post has been edited by Canis: Dec 31 2008, 11:17 PM

[Vaialation1232]

Yeah, i think (for me at least) it was just something that came gradually as i gained more control over my playing, cause i remember trying for hours to do it and it not working and then one day i realized i could do them...that being said practice all the things said above (different spots, new tones) to make it happen faster i think...i'd also focus on 3rd string as that is where it is easiest i think (maybe 3rd string, 4th fret)

Good luck!

[Velvet Roger]

It's indeed something that will come with time. One thing what also makes a bit of a difference (for me at least) is when I play with a pick with a very sharp tip, the pinch harmonics go a bit easier for me (but I like my overal tone more with my medium rounded picks, so I never use them ).

[Pedja Simovic]

Couple of things should really help when practicing pinched harmonics !

- Choosing right sound (DISTORTION preferably)
- Choosing right pickup (Neck pickup should work!)
- Placing your hand in he middle close to Single coil pickup when practicing pinched harmonics.

These are just some basic things but they should get you long way before you sit down and wonder what went wrong
Hope that helps

[sidewas lightnin...]

make sure to keep your thumb bent- that's aways what stops me from doing pinch harmonics, because my thumbs always flat on my pick. You need to hold the pick near the tip too.

And like a lot of other people said, look for sweet spots. There are a lot of riffs that use random harmonics- just to spice it up a little. Having a different note however is much harder. It just takes practice.

[IDontWantMyUsern...]

One thing you could do to find the "sweet spot" would be to search for where the note two octaves above the note you want to pinch harmonic would have been if you had frets up there. One way to do that is just to put your finger on the string and play with the pick like you normally would until you find the note (The sound won't be very clear, but you should be able to hear the note). When you find the note, try to pinch harmonic just on the spot where you found it and work it out from there with other notes