8,720
edits
Changes
m
→Beginner Excercises
Once we find the closest pivot point to the bridge, we know where to apply our thumb for the artificial harmonic. So in the first two examples, your thumb should touch against the string above the 19th and 24th frets, while your pick strikes the string slightly closer to the bridge. These are the best places to practice the actual artificial harmonic picking stroke. Your artificial harmonic should sound almost identical to a properly-played natural harmonic. The pitch should be pure, not the open-string pitch plus a slight harmonic pitch. It will take quite a bit of practice to get this to start sounding right, and even more practice to get it consistent.
Once you have the stroke working well, let's move to the 5th, 6th, and 7th harmonics. For these, the last pivot point is not over the fretboard, so it is basically impossible to list exactly where it is without getting a ruler and taking an actual distance measurement (but even this will change if your instrument has a different scale). My advice is to sound the natural harmonic on the nut side, then lightly press your left hand finger against the string near the bridge like you are trying to sound a natural harmonic. Deep Keep picking the string with the right hand (you may have to pick over the fretboard, so your hands are criss-crossed), while you slide the left hand finger towards the string. You should hear a bunch of muted thumps and occasionally some harmonic pitches. Stop when you hear a pitch that matches the one you are trying to find. It should be the same distance from the bridge as the nut to the fret listed above.
Once you've found the correct distance, try making the open-string artificial harmonic, with your thumb touching that pivot point. You should be able to sound the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th harmonics using artificial harmonics.
e--0--<12>--<24>--12--*12--*12
First we have the open E string, then its 2nd harmonic, then its 4th harmonic (using the last pivot point at the 24th fret rather than the first at the 5th fret). The pitches played should be the open-string E4, its octave E5, and the next octave E6. Then we play the 12th fret and sound the 2nd and 4th harmonic using artificial harmonics. These pitches are E5, E6, and E7. We keep the 12th fret held with the left hand. The pivot points each shift halfway closer to the bridge. For the 2nd harmonic, the pivot point moves from 12th fret to 24th. Just like the 12th fret cuts the open string in half, the 24th fret cuts the portion of the string from the 12th fret to the bridge in half. For the 4th harmonic, the pivot point will be halfway between the 24th fret and the bridge. The notes should be all one octave higher, so all 6 notes are: E4, E5, E6...E5, E6, E7.
This should plainly illustrate how fretted notes shift pivot points; however, it's a very academic example, where everything is either cut in half or doubled. Let's look at a messier example: