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2nd 3rd harmonic
3rd 4th harmonic
4th 5th harmonic
5th 6th harmonic
6th 7th harmonic
→Beginner Excercises
== Beginner Excercises ==
---<7>---<19>----*0---
---<5>---<24>----*0----
---<3.8>---<?>---*0---
---<3.2>---<?>---*0---
---<2.6>---<?>---*0---
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 4th5th, 5th6th, and 6th 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 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.
Notice the position of the natural harmonics from 2nd 3rd to 6th7th: 7, 5, 3.8, 3.2, and 2.6. The higher the harmonics go, the closer together their pivot points occur on the fretboard. Try to sound the same artificial harmonics:
Harmonic: 2nd 3rd 4th 4th 5th 6th 7th 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th
Tab: --<7>-<5>-<3.8>-<3.2>-<2.6>----*0---*0---*0---*0---*0--
Notice how just as you move your left-hand closer and closer to the nut but in increasingly smaller distances for the natural harmonics, you also move your right hand closer and closer to the bridge in increasingly smaller distances for the artificial harmonics. Physically speaking, natural and artificial harmonics are the same thing - only the technique used to create them is different.
Now, we get to the tricky part. When you fret the string, you shorten the resonant portion of it. This means that the resonant divisions of the string for a harmonic have been shortened as well. Let's take a simple example to illustrate:
--0--<5>--12--*12--
First we have the open string, then its
