Play the natural harmonics with ONLY ONE finger! No left hand needed!

hikaru · Mar 7, 2017

So I found out that the natural harmonics can be done with ONLY one hand, one finger!

To do this, in open string, very gently brushing the 12th fret with the nail part of the index finger, one string at a time. It's that easy!

You might need to find the exact spot on the string to get the chime sound. And the volume is definitely lower than doing it in the normal way.

Jim Hanks · Mar 7, 2017

Another "right hand only" technique is to touch the 12th fret with the index finger and pluck just behind it with the nail of the ring finger. Takes some practice. This can also be done 12 frets above any fretted note so you could play a whole melody with just harmonics

SoloRule · Mar 7, 2017

Camsuke said:
Here's the technique Jim mentioned. https://app.box.com/s/8a2bpstvoeh0pd01qkft13osc3kvnv4e

Thanks Campbell. I never knew you can do that. Learning something new everyday in this forum.

Kayak Jim · Mar 7, 2017

Camsuke said:
Here's the technique Jim mentioned. https://app.box.com/s/8a2bpstvoeh0pd01qkft13osc3kvnv4e

Not exactly. This shows plucking with the thumb, which is how I do it. Jim uses his ring finger. Touch the string at the fret with the index in both cases

I still can't figure out how the OP does it with ONE finger?

hikaru · Mar 7, 2017

Kayak Jim said:
Not exactly. This shows plucking with the thumb, which is how I do it. Jim uses his ring finger. Touch the string at the fret with the index in both cases

I still can't figure out how the OP does it with ONE finger?

The two-hand way is to use the left one to cut the string in half and the right one to pluck the string and make it vibrate. You can pluck it directly in the "cut-in-half" position to get the fretting and vibrating with only one finger!

This is how it works in theory, but the plucking is very gentle, and the sound volume is tiny compared to the normal way. It's just fun to play with and probably has no use in songs...

Kayak Jim · Mar 7, 2017

OK I got it now. If I hammer on the string gently with my nail at the 12th I can get the harmonic to sound. Very low volume indeed!

Play the natural harmonics with ONLY ONE finger! No left hand needed!

hikaru

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Jim Hanks

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SoloRule

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Kayak Jim

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hikaru

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Kayak Jim

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