Is there a difference between artificial harmonics and pinch harmonics? I was playing around with Guitar Pro 5 once when I first noticed artificial and pinch harmonics. I already know how to do a pinch harmonic, but how do you do an artificial?
where a pinch harmonic is mostly a pick trick, an artificial is more of a fret hand thing. Lemme see if I can explain this without confusing you, or me for that matter! Your natural harmonic on the 12th fret - right? Well, fret with your finger on the second fret, and the artificial harmonic is now on the 14th fret. You can move your fret position, and adjust your natural harmonic for however many steps you have added by fretting. Same goes for the harmonics on the 5th and 7th frets as well. Mostly this is a way to get a harmonic that sounds like a natural one, and use it in a key other than the notes found on the usual natural harmonic frets. Damn, I hope that makes sense. If not someone else will have to explain, its hard to tell someone how to do something that I just do with my hands without thinking about! Good luck mate!
It makes sense, but you're assuming the o.p. knows how to to make the harmonic bell sound on frets 12, 5, and 7. That would be the first lesson, wouldn't it? You lay your fretting finger lightly on the string above the fret, and pick the string. Strings 2,3,and 4 give you a nice major chord. Listen to "Little Martha" by the Allman Brothers, for an example of that. Then, as far as making the sound with your right hand (while fretting), you didn't explain how it's done. I've never done it, myself.
I hold the pick with my thumb and middle finger, as you make a downword motion with your pick, take your ring finger and move in an upward motion. When you get good at it - You'll be able to time the attack pretty much simultaniously. Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top is a master of the technique.
mike, that would be the pinch harmonic sound. I meant the sound where you lightly ping the string with a fingertip of the right hand (above a certain fret). Chet Atkins does it. And I guess the other technique is the Eddy Van Halen tapping thing, which gives you both a fundamental note and a harmonic of that note.
