I need help with knuckle harmonics !!

Wade Branch · Post by **Wade Branch** » 17 Apr 2006 7:46 am

Every steel player I see (except for me)does those little knucke harmonic fills.I know how to do them ,Iam just not sure where I can do them at on the fretboard.

Skip Edwards · Post by **Skip Edwards** » 17 Apr 2006 8:15 am

Curl your ring finger under and place the first knuckle on the fret and pick the note with your thumb.
The fret is usually one octave above where your bar is.
Like everything else, it takes practice, but it sure sounds good when you get it right.

Did I say ring finger? I meant pinky. That's what I get for posting before my first cup of coffee...[This message was edited by Skip Edwards on 20 April 2006 at 10:31 AM.]

Wade Branch · Post by **Wade Branch** » 17 Apr 2006 8:52 am

Thanks Skip,isn't there only certain frets that have a harmonic ring to it ? or can you get a harmonic out of any fret position ?

Olli Haavisto · Post by **Olli Haavisto** » 17 Apr 2006 9:01 am

"knuckle Harmonics" sounds like a term Philip Marlowe might use !

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Olli Haavisto,
Finland

Ben Jones · Post by **Ben Jones** » 17 Apr 2006 9:02 am

open harmonics (no bar)are available at the 5th , 7th and twelth frets and maybe a few spots higher up than that as well. You can get a harmonic anywhere twelve frets up from your bar (or 5 frets or 7 frets, these will have different tones than the octave harmonic)

so for example your song ends in G on the third fret (assuming we are talking E9th here)...the harmonic you hear most players using for that fill will be at the 15th fret (12 frets above your bar)[This message was edited by Ben Jones on 17 April 2006 at 10:10 AM.]

Wade Branch · Post by **Wade Branch** » 17 Apr 2006 9:21 am

Thanks Ben,Thats really my question is I can get a harmonic at any fret position it just has to be 12 frets from my bar.That makes since.Thanks again !!!

Ray Minich · Post by **Ray Minich** » 17 Apr 2006 9:39 am

One day it will all happen, 'till then it's just practice, noodle, practice, experiment, practice...

Ben Jones · Post by **Ben Jones** » 17 Apr 2006 10:39 am

yeah.... i know where they are, just cant hit em all the time yet. I use the tip of my pinky mostly but am experimenting with palms, knuckles and ring fingertip. much more practice is needed here for me.

One of the great things about harmonics on a PSG is you can bend em up and down just by moving the bar after you hit em, or by using the pedals...take THAT eddie van halen!

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 17 Apr 2006 10:46 am

What I like to do at the end of songs is hit a harmonic, which is an octave higher, and then slide the bar up an octave. You're REALLY in Hughey land now!

Erv

Dean Cavill · Post by **Dean Cavill** » 17 Apr 2006 11:00 am

Yo Wade,

I'm a real cheater when it comes to harmonics, not with my third finger, but with the 1st knuckle on my Pinky finger (right hand).

It's unlikely I'm the only one who does this, but for the record I call it the "Chime by Numbers" system... LOL.

Regardless of how you do this, your knuckle should always graze the string 12 frets up from the bar...
However, this is really difficult because your hand is not transparent(duh!) and therefore...
You never know exactly where your pinky knuckle is in horizontal relation to the frets, nor have you time to think about it.

But, assuming that "The Distance Between your Knuckle and Thumb Pick is fairly CONSTANT"...
Here's what you can do to consistently get a "Chime", say, at the 5th/ "A" fret.

With EYES CLOSED, putz around until you get a clean harmonic with your thump pick and knuckle 12 frets up.
Then, completely disregarding any fretboard markings, peak to see where your thumb pick contacts the string and
affix a small round colored sticker on the fretboard at that exact spot.
Of course, I use a marker pen to label the sticker with a "5", or "A" , ... whatever.
Just repeat this process for any / all frets you want harmonics for.
Hell, you can get creative and use different colors/colours and shapes too ! ... There are no Rules!
Remember, this process will not conform in any way, shape, or form, to the standard fretboard markings.

Now you can forget about your knuckle's fret position.
Just pick the string at the dot analogous to your bar position, concentrating mostly on the VERTICAL closeness
of your knuckle to the string, which is the biggest challenge of getting clean harmonics.

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Steelin' for the Dark Side
Carter-U12, a Bar, and some Finger Picks[This message was edited by Dean Cavill on 17 April 2006 at 12:02 PM.]

richard burton · Post by **richard burton** » 17 Apr 2006 11:09 am

Whilst we're talking about 12 fret harmonics, I also try to pick 12 frets up from the bar, as this greatly enhances tone.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 20 Apr 2006 7:55 am

Well, yeah it does, Richard. Problem is, you have to do a lot of right arm movement when you do that, and also it makes pick-blocking nearly impossible, since the first-order harmonic tones ring so loudly.

I might use that technique rarely, for a real mellow effect, but I wouldn't ever consider doing it all the time.

Ben Jones · Post by **Ben Jones** » 20 Apr 2006 8:25 am

I tried out Erv's octave harmonic slide and it was really cool! Thanks Erv!

do you guys know what pinch harmonics are and is anyone able to get em on their PSG's using the thumbpick? I can get em if I use a regular guitar pick and occassionally by accident with my thumbpick... anyone heard these on a psg before? maybe Joe Wright uses em? he does the some more rock oriented stuff so i thought maybe... curious..its definetly more of a six stringers trick but am curious if its been applied to PSG. Thanks

basilh · Post by **basilh** » 20 Apr 2006 9:05 am

This may help a little, it's taken from the August 2004 Vol.2. Issue 3. of "Aloha dream"
BTW ignore most of the first column about TAB..(That's for subscribers only!!)

Baz

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Steel players do it without fretting

Ray Minich · Post by **Ray Minich** » 20 Apr 2006 10:48 am

I always liked the little bear...Nice steel accessory.

I always like to pick the strings somewhere around fret 15 once in a while, whilst occupying the lower half of the fretboard, to hear the fat - full sound they make compared to the sound generated when the right hand is at the customary "pickup" position.

Delbert Aldredge · Post by **Delbert Aldredge** » 20 Apr 2006 3:34 pm

Wade...use your finger nail. fold the 3d or ring finger under, lightly touch the object string while picking (@ 3 frets in front with the thumb)... super clear chime!....practice, practice..... oh yeah, this method will chime on any "octive" fret any key.

have fun![This message was edited by Delbert Aldredge on 20 April 2006 at 04:38 PM.][This message was edited by Delbert Aldredge on 21 April 2006 at 08:08 PM.]

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 22 Apr 2006 7:54 am

One tip...I roll my wrist clockwise slightly and also bend it slightly downwards, then I have no problem seeing my knuckle or the fret!

Here's an intro I did on a CD that has a (3rd finger, knuckle) harmonic tag...

click[This message was edited by Donny Hinson on 22 April 2006 at 09:20 AM.]

Dean Parks · Post by **Dean Parks** » 22 Apr 2006 8:05 am

"First knuckle" ... does that mean knuckle closest to the hand, or closest to the fingertip?

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 22 Apr 2006 8:17 am

fingertip

Dean Parks · Post by **Dean Parks** » 22 Apr 2006 11:12 am

Wow, Donny, nice soundbyte!

basilh · Post by **basilh** » 22 Apr 2006 5:01 pm

This would be an example of some of the ways to play harmonics
Maui Chimes [This message was edited by basilh on 25 April 2006 at 05:20 AM.]

basilh · Post by **basilh** » 23 Apr 2006 2:50 am

BTW that version of Maui Chimes is me at 18 years of age.. Now, a little further down the line, I can manage a couple of different types !!

Tim Whitlock · Post by **Tim Whitlock** » 25 Apr 2006 4:04 am

Very nice, Donny!

Basil, would love to hear your clip, too, however UK2 says it cannot locate the file on its server.

basilh · Post by **basilh** » 25 Apr 2006 5:57 am

Fixed