Page 1 of 1
Sol Hoopii's method of playing harmonics ?
Posted: 21 Jun 2009 1:05 pm
by basilh
Posted: 21 Jun 2009 2:08 pm
by Jon Nygren
It's dark so it's hard to tell...but kinda looks like he's picking with his index fingerpick and resting his pinky on the string?
Posted: 21 Jun 2009 4:49 pm
by Richard Terry
I think John is right. I think Sol's 2nd finger is arched to stay clear of the string as he chimes it with the 3rd or pinky. I kept wanting to move my chair to get a different angle on his hand. Somewhere I've seen this suggested as a method and I've tried it but my fingers don't like it. Ha!
Richard Terry
Posted: 21 Jun 2009 4:57 pm
by Mike Neer
I think he's actually using the first finger as the harmonic and plucking behind it with his pinky. I tried it using as close to his hand position as I could get and it worked well. One reason I believe this is because it looks as if his right hand is too far down the neck for his pinky or palm to be only one octave from the bar.
Posted: 21 Jun 2009 5:02 pm
by Jon Nygren
I think you may be right Mike. Makes practical sense too because you can easily see where you are fretting the harmonic. I just tried it that way, and though it is a bit awkward at first, with a little practice it works nicely.
Posted: 21 Jun 2009 8:12 pm
by Danny Naccarato
I've actually used this technique as a reverse harmonic rake, for a number of years. I never saw anyone do it, and can't tell you how it came about, but I use it a lot..
I place the pinky on the fret for the harmonic (E9th, open G rake, pinky at 15), then rake my middle finger down the strings, from high to low. I never tried it as a single harmonic until reading this, but found it works just as easily as the rake.
Danny
Posted: 21 Jun 2009 11:32 pm
by Don Kona Woods
While the harmonics may be accomplished with using the first finger as the harmonic and plucking behind it with the pinky, I believe in the video that he is plucking with his index finger and using his pinky for the harmonic position. Further evidence for this comes at one point in the video because he also does a harmonic with his index finger and his thumb using a palm harmonic.
Aloha, 
Don
Posted: 22 Jun 2009 1:04 am
by basilh
You're quite correct Don, Jerry Byrd used this method in combination with his thumpick to play "Double stopped" notes in harmonics.
(On reading this I'm wondering if the terminology "Double stopping is colloquial or does it transcend the oceanic barrier ?)
Posted: 22 Jun 2009 5:28 am
by John Bushouse
Aren't they pinky knuckle harmonics? My steel teacher, Al Dodge (of the Cheap Suit Serenaders) showed me how to do them. He uses them to play single note lines much like Sol does. I'm still very much a beginner, but I do the majority of my harmonics that way - for example, to do harmonics on the 6th then 5th then 4th strings, the knuckle gives more accuracy than any sort of palm harmonic can.
Or am I totally missing the mark? Like I said, I'm a new guy...