how do you play a pinch harmonic?

[kidd E fiddler]

i hear some notes that are a higher note than my highest 22nd fret d note, my griend says he thinks its something to do with a pinch harmonic but hes not sure, can anyone tell me what a pinch harmonic is?

[guitarchris]

well a pinch harmonic is a great skill to have. i learned it about three years ago and i do it all the time. the art of a pinch harmonic is rather hard to explain when typing but ill do my best.

When you pick the string, try to make your thumb at an angle so the thumb is hitting the string as well as the pick is. But results vary for every fret and every string. and i dont recomend trying on on the high E.

a good way to practice this could be on the G string 9th fret is where i always praticed it (dont think it really matters) but i would bend the string and jsut keep trying to hit a pinch harmonic notice how the sound changes depending on how thumb it hitting the string. once u get the thumb at the perfect angle u should be able to tell if your plugged in. and alot of distirtion is probally a good idea when first trying it.

good luck to you.

[Wayward_Son]

Like Chris said, it is VERY hard to explain how to play Pinch harmonics, so try this video! Hope it helps!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFSgY8Be6Bw

[Bluewolfgang]

lol and make sure you choke up on the pick and use as less pick as possable.

to perform this technique I recommend you a new pick not an old one and a dirty tone lol.

lol just my 2 cents

hope this helps.

[smash]

AH is like whistling, trying to figure it out is the hard part, but once you get it it's simple. Way I learned it years ago was a lot of distortion so you can pick it out easily when it happens. Try to rest your thumb on the string lightly like your doing a palm mute as you pluck, and pick up and down the string, you cna get an AH anywhere but there are sweet spots.

[madh4ttr]

choke up on the pick and try to have you thumb and tiny part of the pick hit the string

[IbanezJunkie07]

I just learned how to do AH while learning the song "Laid to Rest" by lamb of god. I'm still practicing but I can do it without focusing on my hand too much.

The way I do it is to literally hold the pick right at the tip, and play with both your thumb AND pick. Pick the string and then immediately touch the string with your thumb, but just a brush, don't mute the string.

I've also found it helpful to play with the pick at an angle. Don't hold it straight down, but twist it so its facing the bridge, and play with your thumb at that angle. Of course its impossible to play a SONG like this, but when doing the pinch harmonic you will notice your thumb brush down towards the bridge.

Also you can hear it best when its HEAVY distortion. I've done a pinch harmonic with clean and its pretty hard to tell. Distortion makes it very obvious, and it sounds awesome once u learn it.