Advanced Techniques: Pinch Harmonics

[austinfailz]

The way I learned was to play Raining Blood and the last note of every pattern in the intro riff would be pinched and vibrato'd. I kept doing that and the awesome riff from Cemetery Gates until I could do it without trying. I also inadvertently hit them now.

[ThePRIMEMINISTRY]

The lesson didnt sart until 9:41



[death251]

This sounds like a stupid question but do you have to play really loud?

[LOKOLOKO52]

damnnn you know 2 much about the guitar! :D

[MrPetersonic100]

you must be proud to make good pinch :)

[metalhead142]

i mean really its not a hard concept to get on guitar after you play awhile but just practicing and actually doing it is more advanced. lets face it kids playing smoke on the water wont need to know how to do this technique at first

[metalhead142]

@Jltd4294 haha hence the title: advanced techniques ;)

[Archeum94]

Hi there! I wanted to ask you: How can it be possible to remember all the places to do pinch harmonics, for each note? Maybe I misheard sth in your vid but it sounds hard ah ah. And (still) about natural harmonics, I found it hard to let my finger slipping on a(/ONE) string. Brievly do you have more "accurate" details?

[RedSGShredder]

@Archeum94 Well for your right hand, you shouldn't really have to think about it. There are definitely spots where it's easier to hit pinch harmonics, but if you have to stop to think about it your playing will not be very good. So it's just a matter of experience and practice.

[Archeum94]

@RedSGShredder Hm, I see. I'm still trying and the more I try, the more I see what you said is perfectly right, I mean, that there are some places where it's easier. Thx ;)

[LOKOLOKO52]

@Archeum94 3-5-7-9-12....the esayest

[gorrilaman8]

if u wanna play pitch harmonics its always easier and sounds better if you turn up the drive a lil bit on your amp and turn your distortion almost all the way up

[LOKOLOKO52]

@gorrilaman8 learn it on clean and then start with distortion you will get good...:) thats how i learnd it

[Magic2500]

Your tone is horrible.

[borednessislife]

10 minute advanced lesson on pinch harmonics.. man i didn't think they were that hard. haha.

[deathonics]

why are u red sg shredder and dont have a sg

[RedSGShredder]

@deathonics I do have one, I used it in my other videos.

[tommymahavolich]

thanks man can do em great now :)

[matt8the8man]

at last!!! u saved my day. somebody tells how to make a touch harmonic.

youre just awesome. hey...one thing. isnt that to keep talking to the camera in your own room for about 9 minutes.cos ive been there.

[soldierj2013]

lol obviously didnt help me with spelling

[soldierj2013]

Wow this actually hepled me lol.

[diesect33]

pinch (or pitch) harmonics are really considered advanced? wow lol. nothing against you or your playing to be clear but, that's buts! I could do that before i had been playing a week. your technique and therefore tone are nice though man. yeah i noticed there are 3 points on each string by the pick hand that get harmonics easily and of differing pitches.

[RedSGShredder]

@diesect33 Thanks for the nice words dude. Well I guess it's relatively not advanced, but in general I get mostly beginner questions on YouTube. Which kind of makes sense because experienced guitarists don't really ask as many questions because they already know how to play, heheh. So for most people who watch my videos, it's an advanced technique.

[TerrorAndTinseltown]

@RedSGShredder I had played for about a year and wanted to learn the pinches too so I was watching this video many times and tried during several weeks with no success. Then I just kinda gave up and continued playing other stuff. Then one day when I was playing I accidentally hit it and wondered "what did I just do" and it was then when I instantly got the hang of it and since then it's been real easy. The technique may not be so advanced but teaching it to someone by words can be really hard.

[xonlyxthexreflection]

i keep trying to do a normal harmonic, but it always sound muted

then i try doing it softer, but then it just sounds metallicy

is that how its supposed to sound?

how far does your finger have to be from the string?

[RedSGShredder]

@xonlyxthexreflection For natural harmonics? Your finger should be gently muting the string.

[matt8the8man]

@xonlyxthexreflection

it should be enough that u just touch it....very gently...above the frets metal part.

[xonlyxthexreflection]

@matt8the8man  So above the fret?

[DeadlyDictator]

@xonlyxthexreflection try softly touching it then when it sounds release your finger

[xonlyxthexreflection]

awesome tutorial

really helped

[6Hellbilly6Deluxe6]

thats the first ive heard 'gentle' being used to describe pinching ... but theres no doubt u got it down ... i use more Killswitch Engage-esque pinches and i am not gentle haha . good tut for those looking to learn man 5*

[chrishbkjbl]

thanks for the video, it really helped!

[fnmpatton]

I've searched through heaps of vids on how to do this and couldn't get it....until yours!!! wooohoooooo thanks!!!!

[sk8boarder125]

awesome

[ShadowOfInnocence]

you can do pinch harmonics with finger picking as well.

[Vengeanceisourpassio]

what kind of amp do you use?

[RedSGShredder]

@Vengeanceisourpassio Sure, I use a Marshall VS100. You can read more about it on my website at redsgshredder (.) com.

[diesect33]

@Vengeanceisourpassio if you want a good shredder amp for cheap get a 5150 or XXX (Peavey) those won't dissapoint and if the 5150's modified for bias adjustmen the cleans can be good too and the XXX is just sick! ugly but, great amp. I refaced mine. given the cash though a single rec is a sure winner.

[nePALiGuitarist]

aa okie thanks ! i was really curious to know that, i've got a habit of using the middle finger so thumb is kinda difficult for me...

THANKS A MILLION!!!!

[nePALiGuitarist]

hey... can pinch harmonics be created by other fingers? ... before i used my middle finger to do it, i let the nail lightly touch the string and i did get a good harmonic... is it like," breaking the rules" kinda stuff? , now i do it with my thumb though... but sometimes i use my middle finger to produce that screechy sound ---- thanks fo the lesson :D

[RedSGShredder]

@nePALiGuitarist Yes you definitely can! But the thumb is probably easiest.

[THESHORTONE100]

Great vid man... What amp, effects, and pedals are you using? I love the crunch your getting and I have been trying to figure out how to get that sound... Thanks!

[RedSGShredder]

@THESHORTONE100 Thanks dude, you can read about all of my gear at my website.

[c4cereal]

I CANT DO IT ON THE LOW E STRING D:

which is important for metalll *sigh*

[cheerios360]

hey u said adjust your action? how exactly would i go about doing that?

thanks!

[RedSGShredder]

@cheerios360 Well it depends on the bridge you have. It's the distance between the strings and your fretboard. So generally, lower action is easier to play. Anyway most bridges have screws or some other mechanism on each side of the bridge that can be loosened or tightened to adjust the action.

[odin5150]

GOD DAME SKIP TO 5:50 to SEE HOW TO DO THE FIRST ONE ALOT OF BABBLE

[RAWRitsLarissa]

i can do pinch harmonics but the squealie sounds dont go quite as high as they are supposed to and i can only do them on the third, fourth, and fifth string. will that get better with practice?

[RedSGShredder]

@RAWRitsLarissa Yes, it gets easier with practice. However, the idea is the same for any string. If you are having a hard time getting pinch harmonics on thicker strings, try angling your wrist differently, or hitting them in a different location with your right hand. In my opinion, they are harder to get on thicker strings because there is more surface area on a thicker string, so it is harder to know exactly where your thumb is hitting. So yeah just practice more and it will be easier.

[666IvanDeOz666]

in spanish =((

i understand a little of english but no all :S

please I want to learn = (

[Markezey]

thanx allot, i learned fron it, i have just one question, you need to hold your pick with your thumb almost on the end of the pick to perfrom a pinch harmonic right?, so how can you do that if you are like playing a fast solo? you hold it like that during the whole solo?:s

[RedSGShredder]

Sure well the way I hold my pick makes it easy to play normally, but when I want to hit a pinch harmonic, I just gently angle my hand a little bit differently.

[RanBo88]

lol wow.. you mean i actually figured this out on my own?..rofl i had a pretty good idea on how to do it.. but always thought there was another way..lol well fail/ SUCCESS! :D..

[weepingeye]

Thanks so much mate, from DownUnder. I've been learning Dave Gilmour's Comfortably Numb solo and since practicing your advice it's just come in leaps and bounds. Shared knowledge is a beautiful thing ;o)

[cheerios360]

hey great video! iv learnt pinch harmonics already but i find it pretty hard to sustain them for a long time and also close to the end of ur video the "deathmetal" part-those pinch harmonics, I have no idea how you got them!!

any pointers??

because when i do them all i get are dull noises

any help is appreciated!

[RedSGShredder]

Sure man, the low string style harmonics are the same as regular harmonics. The only difference is that you might need to angle your right hand in different places to hit them properly. As for sustain and making them sound more powerful, you can try changing your action, pick, or your amplifier and guitar set up.

[StrangeFilmsPro]

Yeah, hi, I'm Kerry. I have a question, how do I mannage to make a permanent harmonic? Like... I play a harmonic and then the tone just keeps squealing and it nevers stop. A never-ending harmonic.

[RedSGShredder]

Hi Kerry. Well without picking the string more than once I guess you could use an e-bow or tons of feedback.

[AmpiiStatus]

It's funny - as I was jamming on my guitar, doing my own thing, I end up at least doing these same pitch tones when sweep picking.

Nice teach of the technique!

[TheLOUDMUSIC]

Ive found that ican do them like im playing slap bass

just hit your thumb on the string

[ChungWii]

I've been practicing these for a while. I Cant seem to do the "strum and thumb" at the same time, type, thing... I strum then flip my hand and thumb the string slightly with the backside of my thumb. I cant do it you're way, idk why, But i just cant really do it...

[livepunx]

.could anybody tell me. how can i get a loud sound from the thick strings?

[RedSGShredder]

Sure, you can try raising your pickups.

[MarcheloTV]

It is necessary to have an active hambucker pick up to do this?

[RedSGShredder]

No.

[joshmerklin]

its just easier with higher output pickups

[halterman666]

i love your math lol, great video

[TheWhocares233]

I always thought pinch harmonics were extremely easy to pickup i never understood why everyone thought why they were hard =\

[nickfleischer]

yep.. me too, i got em like in 2 hours

[VanishaVampire6]

yep, they´re quite easy to do, i got them in 2 hours too

[kickpush47]

i got them in like 2 seconds. haha.

but on a serious note, i learned them in about 5 minutes...

[tekkentool]

took me 2 minute's and i'm not a guitarist. i play piano.

[SubbieXero]

Yeahnah.

[bryantinge]

rose floyd!! :)

[tfritz754]

rose floyd?

i really really hope that was intentional

[bryantinge]

yes! it was intentional! lol i know it's floyd rose :p

[UnhealthyAddiiction]

amazing lesson and good details

[kevin89060]

wow, i wish i would of found your stuff when i was learning how to do this. probably one of the most informational videos i've ever seen. Honestly, i love how you went to show the physics behind everything you did. The only thing I learned from this video because I already know how to do pinch/natural harmonics, is the touch harmonics. But, anyways I wanted to say very well done and very informational for beginners, and all guitarist.

[KirHARESETHgoesto11]

Thanks for the help, dude!

[jn446]

This video was posted right aftermy birthday! :D

[jgjm123]

awesome lesson love it makes a whole lot more sense

[Alucard33592]

your guitar lesson 5/5  your math lesson.....not so much

[aaronb98in]

BEST pinch vid on yt :)

[goblin428]

ya best dqamn lesson on you tb when it coms to the technacle stuff thanks bro

[ZellerMain]

HAHAHA 7+12 = 9 omg haha

typical chargers fan XD

[julyjr1103]

Nice lesson! but is it normal that i could only do them on some frets? like for example, 4th string on the 9th fret, i could do them there no problem, but when i switch over to other strings or frets, sometimes they come out but either very low, or they die out fast.

[RedSGShredder]

Thanks man. I am glad you liked it. Yes, that is pretty normal. It's just because it's easier to hit on certain frets because of where you are hitting the string with your picking hand. Try varying your picking hand's position.

[JEAG]

Dude... Good lesson i just saw it to be able to thumb down the guy who says your lame... Good lesson... Not liking your tone tough...

[5chn1bb3l]

you should have prepared this lesson. you are talking confusing shit that has no other intention than to show off. there are hundreds of GOOD p.h. lesson vids, that actually show a newbie how they are done, instead of just showing off your MAD SKILLZ.

[Skate8782]

5chn1bb3l- you are a dumb shit. all of that was said for a reason. at not one point was he doing stuff to show off.

[MrGamerChris]

I'm pissed off.. I aint played my guitar for 6 months and now I can't even pinch harmonic..

[eddy2394]

thats weird because i use the tip of my thumb and it works fine

[XDXD64]

because i cannot get that sick squelie sound on 00:08 through 00:14

[XDXD64]

wat do you mean by jumping up?

[RedSGShredder]

Moving up on the neck.

[XDXD64]

which lesson tells how to make them sound good

[RedSGShredder]

Sure, check out my equipment lessons and amp and settings lessons.

[erdio21]

Very helpful, thanks

[Siksk8tersniper]

Did you know that there is a Nartural and Pinch Harmonic inbetween thrird and fourth fret

[RedSGShredder]

Yeah true, there are harmonics all over the place.

[tatoi]

define the definitions

[dylankrolick]

"Advanced" lol pinch harmonics are the easiest thing ever

[IbanezRG1989]

does having active pickups in your guitar help to make the harmonics come out easier?

[RedSGShredder]

Probably. I've never had a guitar with active pickups though so I can't say for sure. But I have passive pickups and I have no problem with them.

[kickerpunter]

so you can only get a harmonics (both natural and pinch) at certain frets?

[RedSGShredder]

Yes and no. Technically, yes, they occur only at certain integer divisions (frets) but in reality, if you play with enough distortion and gain, you can hear them almost anywhere on the string. It's just a lot easier to hit them on certain points.

[thaaxe]

thats a nad ass guitar dude gotta love an ibanez, p.s. just got a new subscriber, good vid very helpful

[ilikepoketmonsters]

Great explanation! 5-stars and subscribed.

[DylanDeFrates]

dude your awesome i actually got it!

[TriviumPrayer37]

you talk to much fool :P

[olatur]

he does

[demonofhiddenmist]

Thanks A LOT, dude. Your explanation here makes a ton more sense than other vids I've watched.

[Gu1t4rJ4m1995]

good lesson 5/5* xD

[JOB2444]

wow dude,

you make it sound so much more difficult then it actually is.

[SaintMichaeI]

still cant do it.

[chapinkiller2]

same here.....

[LightStevOo]

you need a good guitar to do it.

I had a $100 electric guitar and i couldnt do harmonics very well.

i recently bought an epiphone les paul ultra 2 and the harmonics are very good they have excellent responses.

[lovepuremetal5]

well it is partially true but not really.

"it is what comes out of your fingers and soul" - Michael Amott. Likewise it mainly depends on your skills!

Yet i kinda agree with you cuz better the guitar, better the tone-if not plugged into a crappy amp!

[LightStevOo]

haha yea but maybe michael amott never new a $100 guitar existed??? so maybe he thought that all guitars were over $500?

[amoebaarmageddon]

true true, i tried doing pinches on a stratocaster, they sound like shit, but then when i tried them on my les paul, heheh, they sound amazing

[psychoguitarist10]

thats because of the pickups in the les paul are humbuckers.

[Elintasokas]

No, you don't. It's more about amps than guitars.

[viperdude55]

and effect pedals too :D a little lol

[chriscoooley]

correct. if only the whole world could realize this. pickups do help, but you can't make a non metal amp sound metal by just changing your pickups/guitar

[RebeccaRhoads1993]

One of my goals this summer is to study more guitar...thanks for posting these videos I'll study them after school lets out  :) killer!

[nascream79]

Very nice lesson :) I love that guitar btw^^

5*

[scotttotty]

thanks alot. that realy did help

[widowmaker95123]

Yeah, Currently my guitar is in drop C tuning (CGCFAD) and the low C string will pinch harmonic when open (fret zero, or the headstock bridge) so an easy way to practice the picking technique is to pick the open bottom string and hit your thumb against the string. Whether you leave your thumb on it or bounce it off, it should still make a harmonic.

REMEMBER that the picking area has many different points at which different pitch harmonics can be achieved. try picking all around here!!

[dloyfbc]

thanks man this vid hepled alot my band and i are writing songs that use a bit of harmonics and this helped clear things up a bit

[Iceboy575655]

how do u do a vibrato harmonic?

[chinkilla666]

it's no different than doing vibrato without a harmonic

[kierancraig1]

Bend it lol or bend it up and down

[rudead4]

THX!!!! i wasnt gonna watch it cause it was long but it was worth it

[HDWMusic]

thank god someone who uses real guitars like sgs and ibanez instead of those gay jackson rrs and such, fucking garbage to play metal

[greenday0816]

hey dude, awesome lesson. the guitar u have is amazing. i was wondering if u could tell me the model it is. im guesin the make is ibanez lol. but i hav been lookin for one just like that. thanks

[RedSGShredder]

Thanks man. Yes it is an Ibanez. It's an RGT42DX. I have a review video of it up.

[Mackaveli420]

wow awesome vid man.. Very Very informative and easy to understand.. Great job.. Thanks

[MrSparkx27]

nice tutorial :) will be great if you submit a short video of deep purple's- sometimes i feel like screaming riff with the pinch harmonics :) cheers!

[youreanoobguitarst24]

Great tutorial!

[Pu55ybl45t3r]

my drink just came out thru my nose when you did the thing with your fingers at 2:45

Nice lesson! i've watched many lessons before, but you really know what you're talking about.

[samsguitars666]

ooooooooooooo

ur not usin da red S.G.

[alexibodom666]

idk if this is the same for everyone else but i found the best area to do pinch harmonics is directly inbetween the 2 pick ups.

[MohammedAsmahiel]

i only use my bridge pickup, my bes spot is just infront of the neck p'up

[MohammedAsmahiel]

dammit, best*

[Aerodus]

Whoa, I learned it just like that in 10 minutes, honestly! o.o

[dagl086]

are those emg's in your guitar?

[RedSGShredder]

No, they are stock.

[townstra]

Nice job on the vid Vafa

[worldsmostfunrocker]

your laughter makes my day

[scudy4]

why is it i watch looads of pinch harmonic video's and still cant do them on the bottom strings, then i watch this one, and it happens! hahaha, thanks man!

[madness0r]

yes ive been waiting for this!

[tecna64]

7+12= 9, sounds like you gotta get back to school lol

[MDGuitarsReturns]

kinda contradictory, its an advanced technique, but its very easy hmm, nice one

[xdarkabyssx]

simplest of the advanced, i agree with that

[Wilkesy1000]

its very hard to get it,

but once you do its easy as.

but i guess thats like everthing.

but im still not good with sweeping.

[UrbanGothic111]

gr8 lesson ur awsum man.... :D

[triviumd13]

welcome back guitar noobs..... lol this is a very helpful video, keep the stuff up

[ACDChellsbells]

I love doin Pinch Harmonics. And thanks for tha songs man I learned For whom the bell tolls today. It's really fun to play.

[Cutamora21]

can i call you my MASTER?....coz you really helpz me a LOT...specially you TEACH me a LOT...Thank's for all my MASTER....

[scheidtl]

good lesson!

Keep it up.

Hope you have a lot of fun writing new stuff.

God luck and cheers Volker

[Drandon14]

not really advanced dude

[Stray1120]

RedSGShredder thanks a lot for your lesson man, I've learned so much! I've taken music lessons before but this taught me a lot of nifty tricks! keep up the good work bro.

[bcshredder909]

Also thanks for mentioning us death metal guitarists vafa :P

[bcshredder909]

also to get divebombs like dimebag you use natural harmonics (well I do anyway) so it is always good to learn different node points and where you get the best (in my case highest) squeal

[LordHines420]

nice lesson. the oops part made me lawl. lol.

btw, i hate ernbie's ballz too!!!!

[wowakias]

As always nice vid !

But .... why dont you make cover vids anymore ? :(

[RedSGShredder]

Thanks man I appreciate it. I am busy writing new material so I haven't been learning any covers.

[Ibaneztttttttttttttt]

Nice lesson, is also helpful!Peace

[HomeMadeGuitarist]

Like always, you're making such a great video.

I'm glad to see that you're alright and still helpful!

Thanks for that upload =)

- Raph ; HMG

[zowbaid89]

Best pinch harmonic video ever. Learned so much in this video right here!

[king666nothing]

P.S. I just recently discovered that natural harmonic on the 5th fret is the same as natural harmonic on 24th fret. And now it all makes sense.

[king666nothing]

Fuck!!! You're the first one to say that you have to touch string with your thumb GENTLY. All this time I've been hitting it too hard and it sounds like shit. I gotta try it your way. Thanx for the lesson.

[staind2523]

I've been able to do pinch harmonics for over a year now, but still cannot consistently do them on the E string. I use Ernie Ball "Beefy" strings and I'm in Drop C. Any tips on how to hit them more consistently? It's just always been a pain for me. Every other string is not a problem.

[RedSGShredder]

Yeah, it's harder on the low strings because they are thicker. But it's just all in the right hand placement. You will just have to move your right hand around and find the right spot.

[staind2523]

Okay, thanks. Do you think a change of string brand will make a significant difference? I know the gauge makes a pretty big difference...but what about brand? Honestly I've never tried anything other than Ernie Ball.

Thanks again for your reply, and I enjoyed your video. Looking forward to the sweeping video, since I am just now really getting the hang of those, but I need to make them sound cleaner!

[RedSGShredder]

I'm not so sure if the string brand will make much of a difference. Personally I hate Ernie Ball strings but only because I break them every time I try them, heheh. Anyway, I'd say it's mostly technique for you if you can get them on other strings. And don't get your expectations too high for the sweep arpeggio lesson, I suck at them, heh.

hmm are u in a band?