 Hello everyone and welcome to Blackstar Potential. My name is Lee Fuge and I'm here today with MusicTeacher.com and in this video we're going to talk about harmonics. All the tones you're hearing in this video are coming from the Blackstar Studio 10 6L6 which is mic'd with a Lute Audio LCT 440 condenser microphone. So harmonics are something which occur on the guitar all across the length of the string. You may or may not have heard these already but in this lesson we're going to break down what they are and look at how you can start using them. Harmonics exist in two main categories that we're going to talk about. We've got natural harmonics which occur through our open strings and artificial harmonics which are other types of harmonics we can apply to fretted notes. So harmonics actually exist all over the guitar and you've probably heard them even if you don't realize it. Many of your favorite players may have used these techniques in songs but also they are things that you've probably just come across on a day-to-day basis anyway. In fact all notes on the guitar actually have harmonics present in them but we don't hear them all the time. There's a reason for that. So when you play an open string you're actually hearing a series of overtones and harmonics combined but what we hear is the loudest one. This is known as the fundamental note. So if I just play the G on this guitar open there's actually a series of harmonics and overtones within that note but when we hear that all we hear is a singular note. So we can use the technique of playing harmonics to isolate specific overtones. These overtones actually occur at set intervals along the string. So the most common type and the easiest type to play are what are known as natural harmonics. Now in theory any harmonic that we physically play and isolate overtones by doing so is actually an artificial harmonics. So the main two types we're going to be talking about are natural and artificial. Even though technically the natural harmonics are a form of an artificial harmonic we refer to them as natural because they apply to the open string. So to play a natural harmonic we first of all need to divide up the string into equal segments. The points that the harmonics occur are at these equal division points across the string. So the first one to start with is actually the 12th fret. Where your 12th fret is on your guitar is exactly halfway between the nut and the bridge. So if you were to measure from here to here right above the fret wire on the 12th fret is the exact halfway point. So this is a place where we can find a harmonic. So to play this harmonic I'm just going to rest my finger lightly above the fret wire. So I'm not above the fret I'm actually above the fret wire. So those are my natural harmonics that sit on the 12th fret. Those are actually the same notes as the open strings but they're an octave higher. So what I'm doing there is taking my three fundamental notes of G, B and E, playing a harmonic on the 12th fret. By doing so I'm dividing that waveform in half which increases the frequency that we hear. So we've isolated the overtone there that exists at the halfway point. I've actually divided that string perfectly in half. There are other harmonics that exist when we take the string down into further divisions. So let's say I want to break the guitar down into thirds. The first place I can find one of these points is the 7th fret. Now this is actually mirrored up here at the 19th fret. So that means from the nut to the 7th fret is the same distance as the 7th fret to the 19th fret which is also the same as the 19th to the bridge. So I actually have the same harmonic in two different places there. I can also break the string down into quarters which would actually give me a harmonic at the 5th fret and that would also be repeated at the 24th fret. Now I don't have 24 frets on this guitar. I just have 22 but I can still play that 24th fret harmonic by resting my finger at the point where my 24th fret would theoretically be. And that gives me the same harmonic that I get on the 5th fret. Because again these distances are equal. So the distance from the nut to the 5th fret is the same as the distance from the 24th fret to the bridge. The other main type of harmonics are called artificial harmonics. Now these are harmonics that don't exist across our open string. We actually have to fret a note and apply a harmonic to it. Now the same rules apply but now our division takes place from whatever note we're fretting to the bridge. That's our new scale length. So the easiest way to do this is just to imagine things in twelves. So if you're playing a note the harmonic will be situated 12 frets higher. This is the easiest one to find. So the first way we're going to look at doing this is by playing a small four note phrase down here at the lower end of the neck. I'm just going to use a 5th and 7th frets on the D and G strings. And I'm going to find the harmonics 12 frets higher. So 12 frets above the 5th fret will be the 17th and 12 frets above the 7th fret will be the 19th. So these are my harmonic points for those notes. So I'm going to be using my index finger to just rest above that fret while I fret the same note 12 frets lower. And then with my thumb I'm going to reach behind which you can't really see too clearly on the camera. And I'm going to pluck that string. This takes a bit of practice because you have to hold your index finger lightly above the harmonic point and play it with your thumb. You can also do this with your little finger if you're dexterous enough. I always do this with my thumb. So it's going to sound like this. Then I can add the 7th. So I'm fretting the 7th fret and moving my finger above the 19th. And then same on the G. So that's a pretty tricky way to play harmonics. It does take a little bit of practice. Another way you can do this is by tapping. So again if I'm going to play that same phrase five and seven on the D and then on the G what I can do is take my index finger and tap the fret wire as I'm fretting the lower notes. You'll notice that I'm pulling my finger away really quickly. I don't want to actually tap and hold down the note because I don't want to hear the fretered note. I just want to essentially flick the string and bounce it off the fret wire to create a harmonic. Another way you can play harmonics is a technique called a pinched harmonic. And this is a favorite technique of many rock and metal players. It's a great way to make your guitar scream and squeal with different harmonic textures. Now this is done by playing a note with your pick and using the side of your thumb to brush past the string just after the pick. Now this is a very tricky technique because there are various harmonic points all over the guitar depending on where you divide that string up and what notes you're fretting with your fretting hand. Because there are different harmonics at different points of the string what this means is the sweet spot for each pinch harmonic technically moves with the fretered hand notes. So you're always going to be looking for different sweet spots to suit different notes. An easy way to do this is again the 12 fret rule. So if I'm playing those four notes once again. If I pick above the fret that is 12 frets higher so again 17 and 19 right above the fret wire and just after my pick leaves the string I brush it with the side of my thumb. So that's an easy way to start doing pinch harmonics but the most common way of doing them is down by the pickup area. This is where we get some more interesting harmonic overtones because we're actually shortening that string and we're getting some of those higher harmonics out. So again this does move depending on what note I'm fretting a great way to find your sweet spot is to pick a note. So I'm just going to pick the seventh fret of the D string and I'm going to pick from around about the start of the bridge pickup up to the neck pickup and I'm just going to apply that pinch technique all the way up and listen to the different sweet spots. So you can see there are different places there where I can apply that harmonic. So I can either stick to one place and play my little phrase or I can try and move with the phrase. Now this is tricky because if you do get this wrong you do end up with just a muted note. So pinch harmonics do take a little bit of practice to really nail down when you're doing it. Listen for those sweet spots and try and remember where a few of your favorite ones are. If you can use a reference point on the guitar like the edge of the pickup for instance or a certain point between the pickups or rough distance that's always useful as well when you're trying to nail them without messing them up. Pinch harmonics are made easier by gain so if you have a little bit more gain set on your amp you will find it a little bit easier to bring those harmonic overtones out and remember don't let your thumb sit on the note for too long because it will deaden the string. It's also quite useful to try and hold the pick a little closer to the tip if you're not already doing so. If you've got too much of the pick showing you're never going to get your thumb to actually contact the string to create the harmonics so the closer you can get to the edge of the pick the easier this technique is to apply. So there you go there is a breakdown of the different types of harmonics you can use on your guitar. So you've got your natural harmonics and a bunch of different types of artificial harmonics you can use as well. So try those out try and find the best way to apply this to your playing and remember those sweet spots as well for the pinched harmonics. Let me know down below in the comments how you found this and if you've managed to apply any of this to your own playing. Thank you guys so much for watching I hope you've enjoyed this lesson like I said let me know down below in the comments what you thought of this lesson and how you got on with this technique and also let me know down below if there are any techniques or anything you guys want to see us talk about in future videos. Don't forget to check out the Blackstar amplification YouTube channel for more free videos just like this and if you're looking for a guitar teacher in your local area please check out musicteacher.com they're a great network of guitar teachers all around the UK waiting to help you guys out. Thanks so much for watching and I'll see you soon.