How to Finger Pick a Guitar With Harmonics

Some popular guitar players like to use harmonics in their riffs. If you've heard harmonics recorded, the result is a soft, high sound. Playing them on guitar takes a little fretboard knowledge. If you're trying to get harmonics into your playing, here's the common way to produce these special notes within a finger picking solo.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Set up your rhythm, picking various strings with all of your fingers. It often helps to assign a finger to each string for faster finger picking.

2. Find the harmonic frets. You make harmonics by touching certain strings at certain frets including the fifth, seventh and twelfth. A handy harmonics pattern at Guitar World can help if you don't know which frets to use for harmonics.

3. Work a space into your solo or riff where you can get your left hand to the required fret.

4. Add a finger lightly to the fret you want to hit the harmonic note from.

5. Pluck the string, then quickly release your finger. If your touch was light enough, you'll hear a harmonic note. If it wasn't, you'll hear mud. The idea is that you don't want to press down on a fret the same way you press in between frets for regular notes. The harmonic notes are all about a soft touch.

6. Practice harmonics until you're comfortable enough to insert them into your playing styles.

Resources

• Guitar World: Lesson 46: Harmonics.