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 How to Play Guitar Harmonics
Tommaso Zillio

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©Guitar Mastery Solutions, Inc. iii www.musictheoryforguitar.com

 C ONTENTS

Contents iv

1 Natural Harmonics 3
1.1 Position of Natural Harmonics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2 Technical Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2 Artificial Harmonics 10
2.1 Shifting Positions for Artificial Harmonics . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.2 Technical Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

3 Should I Learn All These Techniques? 19

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 Contents 1

Introduction
Thank you for downloading this eBook! If you are reading this it means that
you are in the same position I was when I set out to learn how to play guitar
harmonics. Wether you want to learn how to make your guitar squeal, or
how to create beautiful harmonic arpeggios, or simply want to learn more
about harmonics, this eBook will help you!
To get the maximum benefits from this eBook, I recommend the follow-
ing tips:

1. Work slowly. As in everything else, quality is more important than

quantity. If you try to learn by heart all the harmonic positions in a
single day, I can guarantee you that you are going to forget them in
very little time. Proceed step by step instead, and then you are going
to reap all the benefits of a permanent knowledge that is under your
fingertips anytime!

2. Every time you learn a position for an harmonic, be sure to try it on

your guitar. Note that some of the “higher” harmonics can be heard
only with a distorted sound.

3. You do not need to know everything to use what you learned. If you
have learned only the harmonics in the first diagram (see below) you
do not need to learn also all the other diagrams before you start using
what you have learned in your songs or solos. Very few players, even
professional ones, know all the diagrams I have drawn here. The idea
is to try out all the positions at least once, and then study in depth
only the ones that sound best to you. If at the end of this book you
will know how to use 2-4 positions reliably and at a moment’s notice,
then this is a success! I put the complete diagrams of all position here

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2 Contents

so that you can choose the ones that work best for you, not because
you have to learn everything!

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 CHAPTER
1
N ATURAL H ARMONICS

1.1 Position of Natural Harmonics

The very first thing to learn is the position of natural harmonics on the fret-
board. Even if you think you know them already, I can bet that you do not
know them all!
All harmonics are ordered in what is called the harmonic series. By def-
inition the first harmonic is just the note that you obtain picking the string
the normal way, so it’s not really what we guitarists would call an harmonic.
From the second harmonic up we find the “actual” harmonics.
We are now going to study the position of every usable harmonic on the
guitar. At the end of this eBook you will find 4 diagrams with the position
of the natural harmonics on them. Read on as I guide you through them.
Note: you do not need to know all these positions before reading the
rest of the eBook. The harmonics on the first diagram are enough to learn
tap harmonics, and the harmonics on the second are enough to learn pinch
harmonics. The third and fourth diagrams are here for completeness, study
them only if you need them!

How To Read the Diagrams: each diagram shows the whole length of
the strings on your guitar, from the nut to the bridge. The frets are indi-

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4 Natural Harmonics

cated, up to the 24th fret. Each natural harmonic position is indicated by

a circle. Inside the circle is the harmonic’s note (assuming you are in stan-
dard tuning). The size of the circle decreases as we move further up the
harmonic series; that means that harmonic with a smaller circle are more
difficult to play. The color of the circle indicates the octave of the harmonic:

Blue: the harmonic is between one and two octaves above the open string

Green: the harmonic is between two and three octaves above the open
string

Red: the harmonic is between three and four octaves above the open string

Orange: the harmonic is between four and five octaves above the open
string

Let’s now go through each diagram in detail:

The First diagram shows the most basic natural harmonics:

• The second harmonic at the 12th fret, whose note is the same as the
open string, but 1 octave above

• The third harmonic at fret 7 and 19, whose note is one octave and one
fifth above the open string.

• the fourth harmonic, at fret 5 and 24, whose note is the same as the
open string, but 2 octave higher

I suggest you spend some time locating these harmonic positions on

the fretboard and try to play them as natural harmonics. When I say that
the harmonic is at a specific fret, that means that it is right on top of the

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 1.1. Position of Natural Harmonics 5

metal fret. If your guitar does not have 24 frets, the harmonic at the 24th
frets is still there, just imagine where the 24th fret would be. Being able to
visualize these “imaginary frets” will be useful with pinch harmonics, as we
are going to see soon.
The harmonics on the first diagram are normally used only as natural
and tap harmonics, not as pinch harmonics, yet it is important to be famil-
iar with their positions in order to have a point of reference for the more
advanced ones.

The Second diagram shows some more advanced harmonics in addi-

tion to the basic ones. The new ones are:

• The fifth harmonic, that is located close to the 4th, 9th,16th frets, and
beyond the 24th. This harmonic, and in fact most of the harmonics
from now on, do not fall precisely on a fret position. The fifth har-
monic is a major third and 2 octaves above the open string.

• the sixth harmonic, located close to fret 3, and beyond fret 24, whose
note is one fifth and 2 octaves above the open string.

• the seventh harmonic, located close to fret 3, 6, 10, 15, 22, and beyond
fret 24. The note of this harmonic is close1 to a minor seventh and 2
octaves above the open string.

These harmonics are harder to hear with a clean sound, so make sure
you have some distortion on.
If you master the harmonic positions of the second diagram, you know
99% of what you will need in real life. Higher harmonics than these are used
very rarely (and we are going to see them anyway in the next diagrams). My
1
It’s actually a very flat minor seventh

©Guitar Mastery Solutions, Inc. www.musictheoryforguitar.com

6 Natural Harmonics

advice is to spend some time making sure that you know the second dia-
gram completely by heart, with the position and pitch of every harmonic.
Pay particular attention to the position beyond the 24th fret, as these posi-
tions will be the most useful ones for pinch harmonics.

The Third diagram shows even more advanced harmonics, that are more
difficult to play. These are:

• The eight harmonic, 3 octaves above the open string

• The ninth harmonic, a major second and 3 octaves above the open
string

• the tenth harmonic, a major third and 3 octaves above the open string.

These harmonics are used less often than the ones in the second dia-
gram.

The Fourth diagram shows all the harmonics up to the sixteenth har-
monic (4 octaves above the open string). We are not going to list them one
by one. While you can theoretically go higher than that, this is practically
never done, as higher harmonics are nearly inaudible. In fact, even the har-
monics of this diagram are used only by very few players, and only in rare
occasions. I am showing the fourth diagram just for completeness, but I
suggest you spend most of your time on the 2nd diagram.

1.2 Technical Tips

The Natural Harmonics are the simplest kind of harmonics. With a clean
tone these harmonics sound delicate and bell-like. They can be used ef-

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 1.2. Technical Tips 7

Figure 1.1: Playing a natural harmonic at the 12th fret. Important points:
1) the left hand finger is positioned on the harmonic position, on top of the
metal fret, and 2) the finger just touches the string without pressing it all
the way down.

©Guitar Mastery Solutions, Inc. www.musictheoryforguitar.com

8 Natural Harmonics

fectively with distortion and the use of a tremolo bar to produce the “metal
squeals” typical of players such as Dimebag Darrel or Mathias Ekhlund.
The basic technique is simple. You play the natural harmonic on an
open string, with your left hand touching (without pressing) the string at a
specific position, while your right hand picks the string (with either a pick
or with your fingers). It is important that you do not press down the string
the same way you do when you are fretting a note. Instead, you should just
touch the string with your left hand finger while you pick the string, see
Figure 1.1
Just after you picked the string, you should remove your left hand finger
so that the string is left free to vibrate. Click here to hear Example 1, the
fret in the tablature indicates the natural harmonic position:

  Í

N.H. N.H. N.H. N.H. N.H. N.H.

12 7 5
12
12

12

If you are playing the harmonic with a distorted sound, you may want to
apply some tremolo bar action. You can depress the bar just before playing
the harmonic and then release it, or you can “dive bomb” the harmonic
after you play it. Click here to hear Example 2:

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 1.2. Technical Tips 9

w. Bar Scoop
8va
  
ü


8
N.H.
N.H. N.H.

5 4 3

©Guitar Mastery Solutions, Inc. www.musictheoryforguitar.com

 CHAPTER
2
A RTIFICIAL H ARMONICS

The difference between natural and artificial harmonics is that natural har-
monics are played on an open string, while artificial harmonics are played
on a fretted string. Since we can change the note we are fretting, there are
more notes available as artificial harmonics.

2.1 Shifting Positions for Artificial Harmonics

To understand this section you should at least know the position of the nat-
ural harmonics indicate in the first diagram and optionally the ones in the
second diagram (for pinch harmonics). The position for artificial harmon-
ics are the same as the ones we have seen before for natural harmonics,
only relative to the position of the fretted note. Let me clarify that with an
example.
As seen from the first diagram, we have an harmonic position at the
12th fret, and the resulting note is one octave higher than the open string.
Now, let’s say we fret the string at the 1st fret. We can find an harmonic
position for this note at the 13th fret (i.e. one fret higher than before). If we
fret the note at the 2nd fret, then the harmonic is at the 14th fret, and so
on. In other words, for any note you can play on the guitar, you can play

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 2.1. Shifting Positions for Artificial Harmonics 11

an harmonic one octave higher at a position that is 12 frets higher than the
note you are fretting.
The harmonic positions that after shifting still fall on the fretboard are
well suited for tap harmonics, or for the classical technique. Some other
positions after shifting will fall outside of the fretboard, though: these po-
sitions are the ones best suited for pinch harmonics. Since you have no
reference frets here, the positions are slightly more different to find. The
following two exercises will help you get started. You can do both exercises
on any strings, but they are easier on the 6th and 5th strings.

Pinch Harmonic Positions, Exercise 1: Using the pinch harmonic tech-

nique (see below), try to play a pinch harmonic on an open string at the
24th fret. This means, position your right hand so that your thumb will
touch the string where the 24 fret is (or where it would be if you had a 24-
frets guitar). If you play it correctly, the pinch harmonic will sound the same
as the natural harmonic at the 24th fret (or at the 5th fret, they sound the
same). Now, with your left hand finger the string at the 1st fret, and move
your right hand along the string by one fret, touching it where the 25th fret
would be. Play the harmonic. Then finger the string at the 2nd fret and find
your pinch harmonic where an imaginary 26th fret would be. Keep going
higher and higher, until you can.
Notice that the higher you go, the smaller the “imaginary frets” are.

Pinch Harmonic Positions, Exercise 2: Again with the open string, try
to find the natural harmonic positions off the fretboard (see diagram 2, you
have 3 harmonic positions beyond the 24th fret). Try to play all these po-
sitions on the open string using the pinch harmonic technique. Once you
can do it proceed as Exercise 1: finger the string at the first fret and move all
the harmonic positions “one fret higher”. Then repeat while fingering the

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12 Artificial Harmonics

second fret, and so on.

2.2 Technical Tips

There are 3 main common used ways to play an artificial harmonic on a

guitar, and we are going to examine them all, one by one.

Pinch Harmonics

The Pinch Harmonics are one of three possible way to play “artificial har-
monics”. Pinch Harmonics are another, more versatile way to do the “metal
squeals”. While on the natural harmonics technique we are limited to only
few possible notes, a pinch harmonic can have any possible pitch.
The pinch harmonics are played on a fretted string, not on an open
string as the natural harmonics. To play a pinch harmonic, the left hand
frets the string in the normal way. The right hand picks the string at a spe-
cific position hitting the string with the pick and the thumb at the same
time. Click here to hear Example 3 where I play some pinch harmonic in a
short riff. (P.M stands for “palm muting”, A.H. for “artificial harmonic”)

 §§   § § § §
§ § § § § § § § § §
8
§ A.H. §
P.M. 
P.M.

 2
2
9 7 5 4
0 3 0 5 5 7 5 3 2
0 3 0

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 2.2. Technical Tips 13


 
4

yy
8 y
A.H.
P.M.  P.M. A.H. A.H. A.H. A.H.

 2
2
2
2
2
2
0 3 0 2 3 5 7 0 0
0 3 0 0 0 0 0

I list here a few technical tips to make sure your harmonics will sound
loud and clear:

1. Use some distortion. The more distortion you use, the easier it will be
to make the harmonic sound. If you prefer a clean sound, use some
compression instead.

2. Use your bridge pickup. The neck pickup makes more difficult to hear
the harmonics

3. Make sure the volume and tone controls on your guitar are both set
to 10 (i.e. max volume and max tone).

4. Change your strings often! Old strings may sound dull and lifeless,
making it more difficult to get a convincing harmonic out of them.

5. Use a hard pick. A soft/medium pick will “give in” and you will not
transfer enough energy to the string. Of course, try to pick the string
quite hard.

6. Your right hand thumb should touch the string at the same time as
your pick hits it. Immediately after you have picked the string, move
your thumb away from it to allow it to vibrate.

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Artificial Harmonics

©Guitar Mastery Solutions, Inc.

www.musictheoryforguitar.com
(a) (b) (c)
Figure 2.1: How to execute a pinch harmonic. (a) Just before playing the note on the third string.
Notice how little the pick is sticking out of my thumb. My thumb is on top of an harmonic posi-
tion, found as described in the text. (b) I play the note on the third string with a downstroke. My
thumb is touching the string now. (c) Immediately after, I lift my thumb from the string, to allow
the harmonic to vibrate freely.
14
 2.2. Technical Tips 15

7. Precision in finding the harmonic position is essential: a couple of

millimeters away and the harmonic won’t sound. The good news is
that with practice this is not as difficult as it sounds. But you have to
practice it!

8. Just after you play the harmonic, apply a wide vibrato to the note.
This way you will “bow” the string on the fret, obtaining more sustain.

Famous users or this technique are: Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Zakk Wylde.

Tap Harmonics

The tap harmonics technique is used less often than pinch harmonics and
usually with less distortion or on a clean sound. Harmonics produced with
this technique have the same bell-like quality of the natural harmonic, but
usually less sustain. The advantage is that with the tap harmonic technique
there are more available notes than the ones you can have with just natural
harmonics. Playing scales, arpeggios and melodies is now possible!
Click here to hear Example 4, where I tap the harmonics 12 frets higher
than the fretted note (T.H stands for “Tap Harmonic”)

  


8 
T.H. T.H. T.H. T.H. T.H.

X
0
0
5
2
0

To perform a tap harmonic, your left hand will finger a note (exactly
as you were doing for pinch harmonics). Your right hand will not pick the
string; instead you will use a finger of your right hand (usually the middle

©Guitar Mastery Solutions, Inc. www.musictheoryforguitar.com

16 Artificial Harmonics

finger) to “tap” the string at a harmonic position. With this I mean that
you are going to hit the string with your right hand finger at a harmonic
position, and the string will sound producing that harmonic. See Figure 2.2
for details.
For the technique to happen, the harmonic position must fall precisely
on a fret bar. This is because when you “tap” the string, the metal fret will
offer something for the string to bounce on. Due to this requirement, the
only usable tap harmonics are the one derived from the first diagram, i.e.
the harmonics that are 12, 7, or 5 frets higher than the fretted note.

Classical Technique

This techniques is used by players who prefer to use their right hand fin-
gers to play as opposed to use the pick. It works the same way as the pinch
harmonic technique, meaning that the right hand does two thins at the
same time: it touches the strings at the harmonic position and it plucks
the string. The difference is in the use of the fingers rather than the pick:
specifically, the right hand index finger will touch the string on the har-
monic position, and then the thumb will pluck the string, see Figure 2.3.
Click here to hear Example 5, that is identical to Example 4, but now I
use the classical technique rather than tapping the harmonics (A.H. stands
for “Artificial Harmonics”)

  


8 
A.H. A.H. A.H. A.H. A.H.

X
0
0
5
2
0

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 2.2. Technical Tips 17

Figure 2.2: Playing a tap harmonic at the 17th fret, on a note fretted at the
5th fret (the harmonic position is 12 fret higher than the fretted note, see
above “Shifting Positions for Artificial Harmonics”). The middle finger of
the right hand hits the string on top of the 17th fret, making the string hit
the fret itself. The finger is then immediately removed, and the harmonic
is free to sound. Using the middle finger to tap the harmonic allows the
player to keep the pick in his hand.

©Guitar Mastery Solutions, Inc. www.musictheoryforguitar.com

18 Artificial Harmonics

Figure 2.3: Playing an artificial harmonic with the classical technique at the
17th fret, on a note fretted at the 5th fret (the harmonic position is 12 fret
higher than the fretted note, see above “Shifting Positions for Artificial Har-
monics”). The right hand index finger touches the string at the harmonic
position, while the thumb plucks the string.

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 CHAPTER
3
S HOULD I L EARN A LL T HESE
T ECHNIQUES ?

No, unless you want to! I explained here all the techniques that you can use
to play harmonics on the guitar, but this does not mean that you have to
become an expert in all of them! You can learn only one or two, or all of
them. For instance, I personally use a lot pinch and tap harmonics, I use
natural harmonics only now and then, and I never use the classical tech-
nique for artificial harmonics (I use tap harmonics instead). My choices
are dictated by the kind of sound and style of playing that I prefer. I suggest
that you try all the techniques described here, and then practice intensively
only the ones that fit your style and sound.

©Guitar Mastery Solutions, Inc. 19 www.musictheoryforguitar.com

 Diagram 1 Diagram 2

3 D G C F A D
3

B E A D F# B

G# C# F# B D# G#

5 5
E A D G B E E A D G B E

D G C F A D

7 7
B E A D F# B B E A D F# B

9 9
G# C# F# B D# G#

D G C F A D

12 12
E A D G B E E A D G B E

15 D G C F A D 15

G# C# F# B D# G#
17 17

19 19
B E A D F# B B E A D F# B

21 21
D G C F A D

E A D G B E
24 E A D G B E
24

G# C# F# B D# G#

B E A D F# B

D G C F A D

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 Diagram 3 Diagram 4

E A D G B E
D# G# C# F# A# D#
D G C F A D
C F A# D# G C
B E A D F# B
A# D# G# C# F A#
G# C# F# B D# G# G# C# F# B D# G#
F# B E A C# F# F# B E A C# F#
E A D G B E E A D G B E

D G C F A D
3 D
D#

G
G# C#

C
F#

F
A#

A
D#

D
3
C F A# D# G C

B E A D F# B B E A D F# B
A# D# G# C# F A#
E A D G B E

G# C# F# B D# G# G# C# F# B D# G#
D G C F A D
F# B E A C# F# F# B E A C# F#
5 C F A# D# G C 5
E A D G B E E A D G B E
D# G# C# F# A# D#
A# D# G# C# F A#

D G C F A D D G C F A D
G# C# F# B D# G# G# C# F# B D# G#
C F A# D# G C
7 E A D G B E
7
B E A D F# B B E A D F# B

D G C F A D
A# D# G# C# F A#
E A D G B E E A D G B E
9 C F A# D# G C
9
G# C# F# B D# G# G# C# F# B D# G#
B E A D F# B

D G C F A D D G C F A D
E A D G B E
F# B E A C# F# F# B E A C# F#
A# D# G# C# F A#
C F A# D# G C
D# G# C# F# A# D#

12 12
E A D G B E E A D G B E

D# G# C# F# A# D#
C F A# D# G C
A# D# G# C# F A#
F# B E A C# F# F# B E A C# F#
15 15
E A D G B E

D G C F A D D G C F A D
B E A D F# B

G# C# F# B D# G# G# C# F# B D# G#
17 C F A# D# G C 17
E A D G B E E A D G B E
A# D# G# C# F A#
D G C F A D

19 19
B E A D F# B B E A D F# B
E A D G B E

G# C# F# B D# G#
21 G#
C
C#
F A#
F#
D#
B D#
G C
G#
21
D G C F A D D G C F A D
A# D# G# C# F A#
D# G# C# F# A# D#

E A D G B E
24 E A D G B E
24
C F A# D# G C
F# B E A C# F# F# B E A C# F#
D G C F A D

G# C# F# B D# G# G# C# F# B D# G#
E A D G B E
A# D# G# C# F A#

B E A D F# B B E A D F# B
C F A# D# G C

D G C F A D D G C F A D
D# G# C# F# A# D#

E A D G B E E A D G B E
F# B E A C# F# F# B E A C# F#
G# C# F# B D# G# G# C# F# B D# G#
A# D# G# C# F A#
B E A D F# B
C F A# D# G C
D G C F A D
D# G# C# F# A# D#
E A D G B E

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About the Author

Tommaso is a prog rock/metal

guitarist, composer, and teacher based
in Edmonton, AB, Canada. He has
been playing guitar since 1992, on and
off stage, both solo and with a variety
of bands. In 2009 he released, together
with other 13 artists, the compilation
CD “Under the Same Sky”, distributed
worldwide in 10.000 copies.

Tommaso is a proud endorser of AMT

Electronics, the best distortion pedals
on the planet. His choice pedals are
the SS-20 and the DT-2.

Tommaso’s influences are very varied,

expressing the love of music that tran-
scends genera and instruments. Some of his favorite musicians are: Dream
Theater, Pink Floyd, Joe Satriani, Andy Timmons, Mike Oldfield, Jean-
Michel Jarre, Deine Lakaien, Litfiba, Nightwish, Astor Piazzolla, Hans Zim-
mer.

Tommaso is a graduate of Tom Hess’ Music Careers Mentoring Program and

Elite Guitar Teachers Inner Circle.

www.musictheoryforguitar.com 22 ©Guitar Mastery Solutions, Inc.

 Should I Learn All These Techniques? 23

For more information about Tommaso visit his website at:

http://www.tommasozillio.com.

Tommaso can be contacted at:

[email protected]

This eBook is under international copyright protection. It cannot be

copied, sold, rented, loaned, or distributed in any way whatsoever, without
written consent of Guitar Mastery Solutions, Inc.

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