How To Do Perfect Pinch Harmonics On Guitar

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[@chriserickson7886]

This guy is so sophisticated and metal at the same time

[@nrajdil]

N

[@briancooke5532]

So far from metal in image, but this dude can seriously shred!

[@sebrura]

🤣

[@earthpart3]

most metal guys ARE sophisticated, they just look rough lol

[@TheOneAndOnlyChino]

Good tutorial, but he missed something VERY important, that is the position where you hit the string with the pick. if you hit it over the bridge pickup is way harder than if you hit it over the neck pickup, but if you want to do a pinch harmonic on higher frets (like 12 and up) it is easier if you hit closer to the bridge pickup. Because it has something to do with the proportion of the string that is vibrating.

[@iamhungry4000]

Harmonics are all over the place on guitars, and you're right. You know natural harmonics on the 5th 7th and 12th frets? It's ALWAYS that 5 7 and 12 distance from wherever the string is fretted, and that's why certain places are "easier" to get pinched harmonics. Good places for beginners to start and practice their technique :)

[@tenworms]

I dunno if my amp sucks (well I do know that it does, actually) or if I suck (well I do know that I do, actually), but I can not get one of these things out. I'm hitting with my pick and my thumb at once, I'm holdin' it right, I'm trying over and over, and I can't get one out. This technique is my goddamn nemesis.

[@LevinsThe]

So... How is it now after 5 years lol?

[@timeslowingdown]

Lol I'm trying to learn it too and I can do them easily in isolation but when I'm actually playing a song I always fuck up.

[@Saltbreather]

@@timeslowingdown same. I can do them all over the fretboard, on all the strings in isolation, but once I’m mid-riff or solo, the chances of me hitting a clear pinch harmonic is pretty slim, especially on string 6 and 7.

[@DBZGazettE52]

Are you a pinch harmonic master now?

[@djw11111]

I watched this video when I first started guitar a few years back and the advice to use a stiff pick solved the problems I was having. I'm going to watch the other videos in your series to see what else I'm missing. Thanks for the great tutorials, David.

[@joelalexander4513]

Big, BIG thank you for clarifying what many tutorials do NOT, re: pinch harmonics. The intial picking and thumb meat touch has to be virtually simultaneous. Not pick and then thumb touch. That's a big'un! Thank you!!

[@bronsonh5677]

I watched this lesson last night, practiced the technique for an hour before bed. Woke up this morning and within a half hour I can hit the harmonics every time. Thank you thank you thank you for this lesson. It was extremely effective and helpful

[@Antwansauce]

thank you so much after watching this i was able to hit my very first pinch harmonic! not consistent yet but i will keep practicing!!

[@Antwansauce]

actually i just practiced more and figured it out!!! its all about the way you angle the pick and give it a slight flick/twist as you strike the string. for me i had to barely roll the string over my thumb really fast at the same time the pick hits the string, kinda like starting a car but twisting the opposite way. THANK YOU SO MUCH

[@SpartanA73]

something I have learned as a guitar player is that the harmonic placements on different guitars are extremely sensitive and must be picked precisely but as a novice player I never could get it to sound right and this video helped a lot thanks

[@DeathcoreGandhi]

I can squeal on every string, but struggle with the low E. Any advice?

[@Saltbreather]

6 years later and still no advice lol I’m wondering the same thing.

[@Cookiemuncher-vn4rl]

The place where it clicks for me is a bit before the neck pickup….i kinda lift my hand after i do it so that my fingers or any skin wont silence it …one important thing is that before you are hitting the string youre holding your pick somewhat downward but with an edge like holding it in 45• and when you want to hit it you will want to make it face downward and lift your hand a bit after you hit it and get the harmonic…hope this helps also start with doing it on the 4th or 3rd whichever you are comfortable with

[@privet8972]

tune it to drop B or drop D or B standart and D standart.

[@bilectal2288]

we all do

[@moutine]

You have to touch it slighlty, just like the case with the lower e string u have to make a longer contact with your thumb, u do the opposite of that with the high one

[@TheNinjafantastic]

oh my god my pinch harmonics got better within 3 minutes of this video thanks :)

[@carl3459]

I have watched lots of videos on this and just could not get it. 6 mins into your vid I have it, played my first pinch harmonics... eargasmm... thank you brother!!!

[@patcaa85]

His eyes are so metal!

[@sparshjain1066]

Thanks a lot you just made them clear to me (the advice about resting the pick on the very next string is really what made me perfect in it)

[@retrocny5625]

Oddly enough pinch harmonics were one of the things I learned the quickest when I picked up a guitar. It's all about your vibrato and when you pick the string, you have to search for the best spot between the bridge and the neck pickup... and some amps will make them sound better than others. I remember nailing those zakk wylde/killswitch engage style harmonics on the low E string with a shitty line 6 solid state practice amp, but when I got my first real rig which was a 5150 with a Mesa 4x12 cab, the harmonics sounded much worse despite my technique not having changed at all. It wasn't until I played the amp at gigging volumes and slammed the front end with a boost to give it more compression and cut, that the pinch harmonics started coming back. I always got those style of pinch harmonics on the low E the best when I used 3 fingers to really get leverage on the string for that wide sweeping vibrato.

[@Ozzie9877]

3:48 wow, that really helps on the low E string in particular. Great tip, I hadn't heard of that before. Thanks

[@CarlWinter-oy8uf]

Finally ---after 25 years OF STRUGGLING TO GET A DECENT SQUEAL. !!!OH MY G. -------- GOT IT ---ONLY 0NE MM OF PICK STICKING OUT --THUMB HITS THE STRING --- DYNOMITE ---THANKYOUTHNKYOU. NOW I HAVE HARMONICS EVERYWHERE. ----WHAT A RELIEF !

[@wchurchill419]

great advice bro thanks. I have SSH - sweet spots are just slightly behind each pickup

[@MrWinterSniper]

It actually depends on the amp. Sometimes gain all the way up just causes a lot of feedback ring which is annoying. Find the balance of gain

[@json.]

How do you know specifically where to play a pinch harmonic? Is it more of just experimenting and finding the right places?

[@AkahriPlays]

***** There goes my excuse xD

[@damooncrabXD]

Certain notes have pinch harmonics which are roughly an octave or two higher. But this comment was 7 years ago so you probably figured it out by now.

[@timeslowingdown]

@@damooncrabXD I assume he meant where to put the pick when you play them. The pitch is different depending on where your move your pick left/right up and down the string as you make the harmonic, no?

[@Saltbreather]

@@timeslowingdown yes

[@Shy-Shy23]

That... is my dream guitar.............

[@CmanTheRussian]

thanks so much! I've been trying to learn this for about a month, and I was about to give up. When you said to have a millimeter of pic I picked up my guitar and got it right away! thanks!

[@michaelvinson8520]

Thanks for the tutorial! Your explanation really helped me to finally understand these things! Now to really learn them!

[@mikealvas]

Thank you so much. Was struggling with pinch harmonics for some time now.

[@TheAznian]

This was very helpful. Thank you!

[@gregoryfocarino6871]

An amazing player on an amazing guitar. Always a great combination.

[@MaxSDK323]

but how to combine normal picking with pinch harmonics, during playing some riffs or songs?

[@harveyjake1985]

I can't do any pinch harmonics on my low E for some reason, could it be my action/bridge height affecting it? Or something I'm doing wrong? Please lemme know

[@kingdee1996kid]

I'm confused on weather I'm bending or doing pinch harmonics

[@CamRebires]

Sleep is for the weak! :D

[@saltygh0st124]

Nice tutorial, thank you!

[@skuzza405]

Is a bridge pickup the same as a Humbucker?

[@afawaz23]

A pickup is simply just the device picking up the vibration of the string, a humbucker is a type of pickup. There are single coil and humbucker pickups. Both pickups, just different types. (Metal=humbucker, blues and jazz=single coil)

[@jefflcarr21]

The bridge pickup is just the one located closest to the bridge of the guitar. A humbucker is a type of pickup.

[@valligatoreig]

yes, very nice indeed!

[@Petrva1]

Can't kinda get it to work. Does the size of your thumb matter?

[@ScumbagTwon]

Stellar!

[@HumbertoMoura]

very well explained. tks

[@leestevens5908]

Can this be done without an amp

[@billybobmybutt]

am i the only one who does pinch harmonics with the pinky?

[@RMMaryport]

Hey i have that guitar too

[@greggstoddard6145]

What guitar are you using?

[@starmastermoo1]

What kind of amp or pedals can I get to sound like this?

[@FranciscoGonzalez-mw1jo]

What exact guitar model is that

[@skuzza405]

Ibanez iron label

[@DJGoblinnn]

Ibanez

[@alexmurphy5289]

You're badass

[@shannexthedestroyer4037]

Hit string with pick and thumb at same time. Still no clue how to do a pinch harmonic lol.

[@goodinsrt8]

1mm....how many freedom units is that?

[@Saltbreather]

Yes

[@jordanhammon4620]

can you link your guitar model

[@drakefischer9002]

What guitar is the at?

[@hyenaswine]

I play these things all the time by accident.

[@LittleRapGuy]

My fourth string sounds like base, even with the base and mids turned down.

[@ThuThu-mh7qr]

What guitar is that

[@kil44ua43]

Ibanez

[@Lotta465mop]

Still can't do it

[@kerem9508]

What about cranking the treble control all the way up 😈😈

[@luiziferbehel3750]

Okay now Dimebag’a squeals lol

[@Xsen1a]

handsome man

[@zeekmx1970]

Thank you for playing my Ibanez RGT42 Insta-Like and Subscribe for YOU.

[@Leppalimes]

I use my pinky

[@owenbrazill7199]

jordan peterson

[@Jkdmoore]

I kind of find that you really have to map your harmonics to each guitar but once you find them, I just sort of remember it every time i play. Weird

[@onpsxmember]

when they're always in diifferent spots on different guitars...maybe your setups aren't that great.

[@kamikazi777]

Here’s an example of over thinking and over explaining to the point of losing sight of the outcome. Man, if I were a beginner listening to this my eyes would have glazed over. Not saying anything about his own ability to pull off harmonics, he clearly has it down, but holy cow enough talk already. It’s just not that complicated and it’s simply just not that involved.

[@Saltbreather]

True, but if someone is desperate and frustrated enough, they’ll soak up every word he’s saying