Pinch harmonic
Encyclopedia
A pinch harmonic or pick harmonic is a guitar
technique in which the player's thumb or index finger on the picking hand slightly catches the string after it is picked, canceling the fundamental
of the string, and letting one of the overtone
s dominate. This results in a high pitch
ed sound
. By using string bending, a whammy bar, a wah-wah pedal
, or other effects, electric guitar
ists are able to modulate the pitch, frequency, and timbre
of pinch harmonics, resulting in a variety of sounds, the most common being a very high-pitched squeal.
and rock music
where heavy distortion
ensures that the otherwise subtle harmonic is greatly amplified. An early example can be heard in Roy Buchanan
's 1962 recording of "Potato Peeler" . Robbie Robertson
, who was taught the technique by Buchanan, has used this style of playing on many of his classic guitar solos with The Band
, as did Leslie West
of Mountain
. Artists such as Eddie Van Halen
, Joe Satriani
and Steve Vai
made the technique popular, utilizing the tremolo arm
and high gain amps together with the pinch harmonic to produce horse-like wails from the instrument.
Pinch harmonics are used extensively in death metal
. The technique's use in death metal is notable in that pinch harmonic notes are included in riff
s, rather than being reserved for solos. Combined with the rather low tunings most of these guitarists use, and the fact that they are usually played by both rhythm guitarists (if there are two), the pinch harmonic notes leap out, creating more complex and twisted melodic contours than otherwise possible. The technique is also used commonly in other sub-genres of heavy metal
, particularly by guitarists such as Steve Morse
, Glenn Tipton
, Zakk Wylde
, Randy Rhoads
, Richie Sambora
and Dimebag Darrell
. One guitarist of the rock
genre who is widely known for his use of pinch harmonics is Billy Gibbons
of ZZ Top
, who uses them frequently in guitar solos, an excellent example being the second solo on the well known ZZ Top track "La Grange
". Another exponent of this technique was the Irish Blues/Rock guitarist Rory Gallagher
, as heard in the soloing on the track "Walk On Hot Coals" from the album "Irish Tour '74".
and all overtone
s except those that have a node
at that location. This is generally accomplished by holding the guitar pick
so that very little of its tip protrudes between the thumb and forefinger (roughly 3–5 mm), allowing the thumb to brush the string immediately after it is picked.
The technique must be performed at one of the appropriate harmonic nodes for the note to sound. For example, to produce a pinch harmonic one octave
higher than the fundamental of a string stopped at the third fret of a guitar, the string must be plucked halfway between the third fret and the bridge (i.e., the 15th fret, as fret spacing is logarithmic). Other overtones of the same fundamental note may be produced in the same way at other nodes along the string. The point at which the string is plucked therefore varies depending on the desired note. Most harmonics have several accessible nodes evenly spaced on the string; so it is no surprise that the nodes used in practice are normally those around where the string is normally picked (around the pickups on an electric guitar), rather than those above the neck as these are the easiest to access with the picking hand from normal playing.
Overtones with a frequency of a multiple of the intended overtone (i.e. its own harmonic
s) will share the nodes of the lower overtone, so won't be muted. They will, however, be at a much lower volume and since they form the selected overtone's own harmonic series, don't detract from the sound of the note. If the string is pinched at the antinode
of the intended overtone, no higher overtones will sound.
A single harmonic overtone is far quieter than a normal note with its many overtones. Amplification and related techniques such as distortion or compression are often used to improve the overall sound. Thicker strings, stronger pickups, and adjustment to amplifier settings (increasing gain) are some ways of doing this. Note that as only one fundamental sounds, it has a different volume through different pickups, depending on the proximity of nodes or antinodes to the pickup. The different volumes of overtones are the reason pickups sound different. The outcome of this is that if a node is directly over a pickup, it won't sound through that pickup.
The playing of a pinch harmonic combined with use of a whammy bar to gradually change the pitch of the played note is known as a dive bomb
. Joe Satriani
's signature "Satch Scream", heavily utilized in his song "Satch Boogie", is achieved by depressing the whammy bar and sounding an open string pinch harmonic, usually on the G and B strings, then slowly raising the whammy bar to produce the scream.
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
technique in which the player's thumb or index finger on the picking hand slightly catches the string after it is picked, canceling the fundamental
Fundamental frequency
The fundamental frequency, often referred to simply as the fundamental and abbreviated f0, is defined as the lowest frequency of a periodic waveform. In terms of a superposition of sinusoids The fundamental frequency, often referred to simply as the fundamental and abbreviated f0, is defined as the...
of the string, and letting one of the overtone
Overtone
An overtone is any frequency higher than the fundamental frequency of a sound. The fundamental and the overtones together are called partials. Harmonics are partials whose frequencies are whole number multiples of the fundamental These overlapping terms are variously used when discussing the...
s dominate. This results in a high pitch
Pitch (music)
Pitch is an auditory perceptual property that allows the ordering of sounds on a frequency-related scale.Pitches are compared as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies,...
ed sound
Sound
Sound is a mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.-Propagation of...
. By using string bending, a whammy bar, a wah-wah pedal
Wah-wah pedal
A wah-wah pedal is a type of guitar effects pedal that alters the tone of the signal to create a distinctive effect, mimicking the human voice...
, or other effects, electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
ists are able to modulate the pitch, frequency, and timbre
Timbre
In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...
of pinch harmonics, resulting in a variety of sounds, the most common being a very high-pitched squeal.
Use in rock and metal
The technique is possible on any fretted stringed instrument, but is most widely employed by electric guitarists, especially in heavy metalHeavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
and rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
where heavy distortion
Distortion (guitar)
Distortion effects create "warm", "dirty" and "fuzzy" sounds by compressing the peaks of a musical instrument's sound wave and adding overtones. The three principal types of distortion effects are overdrive, distortion and fuzz. Distortion effects are sometimes called “gain” effects, as distorted...
ensures that the otherwise subtle harmonic is greatly amplified. An early example can be heard in Roy Buchanan
Roy Buchanan
Roy Buchanan was an American guitarist and blues musician. A pioneer of the Telecaster sound, Buchanan was a sideman and solo artist, with two gold albums early in his career, and two later solo albums that made it on to the Billboard chart. Despite never having achieved stardom, he is still...
's 1962 recording of "Potato Peeler" . Robbie Robertson
Robbie Robertson
Robbie Robertson, OC; is a Canadian singer-songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known for his membership as the guitarist and primary songwriter within The Band. He was ranked 59th in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time...
, who was taught the technique by Buchanan, has used this style of playing on many of his classic guitar solos with The Band
The Band
The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
, as did Leslie West
Leslie West
Leslie West is an American rock guitarist, singer and songwriter.-Biography:Originally named Leslie Weinstein, West was born in New York City, grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey, and in East Meadow, Forest Hills and Lawrence. After his parents divorced, he changed his surname to West...
of Mountain
Mountain (band)
Mountain is an American hard rock band that formed in Long Island, New York in 1969. Originally comprising vocalist and guitarist Leslie West, bassist Felix Pappalardi and drummer N. D. Smart, the band broke up in 1972 before reuniting in 1974 and remaining active until today...
. Artists such as Eddie Van Halen
Eddie Van Halen
Edward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halen is a Dutch-American guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
, Joe Satriani
Joe Satriani
Joseph "Joe" Satriani is an American instrumental rock guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, with multiple Grammy Award nominations...
and Steve Vai
Steve Vai
Steven Siro "Steve" Vai is a three time Grammy Award-winning American guitarist, songwriter and producer who has sold over 15 million albums. Steve Vai is widely known as a flamboyant guitar virtuoso....
made the technique popular, utilizing the tremolo arm
Tremolo arm
A whammy bar, tremolo arm/bar, or vibrato arm/bar is a component of a guitar, used to add vibrato to the sound by changing the tension of the strings, typically at the bridge or tailpiece...
and high gain amps together with the pinch harmonic to produce horse-like wails from the instrument.
Pinch harmonics are used extensively in death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
. The technique's use in death metal is notable in that pinch harmonic notes are included in riff
RIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
s, rather than being reserved for solos. Combined with the rather low tunings most of these guitarists use, and the fact that they are usually played by both rhythm guitarists (if there are two), the pinch harmonic notes leap out, creating more complex and twisted melodic contours than otherwise possible. The technique is also used commonly in other sub-genres of heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, particularly by guitarists such as Steve Morse
Steve Morse
Steven J. "Steve" Morse is an American guitarist and composer, best known for his work in the hard rock band Deep Purple since 1994. He began his career to form the unique styled instrumental rock band Dixie Dregs in the 1970. Morse's musical inspiration comes from country, funk, jazz fusion, and...
, Glenn Tipton
Glenn Tipton
Glenn Tipton is one of the Grammy Award-winning guitarists for the heavy metal band Judas Priest...
, Zakk Wylde
Zakk Wylde
Zachary Phillip Wylde , best known by the stage name Zakk Wylde, is an American musician, songwriter, and occasional actor who is best known as the former guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and founder of the heavy metal band Black Label Society. He was the lead guitarist and vocalist in Pride & Glory,...
, Randy Rhoads
Randy Rhoads
Randall William "Randy" Rhoads was an American heavy metal guitarist who played with Ozzy Osbourne and Quiet Riot. A devoted student of classical guitar, Rhoads often combined his classical music influences with his own heavy metal style. While on tour with Ozzy Osbourne, he would seek out...
, Richie Sambora
Richie Sambora
Richard Stephen "Richie" Sambora is an American rock guitarist, producer, musician, singer, and songwriter who is the longtime lead guitarist of the rock band, Bon Jovi. He and frontman Jon Bon Jovi form the primary songwriting unit of the band...
and Dimebag Darrell
Dimebag Darrell
Darrell Lance Abbott , also known as Diamond Darrell and Dimebag Darrell, was an American guitarist. He was best known as a founding member of the heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan. Abbott also contributed to the album Rebel Meets Rebel, a collaboration between Pantera and David Allan Coe...
. One guitarist of the rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
genre who is widely known for his use of pinch harmonics is Billy Gibbons
Billy Gibbons
William Frederick "Billy" Gibbons is an American musician, actor and car customizer, best known as the guitarist of the Texas blues-rock band ZZ Top. He is also the lead singer and composer for many of the band's songs. Gibbons is known for playing his Gretsch Billy Bo guitar and his famous 1959...
of ZZ Top
ZZ Top
ZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...
, who uses them frequently in guitar solos, an excellent example being the second solo on the well known ZZ Top track "La Grange
La Grange (song)
"La Grange" is a song by the rock group ZZ Top from their album Tres Hombres, released in 1973. One of their most successful songs, it was released in 1973 and received extensive radio play, rising to #41 in the Billboard Pop Singles list in 1974. The song refers to a bordello on the outskirts of...
". Another exponent of this technique was the Irish Blues/Rock guitarist Rory Gallagher
Rory Gallagher
William Rory Gallagher, ; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995, was an Irish blues-rock multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and bandleader. Born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Ireland, and raised in Cork, Gallagher recorded solo albums throughout the 1970s and 1980s, after forming the band Taste...
, as heard in the soloing on the track "Walk On Hot Coals" from the album "Irish Tour '74".
Technique
A pinch harmonic is produced when the thumb of the picking hand lightly touches against the string immediately after it is picked. This action is sufficient to silence the fundamentalFundamental frequency
The fundamental frequency, often referred to simply as the fundamental and abbreviated f0, is defined as the lowest frequency of a periodic waveform. In terms of a superposition of sinusoids The fundamental frequency, often referred to simply as the fundamental and abbreviated f0, is defined as the...
and all overtone
Overtone
An overtone is any frequency higher than the fundamental frequency of a sound. The fundamental and the overtones together are called partials. Harmonics are partials whose frequencies are whole number multiples of the fundamental These overlapping terms are variously used when discussing the...
s except those that have a node
Node (physics)
A node is a point along a standing wave where the wave has minimal amplitude. For instance, in a vibrating guitar string, the ends of the string are nodes. By changing the position of the end node through frets, the guitarist changes the effective length of the vibrating string and thereby the...
at that location. This is generally accomplished by holding the guitar pick
Guitar pick
A guitar pick is a plectrum used for guitars. A pick is generally made of one uniform material; examples include plastic, nylon, rubber, felt, tortoiseshell, wood, metal, glass, and stone...
so that very little of its tip protrudes between the thumb and forefinger (roughly 3–5 mm), allowing the thumb to brush the string immediately after it is picked.
The technique must be performed at one of the appropriate harmonic nodes for the note to sound. For example, to produce a pinch harmonic one octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
higher than the fundamental of a string stopped at the third fret of a guitar, the string must be plucked halfway between the third fret and the bridge (i.e., the 15th fret, as fret spacing is logarithmic). Other overtones of the same fundamental note may be produced in the same way at other nodes along the string. The point at which the string is plucked therefore varies depending on the desired note. Most harmonics have several accessible nodes evenly spaced on the string; so it is no surprise that the nodes used in practice are normally those around where the string is normally picked (around the pickups on an electric guitar), rather than those above the neck as these are the easiest to access with the picking hand from normal playing.
Overtones with a frequency of a multiple of the intended overtone (i.e. its own harmonic
Harmonic
A harmonic of a wave is a component frequency of the signal that is an integer multiple of the fundamental frequency, i.e. if the fundamental frequency is f, the harmonics have frequencies 2f, 3f, 4f, . . . etc. The harmonics have the property that they are all periodic at the fundamental...
s) will share the nodes of the lower overtone, so won't be muted. They will, however, be at a much lower volume and since they form the selected overtone's own harmonic series, don't detract from the sound of the note. If the string is pinched at the antinode
Node (physics)
A node is a point along a standing wave where the wave has minimal amplitude. For instance, in a vibrating guitar string, the ends of the string are nodes. By changing the position of the end node through frets, the guitarist changes the effective length of the vibrating string and thereby the...
of the intended overtone, no higher overtones will sound.
A single harmonic overtone is far quieter than a normal note with its many overtones. Amplification and related techniques such as distortion or compression are often used to improve the overall sound. Thicker strings, stronger pickups, and adjustment to amplifier settings (increasing gain) are some ways of doing this. Note that as only one fundamental sounds, it has a different volume through different pickups, depending on the proximity of nodes or antinodes to the pickup. The different volumes of overtones are the reason pickups sound different. The outcome of this is that if a node is directly over a pickup, it won't sound through that pickup.
The playing of a pinch harmonic combined with use of a whammy bar to gradually change the pitch of the played note is known as a dive bomb
Dive bomb
Dive bomb is a guitar technique in which the tremolo bar is used to rapidly lower the pitch of a note, creating a sound considered to be similar to a bomb dropping. One of the most recognized pioneers of this technique is Jimi Hendrix. Other notable musicians who are widely known for using this...
. Joe Satriani
Joe Satriani
Joseph "Joe" Satriani is an American instrumental rock guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, with multiple Grammy Award nominations...
's signature "Satch Scream", heavily utilized in his song "Satch Boogie", is achieved by depressing the whammy bar and sounding an open string pinch harmonic, usually on the G and B strings, then slowly raising the whammy bar to produce the scream.
External links
- Guitar Harmonics Lesson - A lesson covering the various types of harmonics that can be played on a guitar and how to play them.
- Pinch Harmonics at Cyberfret
- Animated Pinch Harmonic Examples at ActionTab