Pinch Harmonics

I finally got around to writing a lesson, and I figured it make it on something a lot of people ask me about. If you listen carefully to some songs, you'll notice every now and then, a really loud screeching, squealing sort of sound. If you've ever wondered how to pull that off, then pinch harmonics is your answer. Note that I haven't completely mastered the technique yet, and I'm still working on different ways of producing pinch harmonics, but I'll share some things that I've learned, that have made the process easier for me. Also note, that I'm left handed, and some of the techniques I find easy, may be hard for you, and vice versa.

Before we start off, it'll be essential for you to have some knowledge of harmonics, and you should defintely be able to produce natural harmonics, since that's pretty much a beginner's skill. Pinching falls more under the amateur level of playing. If you have no idea what a natural harmonic is, you can PM or I'm me and I can help you. Moving on, here's what you'll need.

- A Guitar. Humbucks will make things a lot easier, but SC pups will do too.
- An Amplifier .
- Distortion (you can also use amplifier distortion, but make sure you have plenty of gain, so as to make it easier).
- A Pick .

First step is to find a strong natural harmonic somewhere between the fretboard and the bridge. You can start by fretting the 2nd string at the 12th fret (b on standard tuning), picking it, and lightly touching the string at various points with your right-hand index. Once you hear a loud resonating sound, you've found a good point. There are several ways that I've discovered to pull of pinch harmonics. But first we're gonna have to start off slowly, so that you get the basic idea. Holding your pick directly above the point you found the harmonic, pick the string, and then lightly bring the side of your thumb down onto the string. If you hear a shrill sound, pat yourself on the back. You've just produced a harmonic.

Now, you want to do this faster, and in one motion. So these are the different ways (that I know of) of producing pinch harmonics. Remember, there is no 'right' way. You can do it in whatever way you find easiest, as long as you get the sound you want. If you know of any way that I haven't mentioned, please post about it.

- Hold your pick with the thumb protruding slightly from the side, and pick the string, so the pick hits it, and your thumb then hits it immediately afterwards.

- Hold your pick with the index and thumb, and have your middle-finger stick out right behind. Picking the string with an upstroke should produce a pinch harmonic. (I mostly use this method, since I have an unusual way of holding the pick, and I find this convenient).

- Place the side of your palm lightly over the point of harmonic resonance, and then pick the string. Or pick the string, and then lightly bring your palm down.

You should work on those for a while, stick to one that suits you best, or experiment with all of them, and after a bit of practice, you'll get it. For every note that you play, you'll get stronger harmonics in different areas, so its best to memorise where you want to produce a pinch-harmonic in your solos, and use the pickups as a guide-line. For example, you might want to pick right between the two coild on the neck pickup, or right above the first coil of the bridge pickup, whatever. In the end, it all comes down to practice.

Comments

[chinko]

woo i like doing harmonics on bass. i use the palm method.

[hank shermmann]

i guess using the nasty finger for pinching is easier than using the thumb,coz even guys who have been playing since a week get pinches by this method.

[Idiots_inc]

nice article, i use the second method you mention. Use it mainly for the new slipknot song duality.

[megadeth69]

there's like 2 whole pages of crap, all you needed to say was "Hold your pick with the thumb protruding slightly from the side, and pick the string, so the pick hits it, and your thumb then hits it immediately afterwards." and no more your so retarded!!

[Danny7]

Ok lesson.

I've been doing them for ages and not realising it.

Cool.

[damn_punks]

alright, I do these all the time. You choke up on the pick, having about a centimeter and hold it tight between your index and thumb and do a down stroke. It's easier. on lower and heavier guaged strings you need to hold on to the pick with alot more pressure.
To do them like Zakk Wylde it takes alot of vibrato and strength, which you obtain from practicing.

[Volkl]

I get pissed off wit pinch harmonics cos i cant do em but i've only ever tried the first method so i shall be tryin the other 2

[troutBoy]

good lesson ****1/2 stars

[Kingtab69]

booty

[johnnywinter]

megadeth69 is a bit of an arse. He does not realise that the harmonics do not all sound at the same point - ie you have to move your right hand around. And since the distance between each note decreases as the note pitch increases - it will be very difficult to do a pinch harmonic on, say, the first string whilst fretting the 21st - you would have to pick very near the bridge. Not exactly the usual position. Silly moron. Also it's "you're" not "your". You're so retarded!!

[80s_rock_guitar]

For some reason, I can pull of pinch harms on my acoustic. They dont have the balls they have on my elec, but its kinda cool cause I really didnt think it was even possible.

[danilo19]

if any one want to try a song that has a lot of pinch harmonics try Stillborn by black label society. their guitarist Zakk wylde does pinch harmonics a lot?

[damn_punks]

on acoustic they are very quite. but they lend a nice air of mystery to a piece when used with dynamics.

[damn_punks]

^quiet

[Eggy331]

good article, bro. i love the agony scene and the black dahlia murder, their songs are practically based on ph's. i had never even heard of your second method until i read this, and it actually works. thanx for the tip

[porkfishweasel]

Zakk is god of sqealing

[AcDcizzle]

^^ i Think you might want to rephrase that. *cough* *Squeal like a piggy* *cough*

[damn_punks]

^AcDcizzle likes to be sweaty five yr old boys

[Gothicrocker]

thnx,, I leardned how to use it now,, but I use my own technique,, it's without a pick,, works great!

[6_string_razor]

Now all my frustration with Stillborn (Black Label Society) has ended, I finally know how Zakk does the squeals, and I finally know how to. Good lesson bro.

[yeller56]

man im mad...i can't do bed of razors

[damn_punks]

pinch harmonics are easy, the vibrato on the low strings with heavy gauges like zakk makes it hard. but it sounds alot better

[slash_620]

can u play pinch harmonics on an acoustic

[wilty00]

Good lesson dude i was trying to learn this. Thanks!

[rhcp_guitarist]

2 posts up: u can do em on electrics without distortion or on acoutics but its harder (acoustic is the hardest). having gain makes it simple as!

[rhcp_guitarist]

PS and no gain or on acoustic makes it sound pretty crappy as well. no real squeal.

[Remebol]

u wrote.. all that.. just becuase of some stupid technique? lol

[damn_punks]

it puts it an octave up when you pinch harmonic, so that's why it works on acoustic. not for a squeal....

[kazza]

That was some good information but it was a lot

[day2kill]

shut the *** up

[day2kill]

PS SHUT THE FUCK UP

[panteraplayer28]

if this is amatuer what is pro kind of harmonic

[damn_punks]

ONE WITH BALLS DIPSHIT

[eat]

wow... thanx a lot, i can finally play duality!

[damn_punks]

???? YOU STUPID FUCK!!!.. DUALITYS AN EASY PIECE OF CRAP TO PLAY!!! stupid wanka

[playgtr055]

im workin on laid to rest by lamb of god and i needed to know how to do pinch harmonics....thanks man.

[shredmaster2013]

I think the first method is ***in easy i learned it in about 5 min and now i can play duality almost perfect

[Phate]

Nice lesson man, good to see someone who could finally explain it. An elusive skill for sometime to the web.

[cccmtech]

I agree about Zakk Wylde being the "king of squeels". He is one of the few ballsy enough to squeel every fret of every string in every song...or close to it..

Pinch harmonics are fun, I use my thumb on easier strings (ie bottom 4) top two I use my thumb and palm.
Harp harmonics and natural harmonics are useful too, a lot of guys use a whammy bar and natural harmonics to make some of the longest squeels.

Most anyone playing rock needs to learn at least basic pinch harmonics, hell...they use them in nearly every song..

To re-answer the newbies questions, you can pull off a pinch harmonic on ANYTHING with strings...banjo, mandolin, acoustic, electric, bass, you name it...some just sound better than others..

[Chex]

Cool lesson, i also use my middle fingers on the high e and b strings, and im a lefty!

What are the chances I still cant do them on the bassy strings though.

Oh yeh and i hold the pick differently, probably why we both use our middle fingers.

[megadeth111]

its pretty good but i agree with the other megadeht dood too much ***ing words dick suck just say hit the string with ur thumb after or sum shit

[megadeth111]

lol duality sux its too danm easy u pussy wankers lol

[6SIC6]

STOP! shit on SlipknoT i am really pissed off!! Can somebody (someone) hlp! with pinch harmonics!? does anyone have any video or some shit about it? one more thing! U ***in noobs, god ***ers say something about slipknot i swer to ***ing good u will DIEE!! send all shit [e-mail]

[XeNoCiDe730]

seriously, if sum1 has a video of this it would really help me (a beginner)
good article though

[CandyCaneChild1]

great article. although i already knew how to do harmonics and pinch harmonics, it brought up some techniques ive never used before. kudos!

[megadeth111]

*** u 6SIC6 u suck dick if u think slipknot is a good band there guitarists are shity and so are u u ***ing noob ass bitch! ill shit right in slipknots mouth! need a video, lol u must really suck if u cant learn it from hear NOOB!!

[6SIC6]

lol! Noob! idiot mother ***er dick lover!! suck jesus dick u ***in retard! *** off! dont shit plz u may diee!

[mueller_adam]

nice article, i was taught another way to do pinch harmonics though...much easier...you just place your index finger lightly on the string you'd like to play and pick it with your thumb's fingernail in an upwards motion, taking your index off as you pick. only slightly difficult part is getting the timing right...hope this helps someone out there...

[megadeth111]

ur such a ***ing queer trying to cuz all kool and shit i bet u like it up the ass by a ***ing baboon.. lol!

[the fendernator]

i just do them by accident and they sound awesome!

[CrazayAxeMan]

god this site is gay.. no real muscians.. just a bunch of whiney kids wow.. i feal i wasted time just typing this..

[megadeth111]

.....wow u did cuz no 1 cares about ur panzy ass feelings....just shut the *** up and look at the site.

[yeller56]

FUNNY! Because CrazayAxeMan, I garuantee most of us kids are better than you.

[tom_nik]

CrazayAxeMan can suck my hairy sweaty guitar playin
balls

[Dave_Mustaine]

i dont understand how the heck to do them

I have a Squire Strat with SC pickups and a 10 watt amp with a REALLY GOOD distortion pedal. Is this why I cant do anything? I can hear a sound but its not anything worth useing.

[guitarplaya1217]

i don't get it

[megadeth111]

yea guitar axe nutts sux dick

[FullMetalMayhem]

Dime used alot of these ....he and Zakk Wylde were probly the best I've heard at pinch harmonics.

[SugarFry]

RIP Dimebag

[randall_truscot]

It helps a shit load to use thick little jazz guitar picks.....other than the article contained too much unuseful infofmatoin.

and randy roads is good at pinch harmonis, well was good since his deatth.

R.I.P. DIMEBAG DARREL & RANDY RHOADS

[frankandbeans57]

Megadeth you're a ***ing moron. Your calling people noobs over a god damn guitar, You must be what, 5 years old? Also you are saying no one cares about his panzy ass feelings, well i doubt no one gives a shit about what you have to say about the article, so *** off and grow up.

[angelchilango20]

The lesson is ok, I tried to pull a harmonic with one of the methods mentioned, but there an easier way to do the harmonics. Just lightly place your left-hand index over the fret you want to play. For example if you want to pull a harmonic on the 7th fret, then you place your finger right before the 8th fret.

[blu9999]

good lesson

[Josué]

angelchilango20:
The lesson is ok, I tried to pull a harmonic with one of the methods mentioned, but there an easier way to do the harmonics. Just lightly place your left-hand index over the fret you want to play. For example if you want to pull a harmonic on the 7th fret, then you place your finger right before the 8th fret.

you dumbass, those are natural harmonics. pinch harmonics are artificial.
angelchilango20:
The lesson is ok, I tried to pull a harmonic with one of the methods mentioned, but there an easier way to do the harmonics. Just lightly place your left-hand index over the fret you want to play. For example if you want to pull a harmonic on the 7th fret, then you place your finger right before the 8th fret.
i want to f uck hilary duff and lindsay lohan up the pussy and suck their tits.

[Josué]

oops

[Josué]

any way, what i wanted to say, was, that i reckon dimebag darrel of pantera, does the best pinch harmonics. it sometime even sounds like he does whole riffs with them. check out the riff under the solo in "the great southern trend kill", it sounds like everything picked is an artificial harmonic... but i'm not sure it might just be some wierd effect

[slipknotrox09]

dimebag darrel sucks ****ing cock he died for a reason because god hates queers. pinched harmonics are gay your not cool unless you can play steve vai with your penis

[slipknotrox09]

Josue your a homo suck my penis and dimebag sucks

[slipknotrox09]

hey randall_truscot guess what dimebag f ucking blows my cock. u know what guess why he died huh huh! cause he sucks my balls

[slipknotrox09]

dimebag sucks

[slipknotrox09]

dimebag sucks dimebag sucks dimebag sucks

[slipknotrox09]

im the person who shot him cause hes gay and then i raped his mom and his little sister

[kyo1986]

Hey bro. nice lesson i think i better understand how to do a pinched harmonic. Hey quick question? How do you pick scrape?

[slipknotrox09]

hey kyo1986 guess what dimebag sucks

[megadeth111]

wow...u really are a ***ing lozer,,,.... u prolly have no friends since ur sitting at ur computer in a ***ing message board just saying dimebag sux and u like it when guys suck ur dick.....thats ***ing grows i hope sumone shoots u

[vit4l.remains]

hmmm too bad slipknot sux ass. they have to b mabe one of the worst bands out there. they aren't metal. joey jordinson is terrible at drums. listen to sumthing better or you will be shot to.

[El_Borracho]

guys calm down, its most likely some 12 yr old kid just trying to push some buttons...

[CptMorgan]

wow will all you guys just shut the hell up if you wanna go flame eachother and sound cool use the damn pm box's. And stop flaming people who are asking questions, they're trying to improve.

[Mantiscabinet]

wow...thanks man, whoever wrote this article...i was gonna learn cowboys from hell, and there's a small part that required pinched harmonics (the bridge) i haven't tried it out, but the lesson makes perfect sense, good job

[MaxLees666]

now i might be able to master the last thing i need to play duality! lol

[MaxLees666]

wow ive noticed quite a lot of ppl r rippin it out of slipknot. theyre quite good, i just love the effect of pinch harmonics nd the only song i can rele think of that uses them that i can play is duality

[AREAofREFUGE]

Pinches are pretty hard, I use the palm method. I just can't seem to do it any other way, maybe cause I have a wierd thumb, but w/e. I don't know if you guys know this, but duality is most definetly NOT the only ***ing song that has a ***ing pich harmonic in it, have any of you homo's ever listened to anything hard???.. How bout this, get your hands on a band called Arch Enemy, they're pretty sick, also, Chlidren of Bodom. If you like sick guitarists, go for Chlidren of Bodom. Both of these bands have great guitarists that use pinches.

[TheCravings]

slipknotrox09: is a proper cock, though pantera or damageplan are not may favourtie band you should stil appreciate dime as a master at pinch harmonics. slipknot however play such basic bollocks whilst there pathetic fans idolely stand around sucking cock. Lets not get drawn from the point, dime deserves respect for what he done for metal and so should'nt be mocked by faggots like slipknotrox09:

[metal_dude_ted]

I couldn't be assed reading all the comments so I dunno if anyone mentioned this method, but here goes.

1) Find the note/fret you wanna make scream like a bitch.

2) Hold the fret down.

Easy so far?

3) This part involves experimenting. What you actually do is, put your' 3rd finger somewhere in between the pick, and the bridge (exactly where, will vary depending on the fret you're using). But all you need to do, is pick the string. As soon you pick, very quickly push down on the string with your' third finger, and release. Just move your' pick and 3rd finger around the string a bit and it'll only take a couple of seconds to find the point.

But yeah, they method works fine for me. It can be a bitch to do when you need to do a spontaneous pinch harmonic, but once you practice it a lot, you'll get used to it.

[TrappedUnderIce]

Those are called octive harmonics, you play a note than tap the fret (the bar not the actual fret) 12 frets, or one octive lower, hince they are called octive harmonics.

[intarzia]

megadeth111:
wow...u really are a ***ing lozer,,,.... u prolly have no friends since ur sitting at ur computer in a ***ing message board just saying dimebag sux and u like it when guys suck ur dick.....thats ***ing grows i hope sumone shoots u

haha. look who's talking. you must have many friends to sit around here complaining about.. whatever you're complaining about.
by the way, if you want people to actually listen to what you say, you should consider learning how to spell, you ***ing hypocrite. all i hear from you is "blah blah i eat asses."

[intarzia]

and yes, it was a good lesson.

[myfellowrocker]

Good lesson P.S eddie van halen is my god.Fuck all punk fans FUCK YOU ALL

[myfellowrocker]

i rape my brothers

[Spanner]

Get a ***ing life you looser you are one of the biggest attention seekers on this bloody site
You cant corrupt a music fan just because they have a different taste to you, so grow up!!

[12354]

look, why dont u people just get some respect! Dimebag is...was good as is Zakk. Slipknot are also ok..if you arenot lookin 4 musical genius. and who ever said that their gitarist are shit, didnt it occur 2 you that they are actually quite famous? do you know why that is? its because they r good at what they do. ie. playin gitar. Any ways this website was ment 4 talkin about music and shit so y dont u actually do that? in stead of just talkin shit at eachother 4 no reason?

p.s. the leson thing was good...im still shit at it tho

[IlIkE2plygUItAr]

**** out of 5

[technocheese]

hmmm too bad slipknot sux ass. they have to b mabe one of the worst bands out there. they aren't metal. joey jordinson is terrible at drums. listen to sumthing better or you will be shot to.

what the ***! joey is an amazing drummer you fool! and anyway slipknot have made more money than you ever will so someone must like them!!!!

[Spanner]

YYY..e, that doesnt mean he has to like them, do you not think?

[YeagARoKkA]

***ing gay ok i can do pinch harmonics but for some weird reason it doesnt really scream out like in the song duality it sounds weak as ***...its either my amp or my guitar i dont know but its NOT COOL MAN...ok i have a peavey rage 158 shit and a bc rich brownze warlock and boss ds-1....i dont think there shud b a problem but it sounds weak ok..help any1?

[YeagARoKkA]

o yea i got it to work and i can play duality

[FadeToBlack728]

do u have to have a natural harmonic becuas i dont know how to do pinch harmonics

[Moejax]

YeagARoKka, that ds-1 one wont cut it, its pretty cheap disto... get a digitech MM or a zoom trimetal, for PH, cuz anything else (except a mesa/boog maybe) is gonna cut it...

[shadowofbodom]

nice lesson..... if u want to hear some sick PH listen to shadows fall, children of bodom or cannibal corpse... and of course Black Label Society (!) \m/ > < \m/
..^

[chicanorocker]

what song has a good example of a pinch harmonic? and what part of the song?...good lesson though

[ViceVersa]

i invented pinch harmonics

[John Biscuit]

Not bad of a lesson, you can also place your pick between your index finger and middle finger with your thumb placed just under the index. That way your thumb hits it on a down stroke and the middle finger hits it on an up stroke for quick up-down harmonic strumming.

By the way assholes who are flooding the article with shit, especially about Slipknot, why don't you go make a tab for duality or opium of the people? Since it's soo easy. I looked and there's just a bunch of tabs made of guesses, other than the guy who bought the official Slipknot music book. I wonder why... BECAUSE IT'S NOT EASY.

[FENDERGUITAR666]

ok im gonna go try this hope it works since i need to know the rest of a killswitch song if it dont i let u guys know

[DISTURED]

Sweet article And sweet sound

[guitarboy112392]

do any of u no how to do a pinch harmonic if your r lefty if u do email me at [e-mail] thanks

[YeagARoKkA]

omfg slipknot rox ur the biggest ***ing queer ever if u say dimebag darell sux 1 more ***ing time ill cut ur ***ing clit off u pussy...dime rocked the ***ing world so..***in *** urslef asshwhle...slipknot sux doushe

[YeagARoKkA]

hey moejax im a broke ass bastard so i cant really get anything lol but thx dude....i want a ***ing metal pedal but well wtf im broke

[askurmoran]

i posted on on pinch harmonics too but it wasnt even ever put up so i guess that means my sucked but ive gotta say urs is great

[zakk_wylde_fan]

. slipknotrox09 has got to be the dumbest person dimebag sucks? hes a guitar god. slipknot has no talent what so ever. You probably couldnt learn one of dimebags songs.

[deth_itself]

Why don't you guys just play guitar instead of arguin?!

[deth_itself]

oh and askurmoran I recomend boss MT-2 Metal Zone for a dist. pedal. I don't know how much they cost but i'm pretty sure they're around US $99

[deth_itself]

MT-2 = lots of balls

[Unforgiven_II]

my hatred for slipknot fans has risen another 233% it is really disgusting the way they act and the way they think that slipknot is a good band I really do not understand there are about a thousand bands better than them. and dimebag was a great man u must not have a life u gay slipknot fan!!!
HEAR ME SLIPKNOT IS THE WORST BAND IN THE FUCKING WORLD!!!.. EAT MY WORDS!!!..

[Spanner]

Oh jesus mary and joeseph, when are you little idiots going to realise that everyone has a different opinion and you just have to accept it, your opinion is not always right, so dont treat it like it is, you all should respect and be inspired by the opinions of others, not criticise them.

[Unforgiven_II]

no offence Spanner but seriously someone who enjoys paying out a dead person and critises a dead person really, really gets on my nerves im sure im not the only one who thinks this. and spanner what kind of opinion is 'dimebag darrel sucks cock he died caus god doesn't like queers!' what kind of opinion is that!?!?

[Spanner]

Yes you do have a point, I was not talking about you personaly, but thats just an opinion, you know? If those little smelly rockers want to spell awfully and write an awful lot of crap that they have not a ccc..lll..uuu..eeee what they are on about, just let them be, unfortunatley we can not change them, good point though, sorry if you got the wrong impression

[poontastic]

I would like to thank every person on here interested in learning pinch harmonics, and to thank them for using the comment board to voice their opinions in a reasonable manner. I like to tell every 12 year old pseudo metal lover who took the time to type " ur gay u n00b fayget" or "i raped yr mom!!!..1111!!!.." to die, slowly and painfully. Just becasue you are to weak and pussy assed to beat some kid in the playground up doesnt give you the right to talk that shit up where no one can get you. Eventually you will learn in life that there is karma, and your ass is toast. Thank you. The hounds will be released in five minutes.

[punkish]

i find that a method of lightly pressing on the string with a fret hand finger where you've found a harmonic, and quickly releasing the string after picking normally works, may not be as loud as other methods can be though

[newyorkdolls138]

grood lesson!

[Silenzo666]

thank you so much dude, now i can finally play pinch harmonics, damn atreyu and their pinch harmonics, well, kick ass article, i'm giving u a five, and to all u guys out there, slipknot kicks ass!

[guitar_god444]

ur all fuken retarded arguein over this..jus play ur god damn shit music widout all the fightin retards

[Freaking Out]

Awesome stuff! Works nice with Adema. 5/5. Rock On!

[metal_man696]

slipknotrox09 your a ***ing pussy! Dimebag was a god and you know it shitload i hope you ***ing rot in hell!!!
DIMEBAG DARRELL RULES!!!

[ross mcmillan]

haw slipknotrox09. am gonny ***in do u. u probably wid rape hes maw and his sister ya sad bastard.

p.s. u've made yersel sound gay coz sumday died suckin yer baws. ye must have monster crabs ya dick

p.s. wunner ur still heer if god hates queers

[ross mcmillan]

ye shud be expectin sum death threats in yer post

[livestrong]

very good, i like the sound of them

[metal_man696]

thank you ross somebody agrees with me! im going to kill that muther***in asshole! i hope he dies a slow and PAINFULL i reapeat PAINFULLDEATH! ***ing

[metal_man696]

:satan:

[metal_man696]

shit it dont work

[monkeyspks]

the best harmonics are on the 5th, 7th, 9th, and 12th frets.

[\m/ jamie \m/]

i really dont get it

[onemanarmy9]

This was fairly helpful. Within about 5 seconds of trying with that thumb method, I found some harmonics I even found the one I was looking for (so I could get the squeel from "Whatever" by Our Lady Peace,[10th fret low E sting]). However, getting it to work consistantly is proving difficult lol. Oh well, I guess it takes practice lol.

[RIP_REVOLUTION]

i found this article helpfull thanks. now..all u assholes out there who say dime bag sucks,get a life u assholes he was a ***ing legend he could play the guitar like no other in my eyes. also zakk wylde is awsome and slpiknot are a great band ..how u think theyve made so much money !?!?! its becuase ppl buy there albums millions of ppl bought iowa i remember finding it hard to get a copy of that cos it was in such high demand. so get a life u ***ing asses and go *** urselves. \nn/ rock on ppl!!!.. Ps. i think a good solo to learn for harmonics is "floods" by pantera from the great southern trend kill album

[RIP_REVOLUTION]

back to the dime bag situation, i remember reading about how dime was at a concert once and him and slash get so drunk they could just about stand...anyways....they were both asked to play one of there fav solo's note for note and u no wat? slash couldnt do it cos hes ***ing shit !!!! dime played every note of the im broken solo he didnt miss a single ***ing note....so how can u say he sucks when he can play in that state.....i rest my case

[angusrox]

megadeth69:
there's like 2 whole pages of crap, all you needed to say was "Hold your pick with the thumb protruding slightly from the side, and pick the string, so the pick hits it, and your thumb then hits it immediately afterwards." and no more your so retarded!!

A wise man once said you are a dick! He said there were several ways to do it andhe's right. There are a ton of people that don't know how to do this type of thing, and he gave them some alternative emthods

[angusrox]

^method***

[StealthCat]

Good lesson wish i found it when i tried to learn, I stumbled across PH's when I made an odd squealing noise while messing about. Just to add another method, I found it easier to rest my 3rd finger's nail on the string behind the pick of my picking hand its not as muffling as skin so it might be easier for some people who are learning this technique. Its also useful cos your thumb can stay on the string as you find the sweet spots for PH's and also can stay on the string long enough to get the PH while you develop your accuracy.

And I might regret this but I'm not a fan of slipknot *However* if you check out the video lesson they did for Total Guitar (issue 126 if you're curious) it shows that Mick Thompson and Jim Root are talented guitarists and they do know their stuff, even if you don't like slipknot you have to admit it once you see it...

[dragon933]

this is the lesson i have been looking for, i have been trying to pinch harmonics for a while now but still to no avail i have been trying all the techniques suggested so where am i going wrong.I just cant get that squeal from my guitar. Dont think its the equipment just me being crap. At least i know the jist and can now practice.

[forked_heart]

I Am gOD

[wilsea05]

i dont get it! when i do it the sound only stays for about a quater of the second! how do i get it to stay longer?

[hugepants420]

slipknot was filthy awesome untill the new album came out. seems as though they got soft on us. it sucks. but i still rock out to their other two albums. their self titled is my favorite. MUAHAHA

[hugepants420]

oh and also, awesome lesson ill give it a shot

[Chosen One]

wilsea05, u might want to try keeping ur thumb on a bit longer without muting the sound maybe thats why it doesnt last to long, also turning up the gain on ur amp will help...at least for me it does

[mentalpear]

cool lesson! iv bin tryin to learn pinch harmonics for ages and could never find the rite method. just out of intrest how much gain should be enough to get a decent sound?

[kheng_wai]

^

just out of intrest how much gain should be enough to get a decent sound?

As much as possible? I haven't really succeeded in the area of pinch harms but I notice that as you get more distortion, it becomes a hell lot easier to get a whole shit-load of sounds from your axe (not just in the area of harmonics).

On the other hand, I too have a query.. how would you adjust your amps to get a Steve Vai kind of sound? You know, those grungy distorted sounds, or sth like that...

[la_foo]

WHOA!!! this is only an opinion, but if you want heavy, listen to Black Sabbath, not slipknot! The drummer is good, and the fans love them , but hasn't anyone noticed that fame does not often make good musicians. cough cough...slipknot...cough. OZZY ROCKS!

[lambofgod4750]

SIC job dude thanks alot great lesson very helpful!!

[lambofgod4750]

HEY BUDDY WATCH THE KNOT DISSIN COMMENTS!! please

[Anthonyme91]

i knew how to do a pinch when i got my first guitar its not that hard

[Anthonyme91]

yo

[caljif]

omg these are like ****ing imposible

[callumjif]

i really cannot do this its like u do everything it sez there and it just comes out as a high pitched metally sound

[fender_satin]

basically all you got to do is
put your thumb very close to the
tip of your plectrum leaving 1/2 cm
sticking out. You put your index
at the tip of the bottom of your plectrum
also leaving 1/2 cm sticking out. And
then all you do is pick upwards.

[a7x_rock]

To all of you who can't spell properly: First of all you're morons, second of all most of the time your opinions are totally useless.

To the pinch harmonic tutorial: Pretty good, but it could use a few pictures or maybe a video.

[deadroseromance]

Good lesson, might what to include a little section on improving techniques for speed getting to a pinch harmonic. Sometimes songs are too fast to fumble with a pick to reposition and pick the harmonics. Especially when you have a pinch harmonic right after alt-picking which i use in most my solos. Good work.

[777_LFC]

good stuff

[acerockcolatimm]

i use the thumb method most, i find it the most versatile.
But when i started learning them, i only did them on the high e, I did an upstroke, then hit the string with my index finger.
it works pretty well, make sure your guitar is on the treble setting, and if you have a wah pedal, put that on the treble too(forward)

[acerockcolatimm]

plus if you bend with it it sounds muuuch better, and you can even hit the wammy to get a children of bodom type pinch

[jonny b]

help me! i bin playin guitar for 2 years, i love playin shred like trivium and i gotta get these damn PHs workin for me! please help me!

[LPIndin]

thanks man, good lesson

[ross mcmillan]

Jonny B,

the best way, i think, to learn PH is to play a srting (7th fret on d sounds good) then slowly yet lightly touch it with the side of your thumb till you get the harmonic. keep practising this till it gets easy, then start doing it in one swift motion. i think its really easy.

byeee

[ioctguitarist]

oh man you should see me laughing my ass of here...half of you are like getting into a death match arguing over who gets to suck joey jordisons balls first...and the other half is trying to get laid and the rest of you are making fun of ppl who cant learn pinch harmonics...WHY THE HELL DID YOU EVEN CLICK "PINCH HARMONICS" in the lesson section if YOU didnt have trouble with them?? just stfu...immature bastards...in other news...im learning a song by coheed and cambria called welcome home and its got a few phs in it...it doesnt mainly consist of them but its a kickass accent added to it...just couldnt resist commenting cuz im having a hayday over here reading your all's comments

[ioctguitarist]

oh man ive been looking for lessons and crap on this forever and i finally got it...its really easy to do..hard to learn...i use the palm style it seems easiest to me i cant get a good sound out of the others...dude these are kickass...ive been playing these for hours lol...addicting...now i can play welcome home...ive been experimenting around with these a while..seems to be easy until you get up on like the high e string...cant get those as easily...does that just take time to learn or should i try a different method let me know...theres this hard line to do in welcome home with that in it...its like this: *=ph
|-----5*bp3p2-----6
*bp5p3-----
|-----
|---
--etc-----
|-333-----333
-----
|-333-----333-----

|-111-----111-----

h
ow do you bend and pulloff during a ph? when i try it gives me the harmonic at first then it sorta stays when i bend then when i pulloff its back to normal...help me out here

[ioctguitarist]

whoah sorry thats confusing to read...ill just give you the top line
|-----5*bp3p2----6*
bp5p3-----

[ioctguitarist]

damn it keeps going to the next line...but you get the idea right?

[Numbered_Days]

Very cool lesson, the other guy in my band showed me how to do a pinch harmonic but he's a douche and explained it about as well as a gutted sea bass could, this lesson really cleare dit up tho. Good work chief. If anyone manages to see a live Killswitch show (not that my name is bias or anything *shifty eyes*) check out adam d. and jo-el's pinch harmonic battle during my last serenade, funny shit, ps. dimebagg rox, mick thompson is a ****in legend, avenged sevenfold owns and killswitch is awesome. Peace out doodes

[Numbered_Days]

Very cool lesson, the other guy in my band showed me how to do a pinch harmonic but he's a douche and explained it about as well as a gutted sea bass could, this lesson really cleare dit up tho. Good work chief. If anyone manages to see a live Killswitch show (not that my name is bias or anything *shifty eyes*) check out adam d. and jo-el's pinch harmonic battle during my last serenade, funny shit, ps. dimebagg rox, mick thompson is a ****in legend, avenged sevenfold owns and killswitch is awesome. Peace out doodes

[Numbered_Days]

Forgiveness for posting twice, i blame the schools.

[CrosseGod18]

If you want to hear a band that uses a shit load of pinch harmonics, listen to Killswitch Engage. When Darkness falls uses them alot.

[TSMJC]

lol I must say all the lil comments on this page where a pisser...Thankx 4 the laughs!!
T

[xxguitarheroxx]

Wow finnally got to the bottom of the page through all the shit talking. It's funny though cuz you can't really compare Dimebag to Jim or Mick. They're styles are too different. Dime focuses on Technique such as PH's and shit and Jim and Mick are about the hard and fast. In my personal OPINION, Both Pantera and Slipknot are awesome bands. The lesson was very helpful also, now I can finish playing Cemetary Gates(who was that by... oh yeah, Pantera.) and Unholy Confessions from Avenged Sevenfold. \m/--\m/.

[\m/CoBhC\m/]

FullMetalMayhem
wrote:

Dime used alot of these ....he and Zakk Wylde were probly the best I've heard at pinch harmonics.

yah a good example of dime is "f uck you" while he played with damageplan

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Numbered_Days wrote:

Very cool lesson, the other guy in my band showed me how to do a pinch harmonic but he's a douche and explained it about as well as a gutted sea bass could, this lesson really cleare dit up tho. Good work chief. If anyone manages to see a live Killswitch show (not that my name is bias or anything *shifty eyes*) check out adam d. and jo-el's pinch harmonic battle during my last serenade, funny shit, ps. dimebagg rox, mick thompson is a ****in legend, avenged sevenfold owns and killswitch is awesome. Peace out doodes

A7x is ok... they would be better if they had a better singer. their solos have these ****ed up sounds which is pretty neat but like i said they need a less whiney singer

[\m/CoBhC\m/]

jonny b wrote:

help me! i bin playin guitar for 2 years, i love playin shred like trivium and i gotta get these damn PHs workin for me! please help me!

Trivium and CoB kicks the pussy bands like "Fall Out Boy" in the balls

[xxguitarheroxx]

Thanx again for the lesson. I practiced for hours and pretty much mastered it. I even incorperated them into some of my own songs and it made them 100 times better. Thanx great lesson.

[pommegrenade]

U R GOD

[Madaxeman1618]

Has ne1 heard the new DragonForce album? about 20 pinches a second! Cheers 4 the lesson, i only knew the 1st way b4!

[metal machine]

question.is it a pinch harmonic if u just lightly put a finger on ur left hand over on a string and bend it while picking it? does that even make sense???

[KoRRuPT]

any one who know how to Disturbed - Stricken Pinch and Lamb of God - Laid To Rest Pinches??CUZ DAMN THEIR HARD!!Plus I just need Strickens pinch and i know the whole song

[metal machine]

the laid to rest pinch harmonics are easy. just do what i described over the 6th string 3rd fret. i find it easier to use my index finger for the bar chords and my middle finger for the ph.

[ibanez_rg270]

avenged sevenfold likes to use these a lot, i just learned the songs unholy confessions and second heartbeat by them and they use a few in those, the way i do it is, put ur fret index finger by the fret ur gonna do it on, and hit as an open string and just as u hit the string put ur finger on it, and that's what works for me, if that makes ne sense to u guys, i tried all those other ways and it just didn't work for me, it's almost as just hitting the string and putting ur finger on it at the same time, later...

[nirvana131]

i play as single coil pickup guitar and can do them but the not that loud would a guitar with humbukers be better

[ibanez_rg270]

yeah, a guitar with humbuckers would make it louder and what not

[metal machine]

yeah ibanez has it right except u should bend the string while ur finger is on it. it makes it sound better. if ur having trouble pulling them off try turning up the treble/high frequenqies. it makes it a lot louder. if ur looking for a band that uses some simple pinch harmonics that sound sick check out bullet for my valentine. they kick ass

[StylinProfilin]

Remarkable Lesson, I foudn this very useful. Although The way I do my Pinch Harmonics are differently.

Since I hold my pick with three fingers (Index Middle and Thumb) I use my Ring finger for the Pinch Harmonic. The way I do that is I just place my Ring finger behind my Pick and well, you know the rest. I find it alot easier.

[thecameronator]

zakk_wylde_fan :
. slipknotrox09 has got to be the dumbest person dimebag sucks? hes a guitar god. slipknot has no talent what so ever. You probably couldnt learn one of dimebags songs

id like to see u be able to coordinatein a band with 9 members

and can people stop critisizing people about the bands they like just because they dont...wtf i wrong with u people can u guys just let the people who wanna post u questions and stuff just do it instead of bein an ass to em. fukin hell

[Craigo]

A simple technique which beginners and experts alike don't know about or how to do them. Ace work. 10.

[<^> Maggot]

megadeth111 you ass face! zakk_wylde_fan you too! you are critisizing slipknot because they shred 100 times better than you. listen to the "pulse of the maggots" solo, slipknot will and always will be better than you willl ever be.

[<^> Maggot]

nice article by the way

[<^> Maggot]

[<^> Maggot]

someone said dime got loaded and drunk and slill played perfectly. i'd like to see him stoned and madly shredding while wearing a mask that almost blinds you and wearing 70 ponds of metal on you. Mick aslo solos on his knees and insanely headbangs. i'm not saying Dimesucks , but the 2 styles are completely different.

[metal machine]

what the **** are all you talking about?who the **** cares what your opinion of dime and slipknot is?this forums about pinch harmonics.not your favorite/least favorite band.thank you to all the ppl talking about PHs.**** you to the rest.the article was pretty good so thanks to the author.

[th3_us3d]

Well we're a happy bunch aren't we? Good Lesson.

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