Harmonic Help

[zeppelinfreak]

So Im learning Victor Wootens version of Norwegian Wood, and I have about half of the whole thing down. But theres one harmonic in the beginning thats throwing me off. Its on the 4th fret A string. It says to fret the fourth fret and put my thumb on the "hypothetical 32nd fret" when I play it. So where is the hypothetical fret and how exactly do I play this harmonic?

[EADG mx]

It's an artificial harmonic

do a search on that, you'll find a lesson somewhere

[zeppelinfreak]

So where do I put my thumb?

[JimK]

I don't have a bass here...so, I will guess on a Jazz-style bass, maybe somewhere near the neck pickup? Use somewhat of a 'light' pressure with the thumb (too much = a muted string, right?) while your index finger plucks that string behind it (towards the bridge).

I say experiment with the placement of your (plucking hand's) thumb.
Use your ear to get the desired pitch/tone.

[E2daGGurl]

I'd guess each extra hypothetical fret is about the width of the last fret, or, for me, about the width of an index finger. So, I'd take my index finger and count up 8 more spaces on my 24 fret J-bass and that would be approximately it.

The frets do get narrower (even if hypothetical) as you go toward the bridge, though, so it is probably slightly less than 8 of my index fingers.

You should be able to hear when you hit it. A hypothetical 36th fret, for example, would be another octave higher than the 24th fret - so the 32nd is 4 frets below that. In other words, an F on the A string. I think. Your ear will tell you.

I'm jealous that you can play that piece - good for you. Youtube it so we can all see and hear!

[EADG mx]

Originally Posted by zeppelinfreak

So where do I put my thumb?

Anywhere you want

typically 1 or 2 octaves above the fretted note (12 or 24 "frets")

[zeppelinfreak]

Originally Posted by E2daGGurl

I'd guess each extra hypothetical fret is about the width of the last fret, or, for me, about the width of an index finger. So, I'd take my index finger and count up 8 more spaces on my 24 fret J-bass and that would be approximately it.

The frets do get narrower (even if hypothetical) as you go toward the bridge, though, so it is probably slightly less than 8 of my index fingers.

You should be able to hear when you hit it. A hypothetical 36th fret, for example, would be another octave higher than the 24th fret - so the 32nd is 4 frets below that. In other words, an F on the A string. I think. Your ear will tell you.

I'm jealous that you can play that piece - good for you. Youtube it so we can all see and hear!

Well, as of now I can only play half. And its a touch sloppy. But Ive only been learning it since Tuesday. I got a new bass and as we all know, when you get a new bass, things that are normally near impossible start to enter the realm of playability.