Hey, I just saw Alien Ant Farm live at Central Michigan, and was confronted with a technique I've seen Wooten and others use, but have never figured out how to do. Bassist Tye Zamora slides a harmonic from low to very high at the beginning of the song "Glow." I know it's not just on fretless, cause Vic does it all the time. How the heck do you do it?!?!
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Sliding Harmonics
- Thread starter como_kenyatta
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it's really really easy on a fretless, you just hit the harmonic then slide up the neck, viola.
on a fretted, it's quite a bit trickier.
it requires swift and delicate shifting up(or down) the neck, with very precise timing.
it's essentially the same as on a fretless, just with more attention to your touch and to not apply too much pressure.
consistently I can slide harmonics about 2 or 3 frets up or down. Once I slid a harmonic up about an octave on a fretted, but I haven't been able to recreate it consistently.
harmonics, require a lot of attention to your touch; attack, pressure, finger placement..etc.
oh yeah, that's doing it with your fingers, Many bassists have Whammy bars on their basses, Vic has one on his classic Fodera, Les Claypool has a couple too.
those enable you to bend harmonics fairly easily.
on a fretted, it's quite a bit trickier.
it requires swift and delicate shifting up(or down) the neck, with very precise timing.
it's essentially the same as on a fretless, just with more attention to your touch and to not apply too much pressure.
consistently I can slide harmonics about 2 or 3 frets up or down. Once I slid a harmonic up about an octave on a fretted, but I haven't been able to recreate it consistently.
harmonics, require a lot of attention to your touch; attack, pressure, finger placement..etc.
oh yeah, that's doing it with your fingers, Many bassists have Whammy bars on their basses, Vic has one on his classic Fodera, Les Claypool has a couple too.
those enable you to bend harmonics fairly easily.
Here's how you do it:
Play harmonic.
Press down on string (not enough to make a "hammer-on" sound of the fretted note)
Slide up/down.
Viola!
Play harmonic.
Press down on string (not enough to make a "hammer-on" sound of the fretted note)
Slide up/down.
Viola!
Uh, guys, that's "voilà". "Viola" is an instrument.
Like WR said, that's pretty easy on a fretless, but I could never really achieve it on a fretted.
Like WR said, that's pretty easy on a fretless, but I could never really achieve it on a fretted.
Bryan R. Tyler
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Does anyone know the actual reason why it's so difficult to do on a fretted? The string never comes in contact with the frets when playing harmonics, so I never knew why.
because when you slide it you have to depress the string, on a fretless it actually touches the neck, not initially, but once you start sliding it does.
now when you do it on a fretted, with each fret it diminishes the strength of the harmonic.
I guess...
now when you do it on a fretted, with each fret it diminishes the strength of the harmonic.
I guess...
I find it easier to do a false harmonic and slide it that way. Your finger is already pressed down on the fret. You can bend them or slide them with ease.
Just a thought!
Just a thought!
