Sliding Harmonics

[Wantsafoderabas]

I have been trying to slide harmonics but either the sound is cut, or it wont sound at all! Victor Wooten does this alot. If people know how to do it and it's simple dont make fun and just tell me how please!

 

[Wrong Robot]

Originally posted by Wrong Robot
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.

From This thread : http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=108026

 

[Wantsafoderabas]

Im trying to slide from the 5th fret to the 7th. It;'s quite hard for me because i usually put alot of pressure on the fretboard when i play. By the way i thouht u were going to correct me about something lol.

 

[kirbywrx]

It;'s quite hard for me because i usually put alot of pressure on the fretboard when i play.QUOTE]

Well you gotta get into the habit of NOT doing that
Just like everything else, it requires patience whilst practising.

Just keep practising your normal harmonics, and then try and get the touch lighter and lighter, so taht you cannot feel the string. once you can do that, slide away!

 

[Wantsafoderabas]

I can Do it now

 

[zilla04]

Wait a tick....

So you play that harmonic at the 5th and while it's ringing slide your finger up to the 7th without plucking.... and it changes pitch?!!? It can't sound like you have a whammy.... does it????

I must try this.

 

[Planet Boulder]

Didn't Stanley Clarke used to "bend" harmonics? I remember he used to either slide or bend, but since he didn't have a whammy bar, how did he do it?

 

[embellisher]

Didn't Stanley Clarke used to "bend" harmonics? I remember he used to either slide or bend, but since he didn't have a whammy bar, how did he do it?

One way to bend a harmonic is to bend the string behind the nut. Another is to use the tuner to raise or lower the pitch of the string. And then you have the Billy Sheehan method, bend the neck. NOTE: DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME!

 

[Wrong Robot]

Jaco did that a lot too(bending the neck)

 

[Killdar]

I have never required use of this, but what I do to get this effect is to pluck the harmonic then fret the note directly afterwards, then I'm free to sustain or bend it at will, and the note will still be harmonic-ing. Requires no bending behind the nut or snapping the neck off, but is kind of hard to get the good harmonic sound to sustain past the fretting, as often the string will perform as if tappng on that fret if done wrong.

 

[Wantsafoderabas]

Im guessing the best way is to slide it up and bend it a little more, just rigth so you get a nice smooth sound. I have been trying this for a while and im discovering new things, To the bending neck deal, bending de neck is not a very good idea, it doesnt seem like you get a good sound out of it, to whomever knows how to do it like jaco keep doing it!

 

[Joe Turski]

Didn't Stanley Clarke used to "bend" harmonics? I remember he used to either slide or bend, but since he didn't have a whammy bar, how did he do it?

I think he would have done a pinched harmonic, or false harmonic, and just bend them that way. At least thats how they sound to me anyway. I find it easier to bend them using that technique rather than sliding.

 

[zilla04]

I still don't quite get what this is all aboot. If someone would please elaborate I would be very thankful.

 

[Electricmayhem]

Not sure if I understand what's going on here, either. It sure does sound cool!

 

[Trevorus]

Well, what I have done is fret a note. Say 3rd on the g. Then tap at the corresponding fret an octave up. In this case it'd be 15. Then you can slide up the neck with the left hand (for right handed players).

 

[Joe Turski]

I still don't quite get what this is all about. If someone would please elaborate I would be very thankful.

A pinched harmonic/false harmonic is very similar to what tmo33 said. Fret the note of choice, go a full octave above the fretted note and you can use your thumb and rest it on the string (don't press down hard with your thumb, just barely touch the string) Now using your index finger (Just behind your thumb), pluck the note. This should bring out the harmonic. Once you get the harmonic to ring out, you can bend it, vibrate it, or slide it up or down the neck. There are different techniques of doing this (some people use their index finger instead of their thumb, and pluck with their middle finger) After you get the hang of doing this, experiment by moving you finger to different plucking spots on the neck, this will bring out different harmonic pitches.

If this is what you were asking for, I hope it helps. If it's not what you were looking for.........sorry, carry on!!

 

[zilla04]

Ah ha, so the harmonic comes from your picking hand. Ok. I usually use the fat of the pinky side of my hand to get those harmonics. Never really tried using my thumb to get them.

So once it's ringing I then move my fret hand.... Eye sea, I'll let y'all know what I figure out monday.

Tuu Gratus.

 

[bound]

if you're a right handed player, rest one of your right ahnd fingers on the string where you'd normally do it with you left hand to hit a harmonic. Then tap a note on the same string between the right hand finger and the nut. depending on the interval you pick, you get different harmonics. you can then bend the note with your left/tapping hand, while keeping it ringing with the right. touchguitarists, chapmanstick players do it this way a lot. it's cool cause you can use vibrato, too.

 

[zilla04]

A pinched harmonic/false harmonic is very similar to what tmo33 said. Fret the note of choice, go a full octave above the fretted note and you can use your thumb and rest it on the string (don't press down hard with your thumb, just barely touch the string) Now using your index finger (Just behind your thumb), pluck the note. This should bring out the harmonic. Once you get the harmonic to ring out, you can bend it, vibrate it, or slide it up or down the neck. There are different techniques of doing this (some people use their index finger instead of their thumb, and pluck with their middle finger) After you get the hang of doing this, experiment by moving you finger to different plucking spots on the neck, this will bring out different harmonic pitches.

If this is what you were asking for, I hope it helps. If it's not what you were looking for.........sorry, carry on!!

Ok, I understand that. that's quite simple.... but I still don't get the Sliding harmonics thing.

Do you play with a pinched harmonic when you slide or not?
Like Wantsafoderabas said.... every time I try the signal gets cut. I just dead the note out.

 

[Joe Turski]

Ok, I understand that. that's quite simple.... but I still don't get the Sliding harmonics thing.

Do you play with a pinched harmonic when you slide or not?
Like Wantsafoderabas said.... every time I try the signal gets cut. I just dead the note out.

There are several different way to slide a harmonic. Yes you can play a pinched harmonic and then slide that. You can tap and slide a harm, or just play a natural harm, fret down, and slide it. Getting these techniques down take some time, and practise. If you really want to learn more about harmonics and how to use them, 1. Get a teacher 2. Buy a couple home instructional videos. I recommend getting Stu Hamm's "Deeper inside the bass". He goes into some good details on harmonics.

Remember, nothing comes overnight. Take your time, and learn as much as you feel you need to learn.