2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25
The harmonic is an extremely important technical element for any musician. How did this approach come about? What instruments can you play it on and how can you learn to play all kinds of harmonics on the guitar? What are the ways to do this? Let's deal with these questions and learn this trick!
Flageolet - what is it in music?
Every musician starts somewhere and gradually masters more and more new techniques that increase the level of his playing and the quality of his performance.
Pharmaceutical is a musical technique that is performed on stringed instruments. With it, you can get a soft and airy sound. Such a technique will add new colors to the playing of musical instruments, while the sound differs in timbre from the sound when the string is fully pressed, and from the point of view of physics, different vibrations arise. The reception is used in various musical genres, special attention is paid to it in hard rock, where it is performed on an electric guitar. Harmonics are a favorite technique for solo metal guitarists.
The instrument turned out to be perfect for this technical element, as it allows you to amplify the weak harmonic sound, and is often used in conjunction with the "distortion" effect. On stringed-bowed instruments, the timbre of sound during the performance of a harmonic resembles a whistle, on plucked instruments it resembles a ringing.
Next, let's take a closer look at the differences between the types of harmonics, both in technical performance and in sound. For example, on wind instruments, harmonics correspond to a certain way of playing, which consists in blowing over non-standard overtones, which is achieved by strong lip tension.
From the history of appearance
The first known piece to use this technique is the fourth opus Lessonsharmonique by French musician Jean-Joseph Mondonville.
It contains only natural harmonics. Since then, the technique of performing them has improved, new types have appeared, you can learn a lot from the works of the Italian composer Salvatore Sciarrino. Later, multi-harmonic and even harmonic chords appeared, which, despite the name, are formed and taken on one string. And in the 20th century it was popular to use harmonics in the technique of playing the piano, they can be heard in many works by George Kram.
Types of flags
There are two main types of flageolets - natural and artificial. Natural ones correspond to open strings, and artificial onesarise pressed to the fret. If you understand the physics of the process of the appearance of a flageolet, then there are no differences in oscillations depending on the type of flageolet, but there are differences in the complexity of their execution. It is easier to learn how to perform natural harmonics.
Besides this subdivision, flageolets can also be classified according to the extraction method. The following types are distinguished here:
- Finger (it can be either natural or artificial harmonic).
- Plectrum (taken with a pick)
- Semi-harmonic - two sounds are obtained on one string by lightly touching the string, from which both the main tone and the harmonic remain sound.
In addition, one more type can be distinguished - these are complex flageolets. They are artificial harmonics, complemented by accompaniment. When they are performed, the right hand is involved both in the playing of the harmonics themselves and in the musical accompaniment to them.
How to play harmonics on the guitar?
By pulling an open or tightly clamped string on an instrument, you can notice the appearance of vibrations. Such a sound is the root, and the harmonic sound on the guitar is an overtone, a residual overtone that is not included in the root. In this case, oscillations are different from oscillations on an open string. The overtone is always higher than the root.
The principle of harmonics is that the performer's finger, loosely pressed to the string, drowns out all overtones except one. To do this, it is important to touch your finger precisely in the place of the smallest vibration of the string. Note that there may be several such places.
Natural harmonics on the guitar are taken by lightly touching the string at the points of division, and artificial ones - on a tightly pressed string, while the other finger lightly touches the string in the interval of a quart or fifth from the tightly pressed first finger.
Natural harmonic technique
Natural harmonics on the guitar can be performed if you barely touch the string on the twelfth, ninth, seventh, fifth, fourth, third frets with your right hand, while pulling the string with your right hand. However, this type of harmonic is most common at the fifth, seventh and twelfth frets, since they divide the guitar string into equal parts. To extract it, you need to touch with the finger of your left hand over the fret line between the frets (for example, the fifth and sixth and further by analogy), while the fret does not need to be clamped. Any novice guitarist can do this without additional training, the main thing is not to put pressure on the string, the sound should be light and soft.
In the notes, it is written with the help of a special designation Fl (in Soviet editions - FL), and the head of the note has the shape of a rhombus (for the finger method) and a triangle (for the mediator). It looks like this: Fl. VII (that is, the flageolet is written here on the seventh fret). In foreign publications, the designation harm (arm) is used. The pitch of the note corresponds to the pitch of the harmonic.
Artificial harmonic technique
Technically, this technique is more difficult to implement, because when playing a naturalof the harmonic, the left hand helps the right, at the right moment stopping the sound with a touch. Here it is impossible, because it is pressed against the neck. To perform this technique, you need to barely touch the twelfth fret with the index finger of the right hand, while pulling the string with the middle finger, after which you must immediately release the index finger and release the string. When performing, you need to drown out the main tone and hear only the overtone. In this case, you can hear an artificial harmonic.
Artificial harmonics are also displayed in the sheet music in the form of a rhombus, and it is indicated on which fret the harmonic should be played. It is especially convenient to perform this technique on an electric guitar. Such a harmonic is indicated in the tablature by three notes: the lower one shows where the left hand of the guitarist should be, it also determines the duration of the sound, the middle note shows where the index finger of the right hand should touch the string (diamond-shaped), and the upper one shows the harmonic itself (we hear). In sheet music, writing complex harmonics is similar to writing artificial ones.
Mediator extraction method
The task here is the same as before. You need to hold the fret on the string, then pull it and immediately touch it to kind of drown out the sound. This must be done either with the index finger or the thumb, with any part of it. With this method, it is important not only to know and be able to perform the technique of an artificial flageolet, but also to hold the mediator correctly, that is, there must be a correct setting of the hands. As a rule, it is in this way thatharmonica musicians playing electric guitar.
Finger extraction method
When playing with brute force, the previous method will not work. This technique is more complicated, it is important to find a comfortable position of the fingers and bring the flageolet execution mechanism to automatism.
Conclusion
The reception of harmonics is very difficult and, like any musical technique, it requires a lot of time, attention from the performer and training. In addition to the guitar, harmonics are actively used on bowed string elements, where they can also be taken with a bow, and their sound is completely different. If possible, it is recommended to master this technique under the guidance of a teacher in the speci alty, so the process will go much faster and more productively.
The ability to perform this technique will add confidence to all musicians, and it can be used in almost any style. This will allow you to focus on your performance in a variety of places in any arrangement.
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