Artificial harmonics

Barengero

If you listen to Django´s version of "Nuages" recorded 1. February 1946 in London, you can hear that he starts his solo playing a melody with artificial harmonics.

I often wondered what would be best technique to play a solo with consecutive artificial harmonics. I once learned the "classical" technique of playing "flageolet" with the first and third finger of the right hand. But I think that it is quite circumstantial to play this way in the Gypsy Jazz Stile because I don´t know where to place the pick during I play artificial harmonics.

So I found that it helps to make the stroke with the pick and to touch the string with the thumb of the right hand to produce the artificial harmonics. But sometimes it seems that the sound is a little bit weak in comparison to the classical way and harder to hit the right fret.

How do you guys think about this matter?

Best regards

Barengero

nwilkins

The current master of soloing artificial harmonics (and most other things to do with guitar) is Bireli Lagrene, and he holds the pick with his middle finger and thumb, using the index finger to touch the string.

dennis

i've seen many ways of doing it in the style (bireli, stochelo, ritary, etc..)... u can either attack with the pick by holding it bwtween the thumb and middle fingers using the index finger to trigger the harmonic

or u can hold the pick with the middle finger curled up and attackign the string with the ring finger while using the index finger to trigger the harmonic...

the tendency with using the pick is to to accidently hit the fretboard resulting in an extra percussive noise (even stochelo is a victim of that)...

when u listen to django recordings , u dont seem to hear that (or at least i never really paid attention) so he might be doing it with the finger ...

Josh Hegg

I think I have seen some pictures of Django with his pick up in the strings of the headstock while doing a finger plucking intro. He could have done the same thing for the harmonic intro. My speculation

Cheers

emicad

I think the best way is using the finger to pick the string, expecially if you touch it with the nail of the thumb. If you want to avoid totally that damn pick noise is the best choice, probably Django played artificial harmonics this way.