Tap harmonic
A harmonic sounded by tapping a string lightly with the picking-hand finger directly above a fret.
Tap harmonics are found by touching the string exactly over a fret with the pad of the picking-hand finger; the position of the fret, not the fretted note, sets the pitch, and the result is a clean bell tone. Because the right hand is doing the sounding, the technique can be used to play chords and arpeggios of harmonics that would be awkward with the left hand alone. Accuracy matters more than force, and a slightly muted tap simply produces a thud instead of a note.
Example: A clean passage in which bell-like chords are produced by tapping directly over the twelfth and seventh frets uses tap harmonics.
See also
Related
- PageArtificial harmonic
- PageTapping
- PageNatural harmonic
- PageAccent
- PageAction height
- PageAlternate picking
- PageAaron Dessner
- PageAce Frehley