GUITAR BOARD

There are 2 things that you need to do to play a pinched harmonic.

The 1st and most important is to hold the pick correctly. Everybody
does this a little different but what works for me is to bend my 1st
finger like I would if I were making a fist. The tip of my finger is
right in the middle of the fleshy part of my thumb, with just the tip
of the pick out from my finger. If I look at my hand in the playing
position I cant see the pick at all. If you hit the string with the
pick now, the thumb will immediately deaden the string. The trick is
to get the thumb off the string quickly.

The 2nd aspect is location on the string. Depending where you do the
pinch harmonic you will get very different sounds and in some
positions you wont get any sound at all. The best way to find the
right position is think about a natural harmonic. Natural harmonics
are easily played at 4th, 4th and 7th frets. Look at the distance of
these frets from the nut and you want to play your pinch harmonic at
these distances from the bridge. I actually measured and put some
tape markers down to help me find the right spots.

Once you have done that, just keep plucking the string holding the
pick as outlined earlier. If you dont get your harmonic off the
start, just keep trying. As your trying, you can try hitting the
string with different force, rotating your wrist, hiding or showing
more ofthe pick and eventually you will get your 1st pinch harmonic.

Once you have done that you can start using fretted notes with pinch
harmonics, but you have to remember that as you move up the fretboard
you will hav to move the location of your pinch harmonic closer to the
bridge. The more you do them the better your positioning will become.

While a lot of gain is important and makes the PH easier to play, when
your really good at this you should be able to hear a PH on an
accoustic.