Let's do a little
experimenting!
Experiment 1
Play your bass E string open...this is called E, if your guitar is in
tune : ) ,
or the Fundamental Frequency.
Now gently lay a finger tip on the bass E string directly over the 12
fret. Don't press down on the string like you would do when
actually
playing it. This will take a little practice finding just the
right place
and pressure but find how to get the loudest note. You should
hear
something that sort of sounds like a chime. This "chime" will
be
one octave higher than when you played the string open and it is called
the
Second Harmonic. The note is still E.
Now apply the same light touch technique to the bass E string on the
5th
fret. You will now hear another E "chime" higher yet.
Now lightly touch the bass E string on the 7th fret. You will
hear a
higher note B.
Experiment around on other frets. You'll find other chimes as
well.
Pretty cool, huh?
Do you notice anything else? Yes, the notes have less volume
as you play
higher & higher harmonics.
This technique can be applied to any string on the guitar.
Experiment 2
Play a chime on the 5th fret of your bass E string
and then the 7th fret
of your A string. The notes should be the same. If
they are slightly
out of tune, you will hear an oscillation or "beating". Some
guitarists like to use this method when tuning. I find it
works better on
electric guitars than acoustics unless you're in a pretty quiet
environment.
This procedure can be done again on the A & D strings, D
& G strings,
and B & high E strings.
On the G string, pluck the harmonic at the 9th fret and compare the
harmonic on the B string at the 5th fret.
Experiment 3
Chimes are a really cool thing to discover and can
add a lot of effects
to your music. Last thing to do for me is lower the tuning of
your bass E
string until it reaches one note lower, D. Compare the sound
to your D
string to get it right. The tuning of the bass E string will
be an octave
lower! Don't accidentally tighten it. Okay, this is
now called Drop
D tuning. One of the many, many, tunings that sound really
cool with
chimes. (Check my Tip
# 7 for other tunings later.) Now play
a D chord and strum all 6 strings for a change.
Wow! Now make your
little finger straight and lay it across all the strings lightly at the
7th
fret. This will take a little practice to get it just
right. After
experimenting around a while, I came up with THIS.
Bob, Gman ( o )==#