How to play pinch harmonics

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Pinch harmonics are a great tool to add a little extra flare to your guitar playing. It creates a high pitched “squeal” on an electric guitar. You usually hear pinch harmonics used in heavy rock or metal songs. 

You can hear a good example of pinch harmonics in Van Halen’s “Panama”. Listen for the “squealies”.

What is a pinch harmonic?

When you pluck a guitar string normally, the sound you hear is mostly the fundamental frequency, or the lowest frequency of the soundwave. You’ll also hear overtones, which are frequencies greater than the fundamental frequency. 

Playing a string harmonic isolates the overtone of the string, creating a sound much higher than it would normally produce. 


How do I play a pinch harmonic?

To create a pinch harmonic, the thumb of your picking hand will lightly catch the string after it’s played. 

You’ll need to “pinch” your pick, letting part of your thumb hang out over the top. As you strike the string, let your thumb graze the string, slightly muting it to cause a harmonic. 

When it comes to using pinch harmonics, it’s all about location – find the spot on your guitar’s body where the string harmonics ring out most clearly. On the fretboard, the harmonics ring out most clearly on the third and fifth frets. 

You’ll also want to use a lot of gain on your amplifier to help the note ring out. A tip – using the bridge pickup will help get more squeal out of your guitar! 

Practice combining picking and muting the string in one fluid motion.  It can take some time to get it!

 

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Other types of harmonics 

Pinch harmonics aren’t the only type of harmonics you can use on a guitar. 

Natural Harmonics – Natural harmonics are created by gently touching the string (rather than using pick) as you pick a fret. Natural harmonics are created using only the picking hand.

Artificial harmonics – This technique involves holding down a note with your fretting hand while using your right hand to create the same “soft touch” to create an open-string harmonic. 

Tapped note – To create this effect, fret the note and use your picking hand to tap the harmonics further down the fretboard. 

If your guitar heroes include Eddie Van Halen, Dimebag Darrell, Steve Vai, and other legendary shredders, learning how to use pinch harmonics is key to getting their sound. 

 

Slang words meaning “guitar”

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The history of the guitar goes back really, really far. 

The first precursor to the guitar, harp-like “lyres” date back to the beginning of recorded time, at least 3000 BCE. Naturally, the guitar has gone through plenty of nicknames over the years and in different areas of the world.  

Here are a couple you may have heard of (or not!) 

Ax/Axe 

This is probably the most well-known guitar slang term. The term originated among jazz musicians in the 1950s. The term started out meaning a saxophone (sax/axe) and eventually became associated with other instruments, including guitars. 

Six-string 

Bryan Adams sang about purchasing his first real six-string in the 1985 song “Summer of ‘69”, but since most guitars have six-strings, we can assume he didn’t come up with the term. 

Guitbox 

The “box” part of “guitbox” refers to the body of the guitar. It can mean an acoustic or semi-hollow/hollow body guitar. 

Guitfiddle 

“Guitfiddle” is an old term for guitar. It was mostly used in the Southern United States. 

Gat 

If you’re in New Zealand, you might hear the term “gat” referring to a guitar. 

Keppi 

Keppi is Finnish slang for “guitar”. It literally translates as “stick”. 

Jazz box 

“Jazz box” refers to a type of electric guitar that was used in big band ensembles through the 1930s. 

How to motivate yourself to practice guitar every day

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It’s not just a cliche – practice really does make perfect. The greatest guitar players of all time didn’t just pick up an instrument and start playing – it takes time and effort to get good at guitar. 

When you’re first starting out, it’s natural to get frustrated or not want to practice, but working on your instrument, even a little bit every day, will help you get better at it. 

Ideally, you should be practicing guitar 30 minutes to 90 minutes a day, but that’s not always feasible for people with busy schedules. However, even carving out 10 minutes of time on a busy day to practice will help you build dexterity, knowledge, and skills. 

Here are some tips to motivate yourself to practice. 

Set a goal

Do you want to shred like Eddie Van Halen? Maybe you want to master prog rock like Tosin Abasi of Animals as Leaders or play intense riffs like Tom Morello. Setting yourself a concrete goal (like, “I want to be able to play “Eruption”) will help motivate you to pick up your guitar every day. 

 

Play songs you like

A lot of guitar teachers start their students off on songs like “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” – not exactly riveting material. 

Make a list of songs that you want to learn by your favorite artists and work your way through them. Don’t be afraid to play them slower than originally recorded to get the hang of it. 

Check out this list of songs for guitar beginners.

 

Find a course that works for you 

Fret Zealot has hundreds of guitar courses available. You can choose the learning style that works best for you, whether that’s learning the fundamentals of music theory first, or diving right into daily exercises with the Guitar Gym. You get to pick your own curriculum with Fret Zealot, so you’re not stuck just playing the same scales over and over.

 

Cultivate a positive mindset about guitar 

Above everything else, learning guitar should be FUN – it shouldn’t be a chore! No one gets great at guitar overnight, so don’t be hard on yourself. Take it one note at a time. 

 

Avoid distractions 

A text message or social media notification can derail you from a great practice session. Set yourself an alarm for 30 minutes (or however long you want to devote to guitar in that session) and mute your notifications until you’re done! You can also minimize distractions by playing at “weird hours” late at night or early in the morning – just use headphones. 

Play with other people 

Playing with other musicians will give you a sense for playing in real time and matching other musicians’ cues. It will motivate you to get better at your craft all around, as well as give you confidence in your abilities. 

 

Go to live music events 

If you’re feeling blah about picking up your guitar, go check out a local band or open mic night in your town. Watching other musicians play is a great way to regain your motivation. 

 

Pencil practice into your routine 

Practicing sporadically won’t help you reach your guitar goals in a timely matter. Take a look at your schedule and see what times and days you can realistically put aside to practice – and then stick to that schedule. 

 

Leave yourself notes 

Leaving inspirational messages or just reminders on Post-It notes where you’ll see them is a helpful tool to remember to practice (and to remember why you want to play guitar). 

READ MORE:

The top three mistakes new guitar players make – and how to avoid them

The top three mistakes new guitar players make – and how to avoid them

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Every new guitar player is going to make some mistakes in their learning journey. Here are the three most common mistakes – and how you can avoid them! 

Not tuning your guitar or playing with old strings

Your guitar has to be playable for you to really learn how to play. Many first-time guitar players use old guitars that may have belonged to a friend or relative and have been sitting unused for years.

The first step in your guitar journey is getting whatever instrument you’re using into the best condition possible. Get some fresh strings on it and make sure that it’s in tune. 

You should also make sure that the action is good. Action is the distance between the strings and the fretboard. If your action is too high, the strings will be too far from the fretboard, making it difficult to press the strings down. If it’s too low, they will be too close to the fretboard and may not be able to ring out clearly. 

To check the action, hold down the low E string at the first fret and measure the distance from the string and the 7th fret. It should be about 3/32 of an inch, or 2.38mm. If it’s greater than that, it’s too high, and if it’s less than that, it’s too low. 

You should be able to fix the action on a guitar fairly easily using online tutorials, or take it in to your local guitar shop for help.

Not letting each note ring out while playing chords

When you’re learning a chord, make sure to hit each note and let them ring out. That way, you’ll be sure that you’re hitting each note correctly (with no buzzing or muted notes) and you’ll get used to the sound of each chord.

You can play a lot of songs with just a handful of chords.

Not having good posture 

Having good posture will make a huge difference in your guitar learning experience. It can be tempting to hold your guitar facing you at first to better see the fretboard. 

Sit up straight with your spine aligned and make sure that your guitar is upright on your right leg (or left leg if you’re a lefty). Rest your thumb on the back of the guitar neck. Use a guitar strap even if you’re sitting to avoid the guitar slipping.

The best guitar songs for beginners

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If you’ve learned a handful of chords and the basics of the guitar scale, you’re ready to play some songs! 

Learning to play an easily recognizable tune – especially for friends and family – will help motivate you to keep going. 

Here are some great songs for guitar beginners: 

Happy Birthday

Let’s start with the absolute basics. “Happy Birthday” might not be the hardest rocking song, but it will come in handy for birthday parties for years to come! 


Smoke on the Water

The iconic riff of this Deep Purple song is one of the first lines most guitar players learn. 


Sweet Home Alabama

Three chords make up the majority of this Lynyrd Skynyrd hit. Just skip past the intro for now!


Back in Black

This is Fret Zealot’s most popular song lesson – for a reason! This lesson will take you step-by-step through the simple power chords you need to play this AC/DC smash hit.


Brown-Eyed Girl

Another three-chord song, “Brown-Eyed Girl” will have people singing along.


Dreams

You only need a couple of chords to master this beloved Fleetwood Mac hit, and the song lesson will walk you through the strumming pattern step-by-step! It also includes the guitar solo if you’re up for a challenge.


I’m Yours

Mraz’s 2008 hit uses only a handful of chords and a simple strum pattern. It also sounds great played on ukulele.

MORE: 

Useful guitar tips for beginners

 

"Fingerboard of an electric guitar" by Ivan Radic is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Why does fingerboard radius matter?

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What is the radius of your guitar’s fingerboard? 

If this question is giving you flashbacks to high school math class, don’t worry. We’ll walk you through it. 

Most guitar and bass fingerboards are not completely flat – they have a slight convex curvature.

The back of the guitar neck is even more rounded usually, making for a comfortable grip. 

 

Measuring the Radius of Your Fretboard

As you probably remember from math class, the ‘radius’ is the distance from the center to the circumference (or edge) of a circle. To find the radius of a fingerboard, picture the fingerboard at the top of the circle and determine the arc from one edge to the other. 

You can use a guitar under string radius gauge to determine the radius of your guitar’s fingerboard. If you don’t have one, you can simply use a piece of string. 

To do this, find the fretboard’s centerpoint by measuring the distance between the nut and the 12th fret. 

 

Then, place the string on the centerpoint, holding it down on the first and last fret. Measure the distance between the string and the 7th fret. This is the radius of the fretboard. 

The smaller the measurement of the radius, the greater the curvature of the fingerboard. 

 

The Why Behind Fretboard Designs

Fretboard radius is usually measured in inches, and the most common sizes on the market are 9.5”, 7.25” and 12”. Some go as high as 17” or 20”. The larger the radius the more “flat” the fretboard will feel. Smaller, more curved radius gives the guitar a comfortable grip and lets your finger curve naturally when playing bar chords. Vintage instruments such as vintage era Fender guitars use a radius as small as 7.5” which creates a classic comfort and feel that many players greatly appreciate today. Larger radius necks keep the feel of the neck more flat, which makes niceley for sweeping through arpeggios and scales across the strings. Many high performance, modern guitars use larger fretboard radius. However, the feel of the neck can be a little less comfortable for playing bar chords or having a relaxed grip on the neck.

Some guitars even use a compound-radius fretboard. This means that the fretboard radius will gradually change from a lower (more curved) to a higher (flatter) radius as you go from the nut to the heel of the neck.

There’s no hard-and-fast rules about which fingerboard radius is right for particular genres or playing style, however, the rounder fingerboards are usually well-suited for barre chords and flatter fingerboard radii gives a more even playing surface, ideal for string bending and sweeping.

 

The Bridge

You might not have realized it, but since the fretboard is curved, the strings don’t actually sit at the same height. Your strings are positioned at equal height above the fretboard, which means the string saddles need to match the curvature of your neck. The string saddles on many guitars have adjustable heights, which allow you to fix the action and ensure the strings match the curvature of the neck. If your guitar neck was perfectly flat (no radius), then the strings would sit at the same height, but there are no guitars with flat necks (that we know of!)

Different types of electric guitar bodies

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Electric guitars come in many different shapes and sizes. Like their acoustic counterparts, the size and shape of an electric guitar can impact their sound and playability.

Here are some of the most common varieties of electric guitar bodies:

Type of body:

Each type of guitar can have a variety of shapes and styles. Most guitars fall under either solid body, semi-hollow body, or hollow body. 

Solid body: Solid body guitars have no internal chambers – sound is generated solely from the pickups. Solid body guitars are also made out of a solid piece of wood. As a result, they’re usually fairly heavy. 

Solid body guitars were introduced in the 1950s. They offer more sustain than their hollow-body counterparts, and are less impacted by feedback. 

Here are some of the best-known solid body guitars: 

Stratocaster

Designed by Fender, the Stratocaster features a double-cutaway design with one side extended into a “horn”, which provides balance. The double cutaway allows the player better access to the guitar’s highest frets. Though this is the shape most people picture when they think “electric guitar”, it was a revolutionary design when it was first introduced in the mid-1950s. 

Telecaster

Also designed by Fender, Telecaster was the world’s first commercially successful mass-produced electric guitar. Also known as “Tele”, it was originally called “Broadcaster”. The telecaster design features a flat asymmetric single-cutaway body. 


Les Paul

Gibson Les Paul Tribute

The Les Paul was designed by Gibson in 1952. Les Paul guitars are generally made of mahogany with a maple top and feature a single cutaway. 

 

Gibson SG 

Gibson SG Standard Tribute

The SG Standard is Gibson’s best selling model of all time. It has a contoured design with a double cutaway to make the upper frets more accessible. 


“Superstrat”

With deeper cutaways, longer fretboards, and overall pointier bodies, guitar variations known as “Superstrats” became popular with rock stars in the 1980s. 



Semi-hollow body

Semi-hollow body guitars have chambers cut into the wood which makes them lighter and gives them a slightly warmer tone. Semi-hollow body guitars work well across many genres of music. 

 

The best known of semi-hollow body guitars is: 

Gibson ES-335

The Gibson ES-335 was the first semi-hollow guitar on the market. It features two bouts that are hollow and two violin-style f-holes cut over the hollow chambers. Its best-known user was the King of Blues, B.B. King. 



Hollow body

“Guitar: Eastman Vintage Sunburst Hollow Body Electric” by jmf1007 is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

The original electric guitar, Rickenbacker’s Electro-A22, was a hollow body guitar. Hollow body guitars were favored by big band and jazz musicians in the 1930s – however, their hollow bodies created a lot of feedback when they were played at higher volumes. 


Gibson ES-150

“File:11, ES 150 & Fender Amp.jpg” by Europe guitar collection is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

The Gibson ES-150 was the world’s first commercially successful Spanish-style electric guitar. ES stands for “electric Spanish”. 

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REVIEW: Yamaha BB234 bass guitar

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We reviewed Yamaha’s BB234 bass guitar.

Check out the review here! 

Check out the Yamaha BB234 in our store! 

Here’s a transcript of the review: 

 Hey what’s up everyone, this is Shane from Fret Zealot and right now I’m rocking a Yamaha bas.  This is the Yamaha BB234. 

The BB stands for “broad bass” and this is the 234, which is the classic rendition of the BB Yamaha bass. It’s stripped down and versatile is what I would say. It’s got two pickup selections to choose from – the J pickup on the bridge position and then the P pick up in the middle position, giving you a variety of really nice tonal options. Each pickup is individually controlled by a volume knob, so you can dial back the volume on both of these and run them at the same time, one or the other as well and then the tone knob back here, which when you when you roll that down it pulls back a little bit of the low frequencies and sort of just tightens up the sound of the bass a little bit. It gets a little a little cleaner sounding a little less extra bass I usually like to leave it wide open. 

You definitely get the most brightness when you leave the tone knob up all the way. When you turn it down, it sort of it sounds like outside the club, like a little bit more softer sounding. I think it would be nice for a bit more of a mellow sound. Moving on to the to the features of the guitar itself, the pick guard on the body with the black gloss finish just looks classy and I find it very comfortable feeling as well. This cutaway body the cut on the back of the body which just rests up against you and very ergonomic. Again, the cutaway up here, as well easy fret access up to the 21st fret. There are 21 frets on this guitar but just gives you a nice comfortable scale length to work with. If this is your first bass, I think it’s a really good choice because it’s very very comfortable. And if it’s not your first bass,  you might be interested in the different pickup options that you’re going to get when you try the BB234.

The body wood material is alder, the neck maple, and then on the top of the neck the fretboard itself rosewood. It has a  matching black headstock painted black with the four Yamaha tuners, strap pegs, bolt-on neck construction, and a surface mount bridge back here. Other than that, you get a really nice variety of tones from these ceramic Yamaha pickups.  Again, with the P pickup you get a really sweet sort of heavier sound.  I think it sounds a little darker.

Turn that knob all the way down and then we’ll turn up the J pickup. It definitely gives me a bit more treble. It kind of sounds both of them sound like like a nice woody, sort of clean bass sound, which I really like.  All passive hardware, there’s no battery compartment to run these pickups, so it’s not very temperamental.  It’ll give you an easy playing time, very comfortable and and fun to play with.

 Bass is not really my main instrument so I was picking out some of the options at our shop on frontzealot.com for what I wanted to pick out and review first. This one sort of jumped out at me as approachable, but also kind of versatile, and a fun way for me to sort of learn the ins and outs of bass.  Getting to play with both the J pickup back here and the P pickup, learning about the differences. It’s got a nice pick guard too. I know that I would probably as a guitar player, use a pick to play bass. I  think the combination with the p pickup, the pickguard works really great for rock. If you want to dial it back and play some more mellower tones, you have all the options of doing that.  This bass will really do a good job from anything – hard rock, classic rock, all the way down to jazz and blues.  I believe I can tell from playing the time that I spent with this bass that is very versatile.  I’m definitely a fan of the BB234. It comes in a couple different color options.  We have black and red at fretzealot.com and when you buy an instrument at fretzealot.com, it comes pre-installed with the LED system, so you can get access to our learning tools which show you how to play and light up the way to learning.  You can learn how to play any song you want on bass. 

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Eight iconic movie soundtrack songs

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For some movies, the soundtrack is more iconic than the film itself! Here are some songs that are permanently associated with their feature film. 

“Moon River” – Breakfast at Tiffany’s, 1961 

Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer composed this song for Audrey Hepburn to sing in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”. A Paramount producer suggested cutting the song – and Hepburn famously said they could cut it “over my dead body”. The song cleaned up during awards season, winning a 1961 Academy Award for Best Original song and the 1962 GRAMMY award for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. 

 

“Mrs Robinson” – The Graduate, 1967

Simon & Garfunkel wrote “Mrs. Robinson” specifically for The Graduate. It became the first rock song to win “Record of the Year” at the 1969 GRAMMYs. 

 

“Live and Let Die” – Live and Let Die, 1973 

The film producers of this 1973 James Bond flick tapped Paul McCartney to write the movie’s theme song. McCartney worked with his wife, Linda, and former Beatles producer George Martin on the song, recording it with his band Wings. It has been famously covered by Guns ‘n Roses. 


“Stayin’ Alive” – Saturday Night Fever, 1977 

The Bee Gees were asked to record some songs for the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack before the film had a name, or even a script. The band penned the track over a couple of days at a French recording studio. Though the song is a disco bop, the lyrics are pretty dark and deal with the subject of surviving on the streets of New York. 


“Don’t You (Forget About Me) – The Breakfast Club, 1985

“Don’t You (Forget About Me)” was a huge hit for The Breakfast Club’s soundtrack and for the band that recorded it, Scotland’s Simple Minds. Simple Minds didn’t write the track however – it was written by Breakfast Club producer Keith Forsey and guitarist Steve Schiff. The band originally turned the song down – along with Billy Idol, Corey Hart, and The Fixx. The band recorded it following persuasion by the label and Chrissy Hynde, who was married to the band’s lead singer at the time. 


“La Bamba” – La Bamba, 1987

Most bands put their own spin on cover songs. However, for this 1987 biography of Chicano rock and roll star Ritchie Valens (who was tragically killed at only 17 in the plane crash that also killed Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper) Los Lobos kept their version faithful to Valens’ 1958 version. Valens had adapted a Mexican folk song from the state of Veracruz in his version of “La Bamba”. 

 

“My Heart Will Go On” – Titanic, 1997

Composer James Horner came up with the melody of “My Heart Will Go On” for the film’s score, and had the idea of developing it into a song. Director James Cameron initially resisted the idea of having a pop song in the film’s soundtrack, but changed his mind after hearing the song’s demo. It was recorded by Canadian singer Celine Dion and became her signature song – it’s the second best-selling physical single by a woman of all time. 


“Shallow” – A Star is Born, 2018 

“Star is Born” star Lady Gaga wrote the film’s signature song along with Andrew Wyatt, Anthony Rossomando and Mark Ronson. The track is one of the world’s best-selling singles of all time, and it won numerous awards, including the Academy Award for Best Original Song. 

 

What do you think is the most iconic soundtrack song of all time? Let us know in the comments! 

READ MORE: 

“Running Up That Hill”, “Master of Puppets” and other songs that became popular again through movies and TV

 

How to choose between over a hundred courses available on Fret Zealot

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Fret Zealot has hundreds of guitar lessons to choose from – it can be hard to pick just one to start with. You can choose your own guitar education, the way you want to learn! 

Here’s a guide for picking the courses that make sense for you. 

 

If you want to… learn the basics of guitar. 

Start off with: 

The Total Beginner’s Guitar Course (Level 1)

If you’re completely new to guitar, this course will cover all the basics – the parts of the guitar, how to tune, basic chords, and more. 

Then try: 

30 Day Beginner Challenge

Now that you have the basics down, this course will give you an easy-to-follow lesson each day – so you’ll be able to play guitar in a month! 


If you want to… understand music theory. 

Start off with: 

Music Theory 101

If you taught yourself to play guitar by ear (like a lot of famous musicians!), you might be missing out on music theory. Understanding music theory will make you a better guitarist and make it easier to work with other musicians. This course will teach you the musical alphabet and help you to build chords, locate triads on the fretboard, and understand variations like sus2, sus4, 7th, minor 7th, 9th,11th, etc.

Then try… 

Complete Guitar Theory LabYou’ll be a full-fledged music theory pro after finishing this course, which will help you polish your guitar skills and learn songs faster and easier. 



If you want to… take your skills to the next level. 

Start off with:

Unlocking Major CAGEDWant to make your solos more fluid and be able to improvise over any key? The CAGED system will help you get there. 

Then try: 

Pentatonic Protocols 1

Learn a series of approaches to soloing over the five pentatonic chord shapes to change the way you improvise. 


If you want to… become a real-life guitar hero. 

Start off with:

Angus Young (AC/DC) – Player Study

If you want to play like the greats, Fret Zealot’s player study courses can teach you the unique signature styles of some of the most distinguished guitar players of all time. Start off with the Angus Young Player Study to learn Young’s groovy, rhythmic lead guitar style. 

Then try… 

Jimi Hendrix – Player Study

Jimi Hendrix was one of the original “guitar heroes”. His playing style has influenced most of the most famous guitarists today! This course will cover the techniques and theory he used in his legendary style.

 

If you want to… learn something completely new. 

Start off with…

Rockabilly Guitar for BeginnersKeep things fresh by learning a brand new musical style. This course will teach you what you need to know about rockabilly and 1950s style rock ‘n roll guitar, including the Nashville number system. 

Then try… 

Flamenco Guitar

Learn all of the techniques that define flamenco music with this course! 



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