One day, I was teaching a lesson on “Harmonics” at music school.
As usual, theory first, then practice. I don’t even remember what I was playing on the harmonics—it seemed like a simple melody, but whatever.
What’s important is that after that lesson, the next day, a girl who was in that group came up to me and asked me to play “bells.” I didn’t understand what “bells” were, but I smiled and said, “Of course I’ll play them, tomorrow in class.”
I went home and started searching for similar pieces in all the sources I knew, but I couldn’t find these “bells.” I didn’t want to admit I couldn’t find them and upset the students, so I dug up some children’s songs. They had bells, snowmen, rain, and all that stuff. I played them at home.
During class, after checking my homework, I kept waiting for that girl to ask me about “bells” again, but she remained silent. Then, slowly and logically, I decided to bring the lesson back to that piece itself. I started playing, and as soon as I played an open natural harmonic at the end of the piece, the girl immediately said, “Oh, bells!” I almost slapped myself on the forehead in front of the kids. I dug through so much literature, but it turned out that I just needed to play harmonics.
Technique for playing harmonics.
Option 1. Without pressing the string against the fretboard, lightly touch it with the pad of your left finger above the fret. Then strike the string with a finger of your right hand and quickly remove your finger. The sound should be high-pitched and clear.
Option 2. Without pressing the string against the fretboard, lightly touch it with the pad of your right finger above the fret. Then strike the string with another finger of your right hand. The sound should be high and clear.
Harmonics come in two types:
Natural – Played on open strings (not fretted).
Artificial – Played on fretted strings at specific frets.
Just remember, harmonics are an embellishment, not a standalone technique!
