Sliding Harmonics

(This lesson assumes that you can already play Harmonics on your Bass. If not, you should read that page first before continuing on this one.)

To slide a harmonic, there is nothing too fancy that you have to do.

Simply play a Harmonic, but instead of removing your finger right away, press down and slide it along the fingerboard.

You have to be careful not to move your finger side to side on the string until you actually push down. If you do, this will stop the Harmonic from ringing.

The best and clearest way to get this sound is on a Fretless bass. You can play it on a fretted bass, but it will likely be much harder to get a clear sliding sound.

The reason that this technique is so cool is that it almost sounds like a sort of screaming or alien sound. The sound that this technique produces is very difficult to compare to anything else.

If you like the regular sound that you get from Sliding a Harmonic, you should wait until you hear it with effects, particularly with a bit of overdrive. Evil! ;)





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