More tricks

A computer worm at the office network and a hardware malfunction at home forced me offline for the better part of a week, which explains why I haven’t updated this blog in quite a while. But things are back to normal now, so here’s my continuation of the previous entry, in which I had said I would share with you a few techniques that are part of my “signature” sound, the sounds that I am known for. Let me say that these are in no way original creations of mine, but since only a few guitarists use them, I’ve made them my sound.

• Volume swell. Simply put, a volume swell takes away the initial “attack” or the sound of the finger or pick striking the string/s, leaving a sound that’s akin to a violin or flute. It’s easy to do on a Strat because there is only one volume control and it’s close to the strings: wrap your little finger on the knob, turn it all the way down, strike a string (or more), then turn the knob up. It takes some practice to do this, but it’s really very simple once you get the hang of it. It’s not as easy to do on other models like the Les Paul, and it is impossible on acoustic-electric guitars that have the volume control on the side. For these, a volume pedal (pictured at right) is necessary: simply turn off the volume, strike a string, then pedal up. It’s especially satisfying with the acoustic guitar because it’s such a foreign sound to the instrument and listeners really don’t know what to make of it.
• Harmonic slap. I learned this from Phil Keaggy (well, not personally; I saw it in his DVD). Again it’s simple but it takes practice to perfect: just slap the strings with one finger of your right hand (the strongest one, which is not necessarily the forefinger) about 12 frets (that is, one octave) from the chord you are currently fretting. You’ll get harmonics (a chimy, bell-like sound that’s one octave higher) of the whole chord, plus a percussive rap. You can try slapping over other frets (especially the 5th and the 7th) until you get a harmonic, and I find that it actually differs from guitar to guitar. Electric guitars will naturally give out the most harmonics, and they tend to be more complex. Acoustic guitars, however, can still give great harmonics.
• Note-for-note harmonics. I already mentioned harmonics in the previous blog entry, but I also said it is such a rich sound that it will take another entry to explain it. In the last entry we just discussed the plain harmonics that can be coaxed out of the 12th (the strongest ones), 5th and 7th frets, but these give only a limited number of notes. In actuality you can get harmonics from any note, and you do this by damping a string exactly 12 frets higher from any note with the forefinger of your strumming hand and then striking the string with another finger in the same hand (I use my pinky; Philip Tarroja, who showed me this technique but would not teach it to me, uses his ring finger; Phil Keaggy uses his thumb). It’s a little tricky to master this since you need to look at where you are placing your right hand, leaving your left hand to itself. A little mastery of the fretboard is thus essential.