• Posted by Sarah on 28 April, 2021 at 4:54 am

    I am wondering what is the best technique to play a middle C harmonic with the left hand? Can the left hand use the 2nd finger joint to touch the string at the half-way point? Should the left hand always use the base of the thumb or side of the hand and never second finger? I find I can get the harmonic louder using finger and thumb. Perhaps it just needs a lot more practice. Thanks for any help.

    Victoria Johnson replied 2 years, 11 months ago 2 Members · 3 Replies
  • 3 Replies
  • Victoria Johnson

    Member
    28 April, 2021 at 6:39 am

    I use the knuckle of the second finger and the thumb on the right hand and “side of the hand” technique on the left hand when playing harmonics as demonstrated here by Josh Layne (https://youtu.be/yCjRMhMtO3U). Depending on what else is going on in the piece, I can see myself playing the middle C harmonic with either the right hand or the left hand. If I used the left hand though, I would use the “side of the hand” technique. In some pieces, I am playing a chord (two or three notes) on the left hand with the top note being a harmonic. That would not be possible with the knuckle and thumb technique since you can only play one note with that. I don’t think there is anything wrong with playing a left hand harmonic with knuckle and thumb, although it is worth practicing the side of the hand technique. 🙂 Hope this helps!

  • Sarah

    Member
    28 April, 2021 at 7:49 am

    Ahh, Thank you Victoria. In my case the left hand is not busy with other notes or chords, but now I see why ‘side of the hand’ is the best method. I’ve not done a lot with harmonics so something to work on. Thanks.

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