This Texas style player is an absolute master of the pinch and bend technique. Listen to the track titled My Heads in Mississippi, from the 1994 album Recycler. Some masterful examples of pinch harmonics technique can be found within this piece.

Pinch Harmonics

I can’t think of a single technique that is harder to get down than pinch harmonics. Even after years of playing you will still mess up one every so often. The real problem with a fluffed pinch harmonic is that there is often no way to hide it, unlike a dropped note of a miss pick.

So how do we make our guitar screech like a tomcat on the prowl?

Almost every other guitar technique can be built up slowly. This is not the case with pinch harmonics.

You either get it right, or you do not get the required sound. So lets jump straight into the deep end with a little technical analysis of harmonics.

• Strings vibrate and create natural harmonics.
• If you pick an open string, the natural harmonics would sound on the 5th, 7th and 12th frets
• Play the open string then gently damped the 5th fret with your fingertip, congratulations you just played a natural harmonic

Now, if you were to fret the E string on the 3rd fret and play the string, the harmonic positions would move up the neck to the 8th, 10th and 15th fret. Are you with me so far?

You now know how to locate the position of those harmonics just waiting to be unleashed.

Next we move on to actually encouraging them, there are a lot of ways to accomplish this.

I do it with an up-pick, and pinch off the string with my index finger after the pick has played the string, think of it as dampening immediately after the pick, by using the finger as it follows the pick.

By performing this right had technique at the correct place on the neck for the current note you are fingering, you will be rewarded by one of the finest sounds known to mankind.

Practice Makes Perfect

The best way to learn to play pinch harmonics is by accident.

Learn the theory and then play around with it until you accidentally produce a pinch harmonic. Once you have done it a single time, it will fall in to place.

Then begins the long road to being able to produce punch harmonics flawlessly every time, something that is a lot more difficult than it sounds. Don’t give up, keep trying and you will eventually get the hang of it.

I love the blues, and consider it my primary style. One of the things I enjoy doing with students is giving them a list of listening material to introduce different techniques.

Hammer-ons and pull-offs are one of my favorites, as I get to recommend Albert Collins, a veritable master of this killer technique. If you want to learn to play blues guitar, I suggest you pick up some of his recordings, as nobody manages this technique better. The combination of his slightly over driven telecaster, and cranked up treble just add to the phenomenon.

Just What is a Hammer-On?

A simple definition would be a note played without picking, a left hand only technique that sees a sustained note being cut off and replaced with a new note, by hammering down another finger higher up the neck on the same string.

Sounds simple doesn’t it?

Well quite frankly it is, most people only need to be shown the technique once to get it down. As A quick tip, make sure you pick strongly on the preceding note, the hammer-on is going to slightly dampen the string as you perform it, so you need plenty of sustain.

Finger strength comes into play here, a good player with strong fingers can perform a hammer-on without even picking, just the force of the finger hitting the fret board will cause the string to vibrate.

How to Pull Off a Pull-off

A pull-off is the exact opposite of a hammer-on; the note will be changed by removing a finger from the fret board, whilst another finger is in place behind it further down the neck.

The cool thing about a well executed pull-off is that you do not necessarily need to pick the preceding note strongly.

By slightly bending the string with the finger that is being pulled-off, kind of pinging the string like an elastic band, you will be able to sustain or even increase the vibration in the string.

Hammer-on + Pull-off = Trill

By repeatedly hammering-on and pulling-off notes quickly, you will create what we call a trill, usually just a basic two note trill, but more advanced players can play a whole passage without once using their right hand.

These two techniques are a staple of the blues player’s bag of tricks and need to be mastered by anyone who wishes to learn to play blues guitar. The uses of these two techniques are quite endless, especially during improvisation, when the creative juices are flowing.

Next time you are listening to your favorite blues recordings, try and listen out for hammer-ons and pull-offs, you will be surprised at how many are played, did you really think that a guitar player actually picks every note?

Personally I play a huge amount of these, I’m a lazy picker, my right hand has never been as fast as I wished it was, so my left hand technique makes up for this shortcoming.

Even if you have your sights firmly set on being a lead guitarist you will find yourself beginning to start dampening naturally eventually.

By playing dampened strings, you are able to create a driving percussive sound, which combined with some pinch harmonics makes for some real attitude.

There are 2 ways to dampen a string you are to need to master when you learn blues guitar.

Right Hand Damping

Most often the heal of your hand will be used for damping with the right hand. Although some people find it easier to use the edge of their hand.

Right hand dampening produces the percussive, staccato form of sound, great for those down and dirty blues shuffle rhythms, and for blues rock inspired rhythms.

Right hand damping also works very well for acoustic blues players, as the resonance in the hollow body allows the note to sound out fully, although with a dampened tone.

Left Hand Damping

I am going to admit right now that I am terrible at this technique, I am far too sloppy. Left hand dampening is all about precision.

By using the fingertips or edges of the fingers to damped some strings, whilst allowing other to ring out clearly, you can play a combination of driving rhythm and complex treble loaded passage.

In contrast, if you are playing guitar barre chords, you can simply lift the bar slightly to dampen the entire chord. Even I can manage this!

A technique much loved by the rock players.

Damping For Perfection

Here is a very cool tip for all your people who want to learn blues guitar.

Damping can hide your mistakes!

Personally I developed this habit very early on, I naturally dampen anything that isn’t supposed to be happening. By this I mean that if I am playing a series of complex double-stops on the top ¾ strings, I will automatically damped the bass strings so that even if I strike them by mistake, they will not ring out. With a little practice this becomes second nature, and can really tidy up your playing.

If you are serious and want to learn how to play blues guitar, then jump on these techniques straight away, incorporate them into your personal playing style as early as possible, so that they become a natural thing to you.

Most players begin to dampen automatically, without being taught, it is far from easy but it is a very natural thing to do, if you are having problem with your dampening techniques, try a shuffle rhythm, testing out the effects of both right and left hand dampening, and the sounds it can achieve, rinse and repeat until you have it down.

A string bend sounds fairly simple to perform. Just strike the note, rotate your wrist and push the string until it reaches the desired pitch. Although it sounds easy, it is one of the more difficult techniques for new guitarists to master

Blues Guitar String Bending Step 1

String bending is done by fretting a string and either bending it up or down. By doing this we effectively stretch the string on the guitar fret board. This in turn raises the pitch of the note being played. String bends are much easier to perform with the thumb wrapped around the neck to provide a pivot point instead of resting on the back of it. If you are able to rest your thumb on the low e string your hand is in the correct position.

Blues Guitar String Bending Step 2

Use the strength of more fingers to bend the string. While you should practice with each finger, the 3rd finger is the one that most bends will fall to in blues style guitar. This is because we normally use a minor pentatonic scale when we play the blues.

A useful trick is to use three of your fingers to bend the string, instead of just the one on the fret you are trying to bend. Using three fingers will stabilize the string and give you that little extra help to bend the required amount. 

At first you probably will not be able to make the pitch change that much. This is especially true if you are learning on an acoustic guitar. The only cure for this is to practice and build your muscle strength.

Remember light gauge strings are easier to bend. However string gauge is a personal preference and there are pros and cons to using both heavy and light gauges strings.

Blues Guitar String Bending Step 3

Bending to the correct pitch is always tricky for a new guitarist. The easiest way to develop this skill is play a note with and without a bend.

For example play a note on the seventh fret of any string. Now play a note on the sixth fret of the same string and bend it until both notes sound identical. You’ve just played a half bend. At first this will be difficult but don’t worry with practice you will improve, and anyway, in blues guitar you normally bend slightly flat.

Blues Guitar String Bending Step 4

Once you are comfortable playing bends, the matter of timing is the next aspect to focus on. There are three ways bends can be timed, and each method has a unique sound. A pre-bend is performed by bending the string before it is played.

Timed bends are played in much the same way as individual notes; with each coming at the time a note would normally be plucked.

Instantaneous bends are performed by bending the string as soon as the note is played. This should be a subtle effect, and should be done neither before the note is played (like a pre-bend) nor after the note is played (like a timed bend).

Phrasing is how a guitarist takes all the little techniques and notes and puts them together to create a fresh, expressive and personal musical idea.

Phrasing makes a guitarists sound his own. It is especially important in the internet age if we want to distinguish ourselves from the hordes of other guitarists using the same tabs and playing the same tunes.

A well phrased tune can create a far more interesting and compelling piece of music than someone just ascending and descending a scale.

There isn’t a right or wrong way to learn blues phrasing. Every guitarist is going to be a little different in what they find sounds pleasurable. Eventually you will settle on what feels most comfortable to play for you.

However, for every guitarist, the nuances that need to be considered are the same. Even having an awareness of them can make all the difference.

Blues Guitar Phrasing Mistake No. 1

It is very common, particularly for beginning guitarists, to focus too much on what notes are being played, and ignore the importance of timing.

Music is about pitch and rhythm, and even a very complex and intricate solo will sound bland without considering timing. There are two particular mistakes that are extremely common.

Blues Guitar Phrasing Mistake No. 2

The second mistake is just using the same interval the entire time, usually eighth notes (two notes per beat), though occasionally other musical intervals as well.

Sometimes with short solos or fills this works and sounds good. For long solos this can end up sounding quite boring, no matter what techniques or scales are used. If you listen to a lot of the more compositional focused guitarists, they tend to mix a lot of different intervals together, which sounds much more interesting and dynamic.

Blues Guitar Phrasing Mistake No. 3

The third common mistake is trying to put too many notes into a single idea. More notes do not make a lead better. The more notes we use a lead, the less expressive techniques we use.

Even if the guitarist is fast enough to throw them in, there isn’t any time to dwell on ideas and make good use of vibrato etc.

Fast parts are a part of lead work and shouldn’t be ignored, but playing as fast as possible the entire time tends not to make good blues guitar solos.”

Blues Guitar Phrasing Mistake No. 4

The fourth common mistake is over using our technical abilities. More Technical Is Not Better. Technical abilities do not automatically make better songs. Technical abilities give a wider range of things a guitarist can put into a part to make it more compelling and expressive.

However, a lot of really great guitar parts are not that technical or complex.

Don’t feel obligated to use every technique in every song or part you write. If just plucking out three notes for a fill sounded really good, playing ten won’t necessarily sound better.

Technical abilities can take a good musical idea and make it sound better, but it still requires that original music idea in order to work.