Guitar harmonics are bell-like, chime-y musical pitches produced by isolating the natural overtones of a vibrating guitar string. When a string is plucked normally, it vibrates along its entire length, creating a fundamental pitch. By lightly touching specific nodal points along the string without pressing it down to the fretboard, a guitarist dampens that fundamental frequency. This allows the higher frequency overtones, or harmonics, to ring out clearly.

Natural Harmonics

Natural harmonics are the easiest to play and occur at fixed physical intervals along the open strings.

The Technique: To play a natural harmonic, place the pad of a fretting finger directly above the metal fret wire (not behind it). Touch the string lightly without pressing it to the wood. Pluck the string firmly with the picking hand, and instantly lift the fretting finger away to let the note ring.
The Sweet Spots:The strongest natural harmonics are found at three main locations on the neck:
12th Fret: Divides the string exactly in half, producing a clear pitch one octave higher than the open string.
7th Fret: Divides the string into thirds, producing a pitch an octave and a fifth higher than the open string.
5th Fret: Divides the string into fourths, producing a bright, high pitch two octaves above the open string.
Artificial and Pinch Harmonics

Guitarists use advanced techniques to generate harmonics on fretted notes, expanding the sonic palette across the entire fretboard.

Artificial Harmonics (A.H.): These require the guitarist to fret a note with the left hand, and use the right hand to both touch the node and pluck the string simultaneously. For example, if fretting the 3rd fret, the exact octave node shifts up to the 15th fret (3 + 12). The player touches the 15th fret wire with the index finger of the picking hand and plucks the string with the thumb or ring finger.
Pinch Harmonics (P.H.): Famously used in rock and metal, these are executed entirely by the picking hand. The guitarist holds the pick tightly so only the very tip is exposed. As the pick strikes the string, the side of the thumb instantly grazes the string, “pinching” out a sharp, squealing harmonic.
Notation and Tablature

In guitar tabs and sheet music, harmonics require distinct visual cues so they are not confused with standard notes. In standard music notation, they are typically marked with a small diamond-shaped notehead or a small circle above the note. In guitar tablature, natural harmonics are usually enclosed in diamond brackets, such as <12> or <7>. For artificial or pinch harmonics, the tab will display the standard fret number but place the abbreviation A.H. or P.H. directly above the staff to tell the player which physical technique to use.