Okay,

I thought this would make an excellent thread for all of us to share any tricks of the trade. Example would be that whammy flutter or dimebag natural harmonic dive/yank that was posted eariler. Don't post theory or practice routines, just post what little things you've discovered that sound cool and whatnot. Please post either a tab of how to do it, video, some example in a song or something to explain the trick.

Guitar One has an article called "Guitar Tricks", so I've decided to scan it off to start this thread.

One trick I never knew that sounds cool was inspired by kirk hammett during the master of puppets era was the dragging of the bottom e string off the fretboard while playing. There's a few more I didn't know of. It's in the scans. Enjoy and please share!

Guitar Tricks Page 1
Guitar Tricks Page 2

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do a vibrato just pass the bar of the fret, at the very tip of the top of the next fret. vibrato as you strike the note. it sounds like a vibrato alternating, almost trilling between the two

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i didnt get the idea of the 1A figuer, the verry first one

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I've found this out awhile ago. It raises the note up three/four frets. I don't really have a use for it yet. You can do it on both the high and low e strings.

What i've done in the past with my picks is that I stroke the heavy strings sideways with varying slides to produce a 'scrape' sound. Not too tricky. Works well on Acoustic guitars.

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Lemme explain. Zakk does this all the time.

Just do a legato, strike say the G string open, then do pull-offs from like 4 to 2 to open, keep doing this, when pulling off from 2 to open keeping the sound alive. Then while pulling off take your pick hand say pinkie and lighty slide it up and down slowly from the bridge pickup to the neck pickup on the G string. You'll get some wacky harmonics. Change up the pull-offs to get different sounds/keys. Lemme know how it goes.

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hey cool thread, anybody know how to do the satch scream or squeal? i forget what its called exactly

oh i know a trick, if you take a higher string say B string and cross it over on top of the G string and press it down, then plucking the strings at the same time, you get a steel drum sounding type of thing, its best on acoustic , but it works on electric somewhat.

Try pinch harmonics on two strings at once. Try a major third interval, sounds cool.

Thats all stuff I knew anyways if im honest, cept the zakk wylde thing. In the post your riffs thread, I recorded a riff that uses the pull off fretboard technique. Sounds like a bird.



If done correctly youll hear something like a pinch harmonic in terms of texture of note, being played from the lowest string, though why this happens i have NO clue. If anyone gets this working, let me know, all I know for sure is that it happens on my set up.

Edit: Also try playing on the treble strings, but pick the string on the fretboard behind where you are fretting. Playing chords in this manner can lead to some very weird sounds. I began documenting a few, a while ago, though it sounds a lot better when you put some reverb in your tone too. Seriously, some of the sound effects I was getting from that were unreal...

Lastly, anyone know how to up-pick pinch harmonics? I think itd be useful for getting a higher note voiced in the attack when playing two or more simultaneously (sic.) ( I also tried an arpeggio in terms of pinch harmonics once, though i could only pick them one-way. Tis interesting.)

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bar anywhere with your picking hand, and do you legato pull offs. Pretty obvious one, but still cool

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i found this funny to read and i guess could fit into this thread in some way

http://vai.com/LittleBlackDots/84/weird_noises.html

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Try vibrato when fretting power chords. I sometimes push the trem unit back a little with the side of my hand to bend chords up.

Play, say, the 2nd fret on the g-string, then with your picking hand lower a finger over the 14th fret on the g-string till your finger lightly touches the string and causes a harmonic. Use with wads of vibrato.

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ooww ok now i get it.. thnx havent tryd it but i get the idea

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say u hold the pick with thumb and index, then downpick pinch is with the tumb, and upward pinch is with the index, verry tricky, i tryd this and its fucked up

and the arpeggios pinchedsweeps... i discovered that a while ago, pretty hard to rilli sweep it though :P

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lol, cheers, im sorta getting it, but argh, its like learning pinch harmonics all over again!

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I dunno if anyone else has tried this:

But if you hold your pick right, have your index finger hanging down a bit, you can tremelo pick pinch harmonics (i think its a pinch harmonic ) Anyway, i mean the one when you pick and touch the string with your thumb of your picking hand. If you balance your fingers so your index hits it on an upstroke, or practise upward picked pitch-harmonics, you can tremelo them

Im rambling

Tapping your strings over the pickups with the side of your pick is cool too. If you do it on the high strings it give this eerie alien kinda sound.

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the space between your fretboard and the front pickup can me used as an extra fret. thats pretty cool ehy? i think thats what steve vai did on crossroads for that high high sound. well anyways it works

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put ur tongue on ur pickups when playing. well if u have passive, then whammy that note. that sounds cool

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Get some delay, reverb, and or pitch shifter going and shoot your pickups with a T.V. remote (or anything that sends out a signal). Every remote has a different sound. Phones work especially well, too.

Put your cell on vibrate and put it near your strings.

Connect something to your whammy bar so that you can rest it under your arm. Doing this you can whammy anytime playing anything.

(Carefully) Bend the neck while playing.

I enjoy playing with a pitch shifter when I've got some narly feedback going. This adds alot of flavor if you can time it right into a riff.

Connect pedals incorrectly(Amp > Guitar; Guitar > Amp). Some pedals give off some wierd sounds that can be altered into unique things.

All I can think of for now.

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unplug your guitar and touch the cord on stuff to make different noises and run it through a whammy pedal or sumthing. you can turn that noise in to controlled notes.

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hey you guys remember that vid of Paul Gilbert and Marty Friedman shredoff video? How did Paul Gilbert do that sweep with his teeth or tongue!?