Mastering guitar tapping harmonics using Guitar Pro and Dorico features

In the previous article, I mentioned that Dorico and Guitar Pro have the ability to display harmonic node positions precisely with decimal points, and they can show not only second harmonics, but also third, fourth, or even higher harmonics.

By the way, there is a technique called tapping harmonics on the guitar, in which you hit the nodes with the plucked finger to produce artificial harmonics.

Eddie Van Halen (1955-2020) was probably one of the first guitarists to establish tapping harmonics as a guitar technique.

Now please take a look at this video.

Here, Eddie uses only the A string, essentially alternating between the 3rd, 5th, and 7th frets, to produce a wide variety of pitches using tapping harmonics with bends. The key here is accurately identifying the nodes to strike.

Among the music notation software, Guitar Pro and Dorico have the ability to automatically display multiple node positions on the fretboard as decimal fret numbers, which is useful for keeping track of node positions accurately and systematically.

Guitar Pro, in particular, has a harmonic type mode called “Tap” that is specifically for tapping harmonics, making it easy to find multiple nodes for any fingering position.

Dorico does not have a dedicated tapping harmonics mode like Guitar Pro, but with a little ingenuity, it is possible to identify the positions of multiple nodes for any fingering position.

The method is simple: simply create a table in spreadsheet software like Google Sheets using multiple nodes at the zero fret, calculated automatically by Dorico, and then add “+1” to calculate the nodes at each fret from the first fret onwards. ※

The table below summarizes the node locations below the 8th harmonic on frets 1-12.

※Multiple nodes at the zero fret (i.e., open strings) are specifically the top row of this table: “2nd: 12, 3rd: 7 & 19, 4th: 5 & 24…” For example, the node positions for the first fret can be calculated by adding one to these numbers: “2nd: 13, 3rd: 8 & 20, 4th: 6 & 25…”. Strictly speaking, the numerical value indicating the node position is not simply added “+1” up as the fret position number increases, but given the narrow space between frets in the high register, there is a limit to how precisely you can strike the nodes at a decimal point, so this calculation method is thought to be accurate enough for actual performance.

Multiple nodes appear for 3rd harmonics and above, but among these, some are easy to use for tapping harmonics and others are not. In this table, I have highlighted in bold and underlined the nodes that I feel are easy to use for this purpose.

For example, if you press the 7th fret and produce the 7th harmonic on it, it is easier to make it by hitting the node on the 16.7th fret, which is the 3rd node from the fingering point, rather than the 1st node at 9.7th. Actually in the video above, Eddie appears to have chosen that node. 

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Understanding the node positions used in tapping harmonics generally requires painstaking trial and error while playing, but some music notation software such as Guitar Pro and Dorico can make this process easier and help you systematically understand node positions.

This article focused on the somewhat unique case of tapping harmonics, but there are many other things in the music world that can be better understood by visualizing them in sheet music rather than just listening to it.

In this point of view, even if you don't often write your own sheet music, I think Guitar Pro and Dorico are worthwhile tools for guitar players to have.