Cello: Artificial Harmonics — Ex. 1
Cello: Artificial Harmonics — Example 1
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“Natural harmonics use the pitch of the open string as the fundamental. Artificial harmonics require the string to be fully stopped by one finger to create an artificial fundamental and lightly touched by another finger to make the string vibrate in partials.By far the most common artificial harmonic is the touch 4 4th partial harmonic, created by lightly touching a perfect 4th above a stopped note on the same string..”
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“Lightly touching the string 1/6 of its length from the bridge forces the string to vibrate in 6 sections, each 1/6 of the total string length. The sound produced is 6 times the frequency of the open string, the 6th partial, sounding 2 octaves and a perfect fifth higher than the open string. The 6th partial sounds an octave higher than the 3rd partial.”
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“Lightly touching the string 2/6 of its length from the bridge is the same as touching at 1/3 the strength length, sounding the 3rd partial. There is no 6th partial sounding at 2/6 the string's length.”
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“Lightly touching the string 3/6 of its length from the bridge is the same as touching at half the strength length, sounding the 2nd partial. There is no 6th partial sounding at 3/6 the string's length.”