Natural Harmonics: Alternative Touch Points And How They Are Produced

Natural harmonics are definitely a beautiful resource for every string player. On the cello this is particularly useful as the instrument has a powerful natural resonance so we can go very high up on the harmonic series up to the 8th harmonic with almost no loss of the pitch or dynamic level.

On all string instruments, the harmonics are "mirrored", that is to say, we have an equidistant distance from the middle of the string (7th position) for every harmonic to the nut and to the bridge.  This means we can play the highest harmonics on the first position as well, and that is a powerful tool for the performer and also brings new possibilities for contemporary composers.

Theory about Natural harmonics

Natural harmonics are produced when we bow the string and  touch a particular point on it with light  finger pressure.  The string vibrates on both sides of the touching finger as previously showed in the chart above.

The pitches generated to correspond to each partial of the open string the first harmonic is called the fundamental (open string), the second harmonic is the octave, the third is the 12th (compound fifth), the fourth the double octave, etc.

Timbral Richness Vs. Overtones

There is always a downside in all things: harmonics become overtone-weaker as they ascend through the harmonic series. The strongest and richest is the 2nd harmonic, the octave, which possess an amazing timbral resonance (played in the 7th position) but as we go high on the harmonic series, the overtones lose this resonant quality, so be careful when we replace the pressed note with the harmonic one It is a very common mistake when we play or we compose music, as this can produce undesirable inconsistencies in the timbre when playing a melodic passage.

Alternative touch points

Something very important when playing harmonics is to know that  they can be produced at several of its nodal points, which means that we can play the same pitch in different parts throughout the fretboard. Finding alternative touch points for a particular harmonic and knowing how many equivalent touch points are available will constitute a huge advantage for cellists and composer who want to deeply explore the  timbrical possibilities of the instrument, as we can easily find the same pitch played with different strings, which will us various timbres for the same note, as well as cleverly composed fast passages without entangling difficult, if not impossible shifts for the left hand.