Music Lesson: Harmonics and Arrangements

Of course, that was When You Wish Upon a Star from the movie Snow White, I believe, about 1938.

Exploring Harmonics

I play it with harmonics and pure tones. I used to work with steel players who would play things like:

• They play a harmonic
• While they're doing it, they hit a pure tone.

So I got to fooling around with that years ago. You can play a pure tone and harmonic to get some nice effects.

Recording History

About 1960, I did this on a record. Then I went into White Christmas. Lenny Breau heard it, and he took harmonics and did just wonderful things with me. He came up with the pull-offs, which I used in this arrangement.

Recording Timeline

• I think I recorded this probably in '62 or '63; I don't know which album.
• Doesn't matter; they're not available now anyway, except at garage sales.
• I'm big at garage sales!

Playing Techniques

You play the same thing here, of course, as you do up here.

• Go on to harmony there.
• Have to get that kind of A chord to get that arpeggio.
• Then this B flat to an A diminished.

This can be played many ways. We'll see.

Moving Bass Line

This is very useful in the next part. I use a moving bass line:

• C major seventh
• C sharp diminished

This is an important chord too, as I mentioned earlier:

• E flat diminished
• C with an E in the bass
• A minor

You can do that in many light ways, like:

• Useful.
• Then the moving basses.

It's hard for me to play things slow. Let me try it again.

Arpeggio Techniques

Now, use some arpeggios here. Again, it's harmonics up and down.

• When you play them down, you start with a harmonic.
• If you play them up, you start with a pure tone.

See? And we add that, whatever it is there, 6th. See how we do that?

• Hammer on.