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Technical Truths For False Harmonics by Kilian Duarte
Meet Kilian Duarte
There is something quite magical and unique about the overtone series. As musicians, when we look at it from a mathematical and theoretical perspective, it gives us idea of how much more infinitely complex and beautiful musical tones really are. Even with something as common as a four string bass guitar, each individual partial adds a layer of color much deeper than what is heard on the surface. For those readers who are not readily familiar with what I am talking about, harmonics are the sounds with which we experience this wonderful phenomenon.
There is nothing quite like the beautiful chimes we use for both tuning and adding beauty/range to our chords and melodies. When you first learn how to play, you start by learning the basic and easiest to find harmonics, in many times just as a quest to get in tune.
In this edition of BMM, I wanted not only to discuss some techniques to achieve what is commonly called “false harmonics”, but also to show some musical applications for the exercises ahead.
Let me start off by saying that the term “false” when referring to these tones does not make much sense. They occur naturally in the overtone series, but the difference is that they require fretting and specific location playing to have them come to life. For the novice bassists who have yet to hear these wondrous tones, I suggest hearing Jaco Pastorius’ famous intro to Teen Town. The Bass Extremes duo of Victor Wooten and Steve Bailey are notorious for including them in their repertoire and the Metal/Hard Rock world has had false harmonics as a staple sound for decades among guitarists. The high pitch bent squeal, implemented by countless shredders, is just one of many ways these notes have come to life. Subjectively, as an opinion of the author based on my adolescence, I have a soft spot in my heart for the art of heavy sound and energy. But having bass guitar as my true voice, lush and less aggressive tones suite these techniques best.
As a former bass instructor, when the topic of false harmonics came up, students with the well-known technique of Pinching frequently approached me. This was usually the direct result of seeing guitarists, as well as the great Jaco Pastorius perform his awesome feats. And while Master Jaco had it down cold and made it work for him, in my experience I have come across some techniques that allow for the false harmonic to not only to be played easier, but more accurately with more sustain, and range.
Which leads us to our first example.
This is the technique I like to call the STEVE BAILEY TECHNIQUE. Mr. Bailey is the famous counterpart to Victor Wooten in the Bass Extremes duo from the 90’s and early 2000’s. He is also a successful sideman and solo artist with a signature 6-string made by Fender.
The technique for the most part is pretty simple, and consists of you first fretting a note with your right index finger placed a perfect octave above the intended note. For example, if you are playing a D on the G string (7th fret), you place your right index finger gently above the 19th fret perpendicular to the strings. This should then be followed by your ring finger plucking the string quickly while simultaneously sliding your index finger off it in order to allow the note to ring out with sustain and fullness.
I always mention this technique first because it gives some major advantages over the pinching technique. To elaborate, it allows the players hand to stay in position to pluck again almost instantly after playing the harmonic, with no need to re adjust. Secondly, It allows a much greater rate of accuracy when playing the note. Many times pinching cuts the sustain of the note and makes the striking surface smaller. Nails can also sound quite un-desirable and reduce the purity of the tone in recordings. Thirdly, this technique allows you to play chords made up of false harmonics, just as quickly as if you would they had strummed a natural chord.
The Second technique I want to discuss is one that I can’t really cite any other bass players as currently using to my knowledge, (If anyone can find someone who does please let me know, I love seeing what people are doing out there). It is what I like to call HARP MOTION harmonics. Guitarists in the jazz idiom have been known to use it, as well as some rock and acoustic musicians. The best example of a true master of the technique is a man by the name of Tommy Emmanuel. For those of you who do not know this man, I highly suggest you get familiarized.
This technique takes more practice but is both lush and beautiful sounding, making it really worth the time and effort.
It starts off the same as the Steve Bailey technique but instead of having the index finger perpendicular to the strings you will position your index finger parallel.
Once you have accurately placed your index, you must pluck with the thumb. Then an alternation of your thumb and ring finger (being used to pluck the non harmonic notes) should be practiced to increase ease of the flow.
I hope the video helps everyone and I wish everyone the best of luck in their endeavors. These exercises take some time, so be patient, and I know you guys can pull it off!
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Photo: Self-portrait by Melissa Auf Der Maur
Melissa Auf Der Maur is a Canadian bassist who played with Tinker, Hole, and The Smashing Pumpkins. She released her own work and is a photographer with photos published in Nylon, Bust, and National Geographic. She released her ‘90s Rock Memoir “Even The Good Girls Will Cry” on 17 March 2026.
KB: Did you always want to be a singer-musician growing up?
I’ve played music my whole life. In school, I played trumpet and sang in a children’s choir, so music was always within me. My mother was the first female disc jockey on the Montreal airwaves; her record collection played a huge role in my inspiration and love of music.
KB: When did you start playing bass, and why this instrument?
When I was 19, the early 90s music explosion began to percolate in tiny clubs around the world. I was lucky to be a ticket girl at Montreal’s underground music club. In one year, I saw Hole, Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, White Zombie, and The Breeders – all had female bass players. That’s when the seed was planted. By the age of 22, I was the bass player of Hole.
KB: Which brands of basses have you used in your career, and which one are you using now?
The first bass that I learned on was a vintage Squier Precision. Hole was sponsored by Fender guitars, so I upgraded to Fender Custom Shop Precisions. That is all I play, but I have a cool vintage 8-string Greco that I use on recordings to thicken up guitar parts.
KB: What equipment do you use or have you used with your basses?
Ampeg SVT amps and cabinets, a couple of Sans-Amp pedals, and that is it.
KB: How did you become a member of Hole, and what is your fondest memory of that time?
Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins was helping scout a replacement for (RIP) Kristen Pfaff, Hole’s bass player. My band, Tinker, opened for them on the Siamese Dream tour, so Billy had seen me play and could vouch for me. Courtney trusted her talented friend, and that was it. I initially said “no thank you” due to my commitment to my photographic studies and the drama and chaos surrounding the band during the “Live Through This” album release. Courtney took it as a good sign that I said no, so convinced me to reconsider, and soon after, I accepted their invitation, in the name of helping put females in the male-dominated landscape of rock music. My fondest memory is every show we played as a mostly female band, symbolizing what a woman could do in a rock band. Every show had a purpose: get more women to play music.
KB: You are a photographer as well. What makes a great picture? Do you shoot in color or b/w?
I started shooting photographs at age 15. Initially only shot black & white and worked in the art school darkroom. In university, I took a color photography course, and shifted mostly and forever to that, because it was easier to process film on the road when I joined a rock band. I experimented with many cameras, point and shoots, manual, polaroids, medium format, and vintage finds. The trick to a good photograph is to shoot many and all the time – the magic is in the edit and selection process.
KB: Are there artists you would love to collaborate with or wish you had?
??I’ve been lucky to collaborate with some of my favorite musicians in my career. I would still love to collaborate with a new generation heavy electronic artist on an analog bass, heavy electronic drums, and synths collaboration project. Take me out of my usual zone, merging the past and future: my love of 80s dark new wave and new artists exploring that genre. It was very futuristic back then, and we are now, after all, living in the future. I am in the mood to play bass to heavy beats I want to dance to.
KB: What are your 7 favorite bass lines in music across all genres? And why these 7?
“Mountain Song” – Jane’s Addiction (love a rambling, rolling bass line – feels like the ocean waves)
“Black Top – Helmet” (was the first bass line I taught myself)
“Gold Dust Woman” – Hole from “The Crow 2” Soundtrack (it was my first bass line contribution to the band)
“Get Ready” – The Temptations (Motown just feels so good, because of the bass)
“Lucretia My Reflection” – Sisters of Mercy (makes me want to hit the dance floor and play bass simultaneously)
“Be My Druidess” – Type O Negative (full chord bass playing at its best by iconic, demonic, Peter Steele, RIP)
“Romantic Rights” – Death from Above (1979 – unique distorted overdriven tone, combined dance rhythm and melodic intelligence, all in one shot – also! Shout out to a bass & drum only band, which is awesome, and we should have more of, but the bass player needs to be a killer to fill that role.
KB: What are you currently up to?
Releasing my ‘90s Rock Memoir “EVEN THE GOOD GIRLS WILL CRY”. Visceral healing process, it was to get it out of me and write it, but I suspect the real magic will begin by putting it into the world and reflecting with others on what the magic of the ‘90s was all about. Powerful music decade that carried us into what is now a brave new world of digital corporate weirdness – may the past shed a light on our future. That’s my hope for this book release and tour.
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