When playing a guitar, the higher up the fretboard you play, the higher the note. How come the reverse is true when playing the Harmonics (The next harmonic up the fretboard is a lower note than the previous)?

Question

When playing a guitar, the higher up the fretboard you play, the higher the note. How come the reverse is true when playing the Harmonics (The next harmonic up the fretboard is a lower note than the previous)?

In: 1

Answer 1

It is because the string itself doesn’t have a specific orientation. All it does is vibrate a particular way at any given length. The design of the guitar is to isolate the vibrations towards one particular side.

If you place a thin round object on the string above the 12th fret, you can pluck the string on either side of that object and the note will be roughly the same. This is because you are in the dead center of the string length. Move it closer towards the nut, but pluck on the side closest to the nut, the notes will get higher, as you move in the frets of the usual lower register. Again, it is shortening the length of vibrating string.

The harmonics activate on an open string. It is determined by the length of string where it is induced. A harmonic 3 inches from the nut will be exactly the same as a harmonic 3 inches from the saddle.