Genil is a gifted Brazilian guitarist who demonstrates comping with the use of artificial harmonics. He uses Miles Davis’ composition “Blue on Green” to demonstrate different approaches in this half-hour video.

Genil refers to playing with harmonics as ‘diving into the electric lap piano realm of pianistic voicings’. He shows that different effects on any chord can using harmonics.

He cites some of the main benefits of working on harmonics including:

• using harmonics can extend any chord into additional chord voicings, like fractals of itself;
• The usage of artificial harmonics enable to play on the guitar pianistic voicings (inversions) that would be impossible to do otherwise
• harmonics allows the guitarist to create a cool Fender Rhodes-type sound.

Early in the video Genil explains the advantage of harmonics as

“expanding the harmonic possibilities of the guitar through the use of artificial harmonics.”

Genil has a vast range of influences and plays with a range of influences from classical composers such as Chopin, Scriabin and Tchaikovsky to  jazz guitarists such as  Lenny Breau, Jim Hall and Joe Diorio.

Genil’s intelligent course provides a fantastic introduction to expanding your note choices through the use of harmonics.