Techniques that sound like something you've never heard before?

General Music Discussion Songwriting
#1

I’m a jazzer, not a shredder, but I really dig cool techniques on the guitar, specifically things that seem like they’re not possible on the guitar or make a sound that doesn’t really sound guitar like.

That Nuno solo on Rise is the one I’m thinking of. Sounds like a different instrument entirely.

I was just wondering about other stuff like that, where the lick makes the guitar sound like something totally different.

Other stuff like this for me is cascading harmonics.

Just wondering if you had other examples of stuff like that?

#2

Alan goggol harmonics

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#3

As someone primarily into metal, the first things that come into mind are the harmonic tapping of Alkaloid:

I’ve time-stamped the video but listen to the whole song if you like prog-ish death, it is genuinely one of my all-time favourites

And Archspire’s gravity picking:

Not sure these exactly match what you mean, but I think they’re nifty.

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#4

that’s what I meant! That’s cool stuff.

#5

Always thought this was a cool effect, not something he does often and not really sure how he’s doing it, sliding on one string up and down and moving the tapped note up or something?

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#6

That’s a cool effect, I have absolutely no idea what I’m hearing!

On topic, I think Eric Johnson’s koto technique is exactly the sort of thing @Sully75 might be interested in checking out.

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#7

For me a real simple one is the opening riff of Kerosene by Big Black.

It’s just the harmonics of the 3 highest strings with distortion, but it doesn’t sound like something a guitar should be able to make.

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#8

I feel stupid for not mentioning this earlier.

Jeff Beck’s playing is full of this stuff.

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#9

I think Charlie Robbins has a tasteful approach to selective picking. Bernth has a cool technique he calls “modular picking.” Myth of I guitarist has posted on IG using elbow palm muting for muted two handed tapping.

Expanding on the harmonic tapping already posted, folks are using arpeggios shapes with this technique now as well

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#10

This technique probably belongs in your described category. It’s called glitch tapping. It’s such a silly sound that most people won’t even bother learning it because the effort you’d need to put to making it usable vs the sound that you get is so not worth it. Watch through the vid a bit, because he shows interesting variations on the technique in a musical context…

But it’s so niche :'D !!

#11

That’s pretty cool in his musical context.

There’s a Southeast Asian wind instrument that sort of sounds like that. It’s on an old 78 I used to have on CD, I’ll have to find it.