flageolet

A flageolet tone, or natural harmonic, is produced on a string instrument by lightly touching the string at specific fractional points (halfway, a third, a quarter) without pressing it down to the fingerboard. This causes the string to vibrate in segments, producing a high, pure, flute-like tone quite different from normal stopped notes. The technique is indicated in notation by a small circle above the note. Harmonics are used for special colour effects, to reach very high pitches, and for tuning purposes. Artificial harmonics, where the player stops the string normally and touches a fourth above with another finger, extend the technique further.