Notation of Harmonics

Edited: January 22, 2026, 4:38 AM · Certainly for natural harmonics, I prefer just the note indicating the pitch you desire, with a 0 on top. Use a normal note and not the harmonic notation. I see this used more and more and it avoids confusion. I don't get your specific example, but just note the two notes (even if one natural and the other artificial) and put a line between them if you want a slide? Since that is an obvious answer, probably you mean something else?

Edited: January 22, 2026, 9:05 AM · I suppose confusion arises from touching an open string on the fourth - is it natural or artificial?
Simple naturals as jean says - note as sounded with a 0. Although you could use that for your G example too - if you write G5 with a 0, it's unambiguous. It might be too confusing when there are 4ths and 5ths and more flying around, but sometimes the choice can be left to the player, eg whether I choose fifth on G or octave on D depends on ease of fingering. Either would be indicated by D5 with a 0 above it.

My string orchestra is playing a piece where the last note is a harmonic A written with three notes, all with lozenges, the note that sounds (A6), A4 and the 4th above it. It's quite funny because I can hear people around me debating if it's double-stopping. But it's not necessarily a bad way to notate - when you just have the fingering and not the final note, it's more like guitar notation, which I hate, and it makes playing it seem less musical.

Possibly best is simply to indicate the final note with a lozenge in all cases and nothing else. Then the violinist can choose their favoured way to achieve it.

(when I say 4th and 5th, I mean perfect 4th and 5th. I don't mean 4th finger, which may be what previous posters mean)

January 22, 2026, 11:20 AM · Two valid approaches: 1) write the sounding pitch with a [ o ] over the note. the player will figure out how to do it. Or: 2) Write how to do it; the fingered solid note with a diamond for the touched harmonic. Just be sure to be consistent and include a sentence in the score or part about which method you are using.

January 22, 2026, 12:00 PM · Thanks everyone for the helpful info! Much appreciated.

January 22, 2026, 4:18 PM · The thing about my example that bothers me about mixing natural and stopped harmonic notation is that the G5 harmonic is followed by the Ab5 harmonic, but using natural harmonic notation for the G5 looks so "disjunct", to put it one way, when it is followed by the touch-4th stopped notation of the Ab5, but they're both touch-4th harmonics, it's just that one is on an open string and the other is on a stopped one.

Does my concern make sense or it is this a non-issue?

January 22, 2026, 5:16 PM · In support of Joel, William, use one single notation type and explain it.
Coincidentally I have Vaughan Williams' charterhouse suite on my stand, and it's got some good examples of instruction.

January 22, 2026, 5:25 PM · Thanks, Andrew. I have downloaded Charterhouse Suite.