String muting is another technique that may allow you to define your own individual style. Muting will also help you to produce cleaner, more professional sounding guitar chords and also solos be excluding unwanted sounds from your guitar.

You will find a couple of forms of string muting, the palm mute with your picking hand as well as the string mute with your fret hand. They serve very different purposes, but both are important to good guitar playing.

Fret-hand muting is especially critical when playing chords and power chords. The aim is to use a section of you finger tips and fingers to mute the strings you don’t need to include in the chord being played. As an example the C major chord is played from the 5th string to the first, but you aren’t supposed to hit the sixth string. I use the tip of my 3rd finger which is holding down the fifth string 3rd fret to rub up against the 6th string thus muting the string. I use this very same method as well with power chords, but in addition I use the fat part of my index finger to lightly place across strings 1,2,3. With just enough pressure to mute the strings. The beauty is in case you get a bit wild with your pick it still sounds right. Fret-hand muting is utilized extensively.

Palm muting is much more generally used in distorted rock songs. The technique will require sitting the heel of your pick-hand palm on the strings as you pick. A lot of people rest it directly over the bridge, but you are able to experiment with different positions for various sounds. Also try distinct levels of pressure to manage the level of muting. This technique creates a percussive, muffled or chunky sound. Combine quick down strokes with palm muting in various patterns with moderate distortion for sounds comparable to Metallica or other metal bands.

With lead guitar playing at times it might be neccesary to even further mute the fretboard. A simpleway to accomplish this is to simply attach a hairband round the neck of the guitar near the nut. Be sure to have the hairband snug enough to muffle the open guitar strings, but not too tight as to push the strings down onto the first fret. This basic tip will help “shred” style lead guitar players clean up their sound by simply muffling unwanted open strings.

Both the fret hand muting and palm muting are very individual and stylistic methods. Incorporate practicing this technique each and every time you pick up your guitar and before long you will take control of this essential skill.

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