Good string muting technique

[Rain85]

Hi, 

As i understand there are three main ways to keep non-played string mute, palm for lowere strings, first finger rests on higher strings, and last first finger touches one string above it. I was reading troy stetina books and he also suggested the third technique. 

I personally feel very awkward with the third technique. i feel it cannot be applied in all situations for example, if you are doing kinda of a scale run then this is possible but what if you are playing a single string  line say on the third string with lots of slides in it. sliding with finger in that position is just very diifcult to pull of at best. Also if you are playing like a pull off thing from 8 to 5th fret on the first string (pentatonic box position) and then do the same on second string. (using third finger for the pull off in this case) It becomes very hard to kind of strech your third finger to the 8th fret while at the same time, holding the first finger on the fifth fret in tht kind of position (touching the the string above). Maybe its just me and I have small hands. 

I have seen a youtube video where the guy just use palm for all the string above the one you are playing. The trickiest thing here is to be able to mute the string immediately above the one you are playing with your palm. It is possible but kinda you have have your hand a certain way.... 

I have just started guitar from scratch and i would like to adapt something that i can consistently use throughout and not change everytime for specific situations. also i would like it to be s solid technique in the sense tht no matter how advanace and more difficult music i play, this techinque does not become a weakness etc...

I hope more experienced and expert players can guide me as to how to go about it. I just want to have perfect technique.. Do you think using only palm and the resting first finger (or whichever finger you are using to fret the note) on strings below the one you are playing can have some disadvantage going forward. I was just wondering this because i just wondered why troy would suggest the third thing as well (touching the string above the one being played with the top of your first finger (the one which is freting the note)), if just using first 2 techniques could do the job. 

thanks!

[1001gear]

Because shred is musically deficient. The concerns are : LOUD amp, expert sounding note streams. (mighta forgot something)

Actual music, even of the fusion hero variety, requires much more realtime technique and attention to note durations, context, and all the ensuing musical concerns. If this happens to be on a note for note basis, the player would have to develop a muting scheme that is just as critical as the fingering of the notes themselves.

 

 

[BydoEmpire]

 

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Rain85 wrote:

 

 I just want to have perfect technique.. Do you think using only palm and the resting first finger (or whichever finger you are using to fret the note) on strings below the one you are playing can have some disadvantage going forward. I was just wondering this because i just wondered why troy would suggest the third thing as well (touching the string above the one being played with the top of your first finger (the one which is freting the note)), if just using first 2 techniques could do the job. 

 

thanks!

---

 

First, ignore 1001gears' ridiculous response (at least the first half).

Second, 'perfect technique' is a very individual concept - it depends on your physical body and playing style and musical style.  Lots of great players use very different technques.  There are some things in common and best practices that generally work well for most players, but don't get too caught up on "player X holds their pick this way."

Third, yeah, that muting technique seems a little weird to me, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't work for some players and some styles.  Maybe stick with it a little while and see if you can figure out how to make it work for you, but don't worry too much about it.  If the other techniques work, that's great.  It's not about the technique, it's about the result.  Maybe down the road there will be some particular things where that technique is appropriate, maybe not.  Or, maybe it's just something that worke well for him.

[1001gear]

 

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BydoEmpire wrote:

 

 

First, ignore 1001gears' ridiculous response (at least the first half).

---

 

 

Now that's some bad advice. You are the word on music? Anyway shred IS musically deficient. It tends to produce vibrator operators, not musicians. If that's what you wanna be, fine, knock yourself out. If you want to be good musician, wondering about Troy Setina's - which by the way is the concern I was responding to, wondering about Setina's reasoning indicates that you may need more grounding in the fundamentals of music and performance. ?

[benzem]

 

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Rain85 wrote:

 

 

Hi, 

 

As i understand there are three main ways to keep non-played string mute, palm for lowere strings, first finger rests on higher strings, and last first finger touches one string above it. I was reading troy stetina books and he also suggested the third technique. 

 

I personally feel very awkward with the third technique.

i feel it cannot be applied in all situations

for example, if you are doing kinda of a scale run then this is possible but what if you are playing a single string  line say on the third string with lots of slides in it. sliding with finger in that position is just very diifcult to pull of at best. Also if you are playing like a pull off thing from 8 to 5th fret on the first string (pentatonic box position) and then do the same on second string. (using third finger for the pull off in this case) It becomes very hard to kind of strech your third finger to the 8th fret while at the same time, holding the first finger on the fifth fret in tht kind of position (touching the the string above). Maybe its just me and I have small hands. 

 

I have seen a youtube video where the guy just use palm for all the string above the one you are playing. The trickiest thing here is to be able to mute the string immediately above the one you are playing with your palm. It is possible but kinda you have have your hand a certain way.... 

 

I have just started guitar from scratch and i would like to adapt something that i can consistently use throughout and not change everytime for specific situations. also i would like it to be s solid technique in the sense tht no matter how advanace and more difficult music i play, this techinque does not become a weakness etc...

 

I hope more experienced and expert players can guide me as to how to go about it. I just want to have perfect technique.. Do you think using only palm and the resting first finger (or whichever finger you are using to fret the note) on strings below the one you are playing can have some disadvantage going forward. I was just wondering this because i just wondered why troy would suggest the third thing as well (touching the string above the one being played with the top of your first finger (the one which is freting the note)), if just using first 2 techniques could do the job. 

 

thanks!

---

 

True.

I use all of the above and more...one technique I use is when switching to a higher string, say 6th to 5th, when I pick the 5th my picking hand thumb mutes the 6th.

Muting is huge and you are wise to give it much attention. I would suggest cranking the gain to where everything rings and feeds if not properly muted. This will force you to use any and every available way to mute, and it will become second nature.

[halfwhole]

check out this video around 13minutes, it's how i learned how to keep the guitar quiet. he also talks about muting with the fretting hand later on, but i dont' have the timestamp for it.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXGyYyVa6ZM

 

[jbfernandez48@gmail.com]

Started guitar at age 62

Been playing 2.5 years

It's never too late

As long as you enjoy it

I play everyday 3 to 4 hours

 

I just know I m learning something every day

 

For those of you that you think you started too lake

It's never too late

 

But I did one thing I take lesson every other week

It keeps you from developing bad habits

[fouronsix]

I've got to put my 2 cents here. I've been playing over 50 years and this is how I look at string muting. All of the above techniques, and more, are effective. What I do when I practice is listen to what I'm playing very closely. When I hear any unwanted strings I freeze in place. Neither hand moves out of this position. Then I look closely at my hands to actually see what's not muted and why and then choose a muting method to correct it. I also consider that, whatever method I use, it should be comfortable and natural feeling. If you approach it this way you'll find all kinds of ways to mute. Good luck.

[speechless]

 

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Rain85 wrote:

 

 

 I have just started guitar from scratch and i would like to adapt something that i can consistently use throughout and not change everytime for specific situations

---

 

Mistake. You must be able to adapt, there is nothing that will work for every situation. I play a very resonant guitar, can barely touch a note without setting all the other strings in motion, and when I set about keeping it quiet how I do so depends entirely on what each hand is doing at that moment. See above

[Reino Tulonen]

With me string muting goes like this:

Picking hand thumb and/or palm mutes all the lower strings than the one(s) being played. Fretting hand index finger normally mutes the higher strings than the one(s) being played. In some situations I use my picking hand just to rest on higher strings to mute them or fretting hand ring or little finger to rest on the higher strings.