# AI Wiki - Music - Muting Techniques ## Concept: two jobs for muting Muting does two different jobs on guitar: 1. **Silencing what shouldn't sound.** Six strings all want to ring, and any string you hit by accident, any open string vibrating in sympathy, any note left ringing into a rest, adds noise. Clean playing is as much about the notes you stop as the notes you play. 2. **Making a sound on purpose.** A palm-muted [[AI Wiki - Music - Metal Rhythm Guitar Techniques|chug]], a percussive "chk" on the backbeat, a funk scratch, a reggae chop: these are deliberate muted sounds and part of the groove. Both use the same tools: the fretting hand (fingertips, the underside of the fingers, the thumb) and the picking hand (the edge of the palm). Beginners usually ignore muting until they plug into a distorted amp and hear noise everywhere. Keith Wyatt (ArtistWorks) calls it "one of the most overlooked fundamentals" and stresses that the fix "is not to pick softer": it's hand placement. ## Fretting-hand muting The fretting hand can cover most strings without extra effort, because fingers that are already on the neck touch neighbouring strings anyway. The trick is to make that contact deliberate: - **Fingertip on the thicker neighbour.** Angle the fretting fingertip slightly so its pad lightly grazes the next thicker string. Wyatt's example: fretting the G string, the pad touches the D string. - **Underside of the finger on the thinner strings.** The flesh of the fretting finger (often the index, lying slightly flatter) rests on the thinner strings above the note without pressing them. - **Idle fingers.** Fingers you aren't using can lie lightly across strings to keep them quiet. - **Release to stop.** To cut a chord or note short, keep the fingers on the strings but let off the pressure. The note stops at once. This is how staccato chords, reggae chops and the end of every phrase are controlled. **Muting in chords.** Many open chords leave a string unplayed, and you can either aim the strum to miss it or mute it so you can strum freely. Muting is more reliable at speed: - **C** (x32010): the tip of the ring finger, fretting the A string, leans against the low E. - **D** (xx0232): the thumb over the top of the neck touches the low E; many players also just start the strum on the D string. - **D/F#** (2x0232): the thumb frets the low F#, and its tip deadens the A string at the same time. - **A** and **Am** (x02220, x02210): the thumb, or the tip of the first finger, touches the low E; otherwise aim the strum. ```chord columns: 4 --- title: C (ring tip mutes low E) frets: x32010 fingers: x32010 --- title: D (thumb mutes low E) frets: xx0232 fingers: xx0132 --- title: D/F# (thumb frets F#, mutes A) frets: 2x0232 fingers: Tx0132 --- title: A (thumb or aim) frets: x02220 fingers: x01230 ``` More on these shapes in [[AI Wiki - Music - Guitar Open Chords]]. ## Thumb over the neck Classical and beginner technique puts the thumb behind the neck. Many [[AI Wiki - Music - Rock Music|rock]] and [[AI Wiki - Music - Blues Music|blues]] players hook it over the top instead. Wyatt describes it as a passive mute: the meaty side of the thumb "rests lightly on the low E and A strings, preventing them from vibrating", without limiting the fingers' reach. It works best in low and middle positions; higher up, the picking hand takes over. It also gives leverage for bends (see [[AI Wiki - Music - Guitar Lead Techniques]]). Keep the thumb behind the neck for wide stretches and [[AI Wiki - Music - Barre Chords|barre chords]], and bring it over the top for open chords, riffs and lead lines; it's a tool, not a rule. ## Power chords and octaves [[AI Wiki - Music - Power Chords]] are almost always played with distortion, so every string that isn't part of the chord must be dead: - **Root on the 6th string** (G5 355xxx): the index frets the root, and its underside lies lightly across the G, B and high E strings. - **Root on the 5th string** (C5 x355xx): the same, plus the tip of the index touches the low E to stop it. - **Octave shapes** (E octave x7x9xx): the index frets the low note and lies against the D string in between; the ring (or pinky) finger frets the octave and its underside covers the B and high E. You can then strum hard across all six strings and only the octave sounds. Octave lines are a staple of players from Wes Montgomery to Jimi Hendrix. ```chord columns: 3 --- title: G5 (index mutes G, B, e) frets: 355xxx fingers: 134xxx --- title: C5 (index mutes E and G, B, e) frets: x355xx fingers: x134xx --- title: E octave (index mutes D) frets: x7x9xx fingers: x1x3xx ``` The [[AI Wiki - Music - Intervals|intervals]] behind these shapes are in [[AI Wiki - Music - Fretboard Interval Shapes]]. ## Palm muting Palm muting is a picking-hand technique: the outer edge of the picking hand rests lightly across the strings just where they leave the bridge saddles, and you pick through it. Wikipedia notes that "palm" is a misnomer: it's the side of the hand, not the palm. - **Position sets the amount of mute.** Right at the saddles gives a light mute: pitch and body survive. Moving the hand towards the neck gives a heavier, more percussive "chug". Too far towards the neck and the pitch disappears entirely. - **Rest on the strings, not on the bridge.** Pressing on the bridge itself is generally considered bad practice; on a floating tremolo it even bends the pitch. - **Pressure and attack together.** Fender's tip is to balance how hard the hand presses with how hard you pick or strum, and adjust by ear. - **Downstrokes** give the tight chug of rock and [[AI Wiki - Music - Metal Music|metal rhythm]] guitar. Palm-muted down-picked eighth notes on the open low E are the basic exercise. In tab, palm muting is written "P.M." or "PM" with a dashed line over the notes it applies to (see [[AI Wiki - Music - Reading Guitar Tab]]). A typical riff: chug the open E under the mute, then lift the hand for two accented power chords: ```chords {title: Palm-muted chug with power-chord accents} {key: E} {tempo: 100} {comment: Downstrokes only. Mute the open E (P.M.), lift the hand for G5 and A5.} {start_of_tab} PM--------- e|-----------------| B|-----------------| G|-----------------| D|-----------------| A|-------------5-7-| E|-0-0-0-0-0-0-3-5-| 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & {end_of_tab} ``` Wikipedia lists Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" and 1980s thrash metal (Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Megadeth) as defining palm-mute sounds. On an acoustic, a light palm mute makes a quiet verse before an open chorus, a common dynamic trick in [[AI Wiki - Music - Strumming Patterns|strumming]]. **Fingerstyle.** In [[AI Wiki - Music - Travis Picking|Travis picking]] the picking hand lightly palm-mutes the bass strings so the thumb's alternating bass thumps under the ringing treble melody ([[AI Wiki - Music - Fingerpicking]]). ## Percussive mutes: chucks, scratches, dead notes - **Chuck (picking-hand mute):** on the backbeat (2 and 4), the fleshy side of the strumming hand slaps onto the strings as the pick goes through: a snare-like click instead of a chord. Covered in [[AI Wiki - Music - Strumming Patterns]]. - **Scratch (fretting-hand mute):** the fretting fingers rest on the strings without pressing, and the strum gives a dry "chk". Alternating pressed and released strokes in sixteenths is [[AI Wiki - Music - Funk Music|funk]]'s chicken scratch; a short chord released at once on the off-beat is the [[AI Wiki - Music - Reggae Music|reggae]] [[AI Wiki - Music - Reggae Rhythm Guitar|skank]]. - **Dead notes:** a single string muted by the fretting hand and picked, written "x" in tab. Songsterr and Pickup Music both use x for dead notes. Per Wikipedia, an x without a "P.M." marking means a fretting-hand mute; under a P.M. line it means a palm mute so heavy that the pitch is lost. - **Rake:** dragging the pick across muted strings into a target note, a blues and rock lead device. ```chords {title: Dead notes and a rake} {comment: Left: fretting hand rests on the low E between notes (x = muted click). Right: rake muted D and G strings into a bent B-string note.} {start_of_tab} e|-----------------| e|---------------| B|-----------------| B|-----8b10~~----| G|-----------------| G|---x-----------| D|-----------------| D|-x-------------| A|-----------------| A|---------------| E|-0-x-x-0-x-3-x-5-| E|---------------| 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & {end_of_tab} ``` ## Muting in lead playing Single-note lines are where noise shows up most, especially with gain. The standard method splits the job between the hands: - **Thinner strings (above the note in pitch):** the fretting hand. The underside of the index (or whichever finger frets) lies lightly across them. - **Thicker strings (below the note in pitch):** the picking hand. The edge of the palm rests on the strings thicker than the one you're playing and moves across the neck with the pick, so it always covers them. - **The thumb over the neck** catches the low E and A in low positions. Specific noise sources: - **String changes.** The previous note keeps ringing when you move to a new string. Lift the finger enough to stop it, or let the picking hand cover it. - **Bends.** The bending fingers push the neighbouring strings and can sound them. Keep the index touching the strings above, and mute the bent string after a release so it doesn't slide back audibly. See [[AI Wiki - Music - Guitar Lead Techniques]]. - **Sympathetic ringing.** Open strings vibrate when a note on another string matches their harmonics, especially at high volume. - **Slides and position shifts** in the [[AI Wiki - Music - Pentatonic Scale|pentatonic boxes]]: keep light contact so the sliding finger doesn't excite other strings. - **Rests.** A rest means silence: touch all the strings with either hand to end a phrase. ## How to practise 1. **Wyatt's silence drill.** Fret the G string at fret 5 and pick it. Then deliberately pick every other string: the goal is silence on all of them. Repeat with a note on each string. Do it on a **clean** tone first ("A clean amp reveals everything"), then with gain. 2. **Palm-mute dial.** Down-pick eighth notes on the open low E at 80 bpm. Every bar, move the hand a few millimetres along the strings: from open to light mute to heavy chug and back. Learn where your sound is. 3. **Muted/open switching.** Two bars palm-muted, two bars open, on an E5 chord, without the timing wavering. 4. **Full-strum chords.** Play C, D and D/F# strumming all six strings, and check that the muted strings stay dead. 5. **Scratch rhythm.** Fully muted sixteenth-note strumming (D U D U) with a [[AI Wiki - Music - Metronome and Speed Building|metronome]], counting "1 e & a"; then press down on one chosen sixteenth per beat. 6. **Lead with gain.** Play A minor pentatonic box 1 at a slow tempo with distortion, then [[AI Wiki - Music - Recording Yourself|record it]] and listen only for noise between notes. ## Common mistakes - Palm-muting too far towards the neck, killing the pitch, or too far back (on the bridge) so nothing is muted. - Pressing down with the muting fingers so a "muted" string frets a note. - Muting only with the fretting hand in lead playing: the thicker strings ring. - Relying on picking softer to hide noise. - Ignoring muting on clean tones and acoustic, then discovering the problem with distortion. - Letting chord notes ring through rests and chord changes. ## Key Points - Muting both removes noise and creates sounds (chug, chuck, scratch, chop, dead notes). - Fretting hand: the fingertip grazes the next thicker string, the finger's underside covers the thinner ones, and releasing pressure stops a note. - The thumb over the neck mutes the low E and A in low positions; it also frets F# in D/F#. - Power chords and octaves rely on the index finger's underside to kill every unused string. - Palm mute: the edge of the picking hand right where the strings leave the saddles; closer to the neck = heavier. Written P.M. with a dashed line; x = dead note. - In lead playing, the picking hand covers the thicker strings and the fretting hand the thinner ones. - Practise on a clean tone first; it exposes every noise. ## Open Questions - Which muting habits from electric lead playing transfer cleanly to acoustic fingerstyle, and which conflict? - How much thumb-over-the-neck is safe for a player with smaller hands or a thick neck (strain vs benefit)? - Is "floating thumb" picking-hand muting (the picking thumb resting on the lower strings) better taught early or after basic palm muting? ## References - Wikipedia, "Palm mute": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_mute - Keith Wyatt / TrueFire Studios Education Team, "Mute Technique: How to Silence Unwanted Guitar Strings", ArtistWorks blog: https://blog.artistworks.com/?p=8399 - Nick Stoubis, "3 Keys to Ace Your Palm Muting", Fender: https://www.fender.com/articles/play/3-keys-to-ace-your-palm-muting - Pickup Music, "The ultimate guide to reading guitar tab": https://www.pickupmusic.com/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-reading-guitar-tab - Songsterr, "How to read tab": https://www.songsterr.com/a/wa/howToReadTab ## Related - [[AI Wiki - Music - Power Chords]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Strumming Patterns]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Guitar Lead Techniques]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Guitar Open Chords]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Funk Music]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Reggae Music]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Fingerpicking]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Fretboard Interval Shapes]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Pentatonic Scale]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Reading Guitar Tab]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Swing and Shuffle Feel]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Recording Yourself]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Arranging Songs]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Electric Guitar]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Guitar Amps and Tone]] - [[AI Wiki - Music - Guitar Effects]]