'Fight or Flight' question about volume knob

Option number one--keep at it until you've learned to do it. I wouldn't "customize" the guitar. But you ought to be able to work on other skills and techniques while you continue to learn palm muting.

I would suggest that you ask the teacher to show you how he would do it - with your guitar, not his. There is a suspicion that your teacher is being a little unbending in his teaching. No two people are identical and everyone has to adjust to certain situations - just look around a class, learning barre chords for the first time! He needs to help you find the best hand position that will achieve his goal whilst still allowing you to play.

The other thought is, is his style of playing (heavy metal) compatible with the type of music that you want to play (hard rock)?

yes. have your teacher show you. have him move your hand if he has to.
this is really really a good technique. essential stuff for electric guitar.

Hi everyone!

I learn to play an electric guitar for a 4th month. I study with a teacher who's a heavy metal guy and concentrated on a powerful and fast playing (although my preferred style is hard rock/blues). . .

(text unrelated to my answer removed)

My teacher suggests to remove the volume knob, but I don't think it's a good idea, because being a newbie I should learn to play a standard guitar.?

I would find another teacher.

He may be able to shred, but the fact that he would even think for a second about removing a volume knob tells me he knows little or nothing about any style other than speed metal lead playing.

If your preferred style is rock and blues, he's not going to be able to help you much with those styles. Those styles use the knobs on the guitar.

Hi Kopfschmerzen,

First off, yeah, you've got to learn how to play with your right wrist resting near the bridge. Especially if you're going to keep playing the heavier stuff.

Having said that, it seems odd that your teacher is telling you to take the volume knob off. Sounds like a bodge to get round the problem.

Can't say it's a big problem for me, but I can imagine everybody's hand shape is different. My suggestion would be to crunch up your little finger a little to pull it away rather than to lift it.

Ed

You must be playing a Strat style guitar, yes, the volume knob is right there and it is easy to accidentally turn it.

I used to have this problem many years ago but learned to tuck my pinky in and avoid the knob. Took a little practice, but now I can play my Strat without turning this knob. But I can also extend my pinky to purposely turn the knob.

Actually, for a Blues type player, having the volume knob where you can reach it while playing is a very good thing. You can easily extend your pinky and turn the guitar's volume up or down which will provide great dynamics. You might be playing with lots of distortion for instance. You can turn the guitar down to clean up the tone for rhythm guitar, then quickly turn up your guitar for the solo. This is how all the early players played on one channel amps, and how most Blues players continue to play. You can also get a nice organ effect by picking a note with the volume low and increasing the volume. This can be a great and very useful effect.

One thing you can do is pull off the knob and tighten the lock-nut a bit. This will often make the knob more difficult to turn so you don't turn it by accident. I used to put a little sliver of plastic under the Volume knob so it would not turn quite so easy. I have even placed a piece of duct-tape over the knob so it couldn't turn at all. Works, but gets a little messy when the tape gets old. I wouldn't pull the knob off, you will just lose it. :D

As far as this teacher, I would say listen to his advice. I am not a Metal player whatsoever, but Metal guitarists do have excellent technique and pick control. You may not want to play super fast and accurate, but it is great to be able to do so when you want. So I would stick with his advice for now. When you practice alone you can experiment with different positions. For instance, if you are not palm muting you can lift your hand off the bridge and move your hand forward. Some players play over the neck pickup and even over the fretboard for a different timbre. There is no one way to play guitar, do not be afraid to experiment with different styles.