how do you mute the strings not used?? on cyberfret it says to lightly touch the 6th string w/ your 1st finger but for me that just makes it totally awkward to try and mute the bottom 2 strings
By general concensus, the "bottom string" is the low E, not the high e - it is classed by pitch.
Powerchords are not designed to be played like a normal chord - you don't make an arm sweep over all the strings, but rather play them like a double stop.
To play a powerchord, based on the A string, you only need to play the A and the D strings, which will give you the root and the 5th. Concentrate on playing these two strings. In addition, you can fret the D string, but keep that as a buffer, in case your pick travels too far - you'd, then, have a second root note, one octave higher, which would not sound out of place.
If you play the powerchord as a double stop, you should have no need to mute the low E, pick control should take care of things. If you really want to mute it, use your picking hand.
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I do it the way the post says on Cyberfret. When I play a power chord with the root on the 5th string (the second string from the top, when the guitar is in playing position), the fingertip of my first finger lightly touches against the 6th string - this deadens any sound from the 6th string, if you happen to hit it by mistake. Like Greybeard, I only play the two strings of a power chord, instead of strumming all of the strings. After a little practice, you will be able to hit just the two strings in the power chord. I also fret the whole chord, even though I am only playing the two notes, somewhat a little more overkill then Greybeard's method. That way if you hit any of the higher strings by accident, I will sound okay.
Practice for a few days and it will become second nature.
