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What is this technique called?

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(@lue42)
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Joined: 16 years ago
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Topic starter  

It is hard to describe, but basically, it is just a steady strumming while muting the strings and then just hitting/hammering down on the chords when they are needed.

In this video, you can see her doing it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y0pB6IunpQ

She is doing a steady up/down strum and hitting the G5 on the first two strums and then just strumming the muted strings.

So, can someone explain what this is, what it is called and some perhaps some other examples of songs that use this technique.

My instructor started getting me to do this to try the get me to separate my left and right hands. And, just for the sake of naming it something, she has called this lesson "Bo Diddley" (edit: after searching YouTube... Bo Diddley does a song called "Bo Diddley" that sounds like what she was trying to show me... a mix of E, muted, open, and A)

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(@hbriem)
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"palm muting"

--
Helgi Briem
hbriem AT gmail DOT com


   
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(@lue42)
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Topic starter  

I don't think it is palm muting.

The muting is being done by touching, but not pressing down on the strings with the left hand.

In the video above, I don't see her muting the strings with her right hand, but instead slightly lifting her left fingers.

I gather that this is the same resulting sound of palm muting, but being done with the left fingers rather than the right palm.

Comments anyone?

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(@denny)
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A good example of this is the Johnny Cash song "When The Man Comes Around".


   
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(@gnease)
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I don't think it is palm muting.

The muting is being done by touching, but not pressing down on the strings with the left hand.

In the video above, I don't see her muting the strings with her right hand, but instead slightly lifting her left fingers.

I gather that this is the same resulting sound of palm muting, but being done with the left fingers rather than the right palm.

Comments anyone?

this is definitely muting with the fretting hand. but understand that once you are good both right and left hand (palm and fretting or vice versa) muting, you often will use them together -- either serially or simultaneously -- to produce the desired effect. I do not think of these techniques as sounding exactly the same. there's some overlap, but I find that muting with the fretting hand will sometimes allow me to create nodes on the strings and excite certain note harmonics in a way that produces a unique timbre. palm muting won't allow that as much, but will permit a lot more control for producing buzz-free partial muting (of a string), as well as for creating some very distinctive, percussive chopping strums (a la Jack Johnson).

as demonstrated in this Magic Man vid, barre chords make fretting hand muting easy, as all strings are 'covered.'

-=tension & release=-


   
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(@noteboat)
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I've used either "dampened strum" or "percussive stroke" to describe it to students.

Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL


   
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(@lue42)
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Topic starter  

Of course, I just discovered that David already has a lesson that covers some of this ....
https://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/for-what-its-worth/

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(@dogbite)
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yeah, gnease nailed it.
muting with either hand is essential technique.
left hand muting is so simple. just ease off the pressure on the strings until they 'dud' out. it doesn't take much.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=644552
http://www.soundclick.com/couleerockinvaders


   
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 Cat
(@cat)
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Yeah...Gnease is quite correct.

For those of you that like studio work...bearing in mind that the HARDEST thing to keep in mind is the spread of sound across the whole freq spectrum...is to mute the strings that way. I'll play identical chordings...panned hard left and hard right...one muted and one shiny. Don't forget to drop the gain on the mute a bit!

Cat

"Feel what you play...play what you feel!"


   
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(@lue42)
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Topic starter  

Any other suggestions for songs? Looking for for rhythmic country/folk type, rather than the heavier distortion palm muted songs.

The Cash song was great!

Thanks

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(@gnease)
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check out Jack Johnson and Dave Matthews. they routinely use muting in their highly rhythmic styles. ska and reggae often go hand-in-hand with muting.

-=tension & release=-


   
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(@kroikey)
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Banana Pancakes by Jack Johnson, its all about his technique. Check out my poor mans version, before or after checking it out for real!
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=903342


   
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