The studio is shaping up nicely! This is amazing advice, Rob. Muting is underrated and so many players don’t do it. Muting techniques should be taught early on while a player is a beginner as opposed to waiting until a player is in the intermediary space. There’s no reason it can’t start in the first few lessons - like showing players to mute unused open strings when learning cowboy chords. As soon as I learned different ways to use my left and right hand to mute strings early on in my playing journey, it really made me sound SO much better. Part of what helped me really understand that early on as a beginner is because I learned to play rock and metal on an acoustic guitar - and it’s tough to hide sympathetically resonating strings on an acoustic where you’ll hear every little detail vibrating that soundboard (sometimes resonating strings are better hidden on electric guitar if the noise isn’t getting picked up too loudly, depending on the effects being used, etc). Nobody really told me to do it. I started by naturally using my fretting hand to pump the fretted strings, and then I realized I had to find a way to mute open strings at times - so I experimented to find ways of achieving that with different hand positions. I realized palm muting was also a thing, mostly because I was using my ears and tried replicating the sounds I was hearing in my favorite songs. When I started doing more intermediary lessons, I was shocked to discover I was already muting strings well before the lessons in various learning platforms even got to that concept. It also helped that I learned to play a variety of genres early on. Hard Rock, 90’s/‘00 Punk, and various types of metal are my faves, but I love playing singer-songwriter tunes, Golden Oldies, classical, etc. Being a well-rounded player is a huge asset because, like you said, you can borrow techniques from one genre that might rarely be used in another one that’ll make you sound more pro and/or more unique. I’m mostly a rhythm player, which really makes it even more important to know how to silence unused strings. You don’t want all kinds of added noise in the rhythm section because it’ll just make the tune sound muddy and sloppy. I’m trying to expand on lead techniques these days. I’m really not much of a lead player because my fretting hand and arm have some trouble moving as fast as is often required with my disabilities. However, I am getting better with time and find that my rhythm skills are very helpful to watching my timing, and keeping the melodic parts flowing since I’m already really good at muting strings. Great video, Rob!
Thank you for an absolutely brilliant teaching video! I have been playing guitar for 30 years and wish I had learned this a long time ago. I usually only mute with the edge of my palm but this technique is totally transforming. And the legato trick with it. PURE GOLD !
My last guitar teacher was insanely meticulous and was brilliant at pointing out minor mistakes without seeming like an asshole. When I watch videos from before and after being taught by him my playing is so much cleaner and it’s because he made me do this. Great video as always Rob!
Rob you are a beast, but you know that already. Something you don't know is that your an inspiration to a guy in charleston SC in the US. I'm glad to have found you on Andertons.
I think I do this or even use the resonance of my acoustic to my advantage and on the electric it's the opposite but if you can also mute on acoustic I can see the advantage of that which I do some for the funk.
Then explain why Marty Friedman and Van Halen play without muting the strings and still have no unwanted resonance ? Great video from Troy Grady : No Palm Muting? No Problem! Noise Control Secrets of the Flexed Form
nice advice. wanted to check out your stunning guitar but the link does not work. thomann says: The product Chapman Guitars ML3 Pro Traditional CAM is regretfully no longer available. i also couldnt find it at chapman guitars. what kind of axe is it? thanks.
This is something every player has to learn. I learned it when I started jamming with people years ago and playing loud. Playing through a loud amplifier will accentuate that unwanted noise, making you have to learn how to stop it from happening. I do a lot of muting with my left hand actually. It helps with confidence too as you know you could strum all the strings on single notes as hard as you want and only the notes you want will resonate. SRV did a lot of this. Great video!
Thought provoking. Very good lesson. Should be standard for everyone. Can l just also say. That guitar is absolutely beautiful. The fret board is incredible, check out the length of it. I will try this out on acoustic, l feel it will just have the same effect if not better.
Great lesson Rob! I've been doing this since 90s and only use a string dampener when recording a track with "tapping" so I do this pretty much same thing with right hand muting technique with staccato. Works outstanding for economy micro sweeps as well.
Like the videos and the tips aren't bad, but like most things that advertise as a life hack it's 95% common sense, to the point where I have always muted unnecessary strings naturally because it sounds better.... Unless I'm playing something punk or grunge where the chaotic overtones are intentional.
Thank you Rob, I’m going to apply the technique to the Bb major scale, I always wondered how you move so fast. Yeah I can hear the difference, amazing! I’m guessing it’s uneconomical for some movement patterns? I’m finding the thumb difficult, I’m sure I’ll get there. Thanks again Rob!
A distinction here is that there is no one "right" way to mute/control your string, but that you do need to do it! I handle this with combos of palm and left hand fingers, with right fingers rarely getting involved. Those of us old enough to have learned to play in front of screaming full stacks just figured it out intuitively. I never realized how powerful this was when I was doing it. Just wanted to play cleaner, and it's been natural ever since.
I read in a guitar magazine many years ago about the technique of "string damping". I think it may have been Willie Nelson talking/teaching to use the extra right-hand fingers to silence unused strings. I somehow drifted into using my left hand to fret notes & silence strings at the same time. Your explanation makes this easier to do!
If I'm playing a single note and holding it, I use my picking hand to mute any strings above the note and the fretting hand to mute any strings below. Easy and works great.
This is awesome! Without realizing it, I had started “making the hole” a little while back when I started gigging my Quad cortex; something about it just clicked in…but now I can’t wait to pick up my guitar and start applying it to legato technique. Brilliant!
I've been working on string muting for months now without seeing significant improvement, using the more common combination of right hand palm and left hand index finger. Seeing this different technique gives me hope, definitely have to try it. Thanks a lot for sharing!
Hey Rob, hope all is well, I miss the day's of you at Anderton's, anyways great video I'm always getting inspired by you thanks for all the lessons & tips, I'm the guy that spoke to Lee about the bugera amps 😊
I treated myself to an expensive guitar for my 40th birthday and I hated it at first because it was so noisy. It took me an embarrassingly long time to realise it was just my shit playing and the strings needed better muting because the whole thing resonates wonderfully.
I'm just a big, dumb, knuckle-dragging guy playing chuggy power chords. But now I feel inspired to expand my horizons and try this technique.
No, stay as you are. Sounds cool.
Me to i also play bass
Big? Dumb? Knuckle dragging guy playing chugging power chords? ...dad? Is that you?
I was decent and fell into this same hole. Now I'm working on my actual skill again. 😂
James Hetfield???? Is this you????? Hahahah
This is amazing content 😮
Thanks, Rob. Lovely, easy bit of technique goodness, there. All the very best!
Thanks Rob great lesson will put this to good practice
Like for new studio set-up video
Time to start putting cash aside for that new shape of chapman guitar. oh yes.
Great video!
You are such a nice guy.
I just ordered Chapman guitar and can't wait to get delivered to me.
Cheers!
Thanks so much man
The studio is shaping up nicely! This is amazing advice, Rob. Muting is underrated and so many players don’t do it. Muting techniques should be taught early on while a player is a beginner as opposed to waiting until a player is in the intermediary space. There’s no reason it can’t start in the first few lessons - like showing players to mute unused open strings when learning cowboy chords. As soon as I learned different ways to use my left and right hand to mute strings early on in my playing journey, it really made me sound SO much better.
Part of what helped me really understand that early on as a beginner is because I learned to play rock and metal on an acoustic guitar - and it’s tough to hide sympathetically resonating strings on an acoustic where you’ll hear every little detail vibrating that soundboard (sometimes resonating strings are better hidden on electric guitar if the noise isn’t getting picked up too loudly, depending on the effects being used, etc). Nobody really told me to do it. I started by naturally using my fretting hand to pump the fretted strings, and then I realized I had to find a way to mute open strings at times - so I experimented to find ways of achieving that with different hand positions. I realized palm muting was also a thing, mostly because I was using my ears and tried replicating the sounds I was hearing in my favorite songs. When I started doing more intermediary lessons, I was shocked to discover I was already muting strings well before the lessons in various learning platforms even got to that concept.
It also helped that I learned to play a variety of genres early on. Hard Rock, 90’s/‘00 Punk, and various types of metal are my faves, but I love playing singer-songwriter tunes, Golden Oldies, classical, etc. Being a well-rounded player is a huge asset because, like you said, you can borrow techniques from one genre that might rarely be used in another one that’ll make you sound more pro and/or more unique.
I’m mostly a rhythm player, which really makes it even more important to know how to silence unused strings. You don’t want all kinds of added noise in the rhythm section because it’ll just make the tune sound muddy and sloppy. I’m trying to expand on lead techniques these days. I’m really not much of a lead player because my fretting hand and arm have some trouble moving as fast as is often required with my disabilities. However, I am getting better with time and find that my rhythm skills are very helpful to watching my timing, and keeping the melodic parts flowing since I’m already really good at muting strings.
Great video, Rob!
Thank you for this. You have no idea how much these help me pick back up this journey of my guitar playing.
Wow this was really a great lessons.
Im going to try this because i find legato very hard to play clean and especially when changing strings
Guitar looks sick! Hoping there is a 25.5 scale tune-o-matic in your 2024 line-up.
And a lefty please
Thank you for an absolutely brilliant teaching video! I have been playing guitar for 30 years and wish I had learned this a long time ago. I usually only mute with the edge of my palm but this technique is totally transforming. And the legato trick with it. PURE GOLD !
I thought for a second you were saying Liberty by Steve Vai was Joe's Top Gun lol. Good advice Rob. Haven't seen you post in a while
What is that guitar!? I already have 3 Chapmans, I think I can see a 4th one being added :o
Wow….guess what I’ll be doing tomorrow…….brilliant, thanks for sharing…do enjoy your videos Rob…thanks for sharing
Learning to mute will be handy when learning to play slide guitar... Dobro, Hawaiian, steel or using a bottle neck on your guitar.
Hi Rob, I do this for long note with vibrato and feedback.
My last guitar teacher was insanely meticulous and was brilliant at pointing out minor mistakes without seeming like an asshole. When I watch videos from before and after being taught by him my playing is so much cleaner and it’s because he made me do this. Great video as always Rob!
I love it when you do these masterclass videos. Thanks!
That body type is pretty cool. Kinda Iceman'ish.
Rob you are a beast, but you know that already. Something you don't know is that your an inspiration to a guy in charleston SC in the US. I'm glad to have found you on Andertons.
I too am from Charleston, SC but no longer living there.
I think I do this or even use the resonance of my acoustic to my advantage and on the electric it's the opposite but if you can also mute on acoustic I can see the advantage of that which I do some for the funk.
Chappers, that guitar is bloody gorgeous! The paint job is *chefs kiss*
What model is it?
Thanks, Dave, this is a Chapman Guardian
Thanks for continuing putting out these learning videos, Rob. You're a great teacher.
Great teaching video
This guitar looks and sounds great Monkey Lord! :=)
Merci beaucoup pour ce secret je vais essayer de le mettre en pratique
Open D string with takes on a life of its own for me.
This is excellent, Rob! Thanks for sharing this secret technique 👍🏻 Btw, is that a new Chapman guitar? 🤔 I will check it out 😊
Great lesson Rob! So easy to oversee this simple(takes some practice though) but vital technique.
Thank you Chappers. Gonna use this technique for the next few practice sessions.
You're a great teacher 🎉
LOVE the nod to 'Liberty' 😀
That’s where a lot of this technique really started for me, in trying to mimic the playing of Steve Vai
Cool technique Chappers… I’ll give it a go…CHEERS
Great tip Rob. Cheers mate...
Thanks Rob, much appreciated!
This muting method is crucial in Dobro playing.
Well duh!
Then explain why Marty Friedman and Van Halen play without muting the strings and still have no unwanted resonance ?
Great video from Troy Grady : No Palm Muting? No Problem! Noise Control Secrets of the Flexed Form
I love your built-in inane qualities Rob.
They’re innate.
The hallmark of great players.
✌ 👽 🎸
nice advice. wanted to check out your stunning guitar but the link does not work. thomann says: The product Chapman Guitars ML3 Pro Traditional CAM is regretfully no longer available. i also couldnt find it at chapman guitars. what kind of axe is it? thanks.
The extraneous noise solution. My legato is now as great as Alan Holdsworth’s. Thanks.
I'm mid drinking , so you earned my subscription. Please keep up the content to guitar enlightening Thank you Mr Mullet Outfit 🍻
Joking / not joking:
Why would you play the Top Gun Anthem in anything other than C? Bb is Borderline Sinful lol.
This is something every player has to learn. I learned it when I started jamming with people years ago and playing loud. Playing through a loud amplifier will accentuate that unwanted noise, making you have to learn how to stop it from happening. I do a lot of muting with my left hand actually. It helps with confidence too as you know you could strum all the strings on single notes as hard as you want and only the notes you want will resonate. SRV did a lot of this. Great video!
Good stuff but you should mention this is beginner-ish level stuff up front. Either way, you got my view, and helpful content, so keep it up! \m/
Thought provoking. Very good lesson. Should be standard for everyone. Can l just also say. That guitar is absolutely beautiful. The fret board is incredible, check out the length of it. I will try this out on acoustic, l feel it will just have the same effect if not better.
Great lesson Rob! I've been doing this since 90s and only use a string dampener when recording a track with "tapping" so I do this pretty much same thing with right hand muting technique with staccato. Works outstanding for economy micro sweeps as well.
Like the videos and the tips aren't bad, but like most things that advertise as a life hack it's 95% common sense, to the point where I have always muted unnecessary strings naturally because it sounds better.... Unless I'm playing something punk or grunge where the chaotic overtones are intentional.
A full day and no comment about the tasty Top Gun riffage? tsk, tsk.
God bless you and your family teacher Rob!
Wow! This awesome!
What guitar is that? Yes I know it’s a chapman, but haven’t seen that one before?
Been learning from you since the old days when you were a monkey lord with love for dinosaurs..good days man❤
Thanks! Very helpful.
Have i been doing this and not realizing? Might have check lol
Grand master he say the most important bit is the bit you don't play...
I muted strings like this for years while I was learning guitar and thought I was cheating the whole time lol
Thank you, Rob. Always up for a tour of a new space.👍
I have a shecter onen 6 and a hb progressive series 8 string, non fan fret. I dunno where they sit on a tier list but they play well. 😂
Thanks for the advice Rob!
If i had to mute all the crap playing i would be silent!
I've seen this position of the right hand many times but it was hard to say why they were doing it. Thanks!
How donyounhold the guitar that low and still have good stretch
Egad, this is gonna take a LOT of practice.
Awesome Rob, way too advanced for me but good to know
Three words...Jared James Nichols
Wow great lesson, thank you.
This is SO good
What version Chapman guitar is that?
How hard is this technique to master?
Yes.....that's what we do
I think the country guys got that from Hendrix
Everything came from Hendrix
The south like many areas, it was a back and forth of exchange constantly.
4:58 - WARNING - SPICY ALERT. 🔥
amazing looking guitar Rob
Im having an "A-ha" moment
Thanks for sharing
Thank you Rob, I’m going to apply the technique to the Bb major scale, I always wondered how you move so fast. Yeah I can hear the difference, amazing! I’m guessing it’s uneconomical for some movement patterns? I’m finding the thumb difficult, I’m sure I’ll get there. Thanks again Rob!
Thanks! My playing is a symphony of unwanted crap.
😂
Nice nod to Mr Vai sir.
Rob, I'm an advanced player, but will attempt to employ your technique to clean things up, especially the faster passages.
more top gun please.
What guitar is that? I’m pretty sure it’s a Chapman but what model? I couldn’t find any like it online.
It’s the new Guardian
*innate
Great tip, sensei.
I’ll take Things I Learned 40 years ago. 😂
Muting has always been part of my guitar playing technique.
Awesome tips Rob! I’m gonna have a crack at this technique for sure! Love the legato stuff as well.! Thx for sharing!!🍻
Thank you! Huge help. Love your playing. It inspires me to practice more.
Alright Rob. Super content as always. Was the first melody a bit more Liberty than Top Gun? Love ya.
A distinction here is that there is no one "right" way to mute/control your string, but that you do need to do it! I handle this with combos of palm and left hand fingers, with right fingers rarely getting involved. Those of us old enough to have learned to play in front of screaming full stacks just figured it out intuitively. I never realized how powerful this was when I was doing it. Just wanted to play cleaner, and it's been natural ever since.
The beast ring 😅
That's awesome rob. Being self taught, these are the golden nuggets to getting better... So basically being taught not self taught 😂
Thanks again rob for awesum tech lesson, i shall go away and practice. 🤗
I read in a guitar magazine many years ago about the technique of "string damping". I think it may have been Willie Nelson talking/teaching to use the extra right-hand fingers to silence unused strings. I somehow drifted into using my left hand to fret notes & silence strings at the same time. Your explanation makes this easier to do!
If I'm playing a single note and holding it, I use my picking hand to mute any strings above the note and the fretting hand to mute any strings below. Easy and works great.
This is awesome! Without realizing it, I had started “making the hole” a little while back when I started gigging my Quad cortex; something about it just clicked in…but now I can’t wait to pick up my guitar and start applying it to legato technique. Brilliant!
I recently bought an used Chapman ML3 pro traditional and i absolutely love it. Will be fun to try to learn these tricks on it :D
I've been working on string muting for months now without seeing significant improvement, using the more common combination of right hand palm and left hand index finger. Seeing this different technique gives me hope, definitely have to try it. Thanks a lot for sharing!
Hey Rob, hope all is well, I miss the day's of you at Anderton's, anyways great video I'm always getting inspired by you thanks for all the lessons & tips, I'm the guy that spoke to Lee about the bugera amps 😊
Solid tip. Thanks for the video. I think I’ve been striving for this without realizing it
I treated myself to an expensive guitar for my 40th birthday and I hated it at first because it was so noisy. It took me an embarrassingly long time to realise it was just my shit playing and the strings needed better muting because the whole thing resonates wonderfully.