String muting

Hey folks,

I'm a new learner currently going through Guitar Fundamentals 1 (and fumbling around with Rocksmith on the PS4). Until a few days ago I was pretty sure learning to play the guitar was going to be a walk in the park, I was breezing through the lessons, getting the times and notes right and feeling very confident.

Then I bumped into the "Tame your melody tone" lesson... And realized that there is a whole new layer of finesse I was not considering. As usual I made the capital mistake of researching the topic further and now I feel a bit overwhelmed with all the techniques people use to mute the strings that are not being used.

My question for you is at what point a beginner should be proficient with string muting? Is this something I should try to enforce now even if it slows me down to almost a halt? Or should I get more confident with the guitar first and then try to be more conscious of my string control? Or maybe a balance between the two?

Would appreciate if other learners could share their experiences.

Hey & welcome to GT! Glad you are working through GF1. It's the best place to start!

Originally Posted by: RickZ72

Then I bumped into the "Tame your melody tone" lesson... And realized that there is a whole new layer of finesse I was not considering. As usual I made the capital mistake of researching the topic further and now I feel a bit overwhelmed with all the techniques people use to mute the strings that are not being used.[/quote][p]It's easy to get overwhelmed! Consider that when you first start playing guitar we just want to you get some music happening. Just play some simple chords & single note melodies!

We all have to start somewhere. And you can worry about refining your technique later. You'll see this process over & again in guitar learning. You learn something, you start to work on it, then you learn there is another layer so you refine it.

Originally Posted by: RickZ72

My question for you is at what point a beginner should be proficient with string muting?

[p]After you've worked on it for a while. Don't expect to get it right immediately. Gradually incorporate into your practicing.

[quote=RickZ72]Is this something I should try to enforce now even if it slows me down to almost a halt? Or should I get more confident with the guitar first and then try to be more conscious of my string control? Or maybe a balance between the two?

Great questions!

A balance is best. Once you've got the basic technique down on a lesson then you can add muting. Any technique, chord or melody that you've already mastered is ready to add muting.

But if you are struggling with any given technique, then just work on getting the notes to happen before adding another layer of complexity.

If you keep working on it, you learn to incorporate muting more automatically so it becomes second nature & integrated into your overall playing technique. But it takes time, so be patient with yourself.

I have a tutorial that covers muting in detail. The first couple of lessons might give you some tips on muting for beginners. The later lessons on intermediate & advanced levels will give you an idea of what you are aiming for.

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=2281

Hope that helps! Best of success with your guitar!

Thank you Christopher, that was very helpful.

Also thanks for the link to the tutorial, just watched the Introduction and can't wait to watch the videos for the rest of the lesson tonight!

Originally Posted by: RickZ72

Also thanks for the link to the tutorial, just watched the Introduction and can't wait to watch the videos for the rest of the lesson tonight!

You're welcome! Please ask more if necessary & best of success with your guitar learning.

I think you slightly overcomplicate string muting. It's very easy and you can start doing it at any point, even if you are a complete beginner.

You can mute strings either with your right or left hand. Doing it with the right hand (playing hand) is called palm muting, since you are using your palm to mute all the unnecessary strings.

Something that is mentioned not so often is muting with your fretting hand. This also often is necessary to do.

Sometimes I use my thumb to mute 6th or 5th string, for example when playing A or D chords.

Other than that you can mute a string by plucking it with your index finger. This is particularly useful when playing solos.

There is no specific point when you should or shouldn't start using string muting. It's just a technique that allows you add cleanness to your playing and thus make you a better guitar player overall.

I highly suggest you to check out the guide, where I mention all the basics that beginner guitar players should get familiar with.[br][br]https://beginnerguitar.pro/how-to-improvise-on-guitar-guide[br][br]If you have any questions - let me know.

Hey Alan,

thanks for the link! Lots of good information there, haven't been able to go through all of it yet, but it's bookmarked to keep reading during my practice/learning time tomorrow.

I agree with you, I feel a lot better about string muting now than I was feeling a few days ago, it's still a bit of a challenge and I'm not as "fast" when I try to mute unused strings, but after watching Christopher's beginner videos I can play around with it and even when doing "spider legs" I try to apply those principles, I've found myself doing it without noticing a couple of times while practicing last night.

Thanks again guys for the help!