Electric or Acoustic guitar lesson on killing string noise

[aridahl]

this is not only important for lead guitar but also for rhythm guitar, especially in fast chord transitions with high gain.

[ky93le]

how does this work for sweep picking im struggling with this trying to get speed without unwanted noise occurring, please any advice would be grateful \m/

[6MasterYoda]

do you lay your had somewhare on the guitar exept the bridge.

[TheDUDE101GOOD]

tyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy­yyyyyyyyyyy

[MegaJjfunk]

five ppl will never learn guitar

[cloudkill94]

Thanks so much for this lesson! Muting strings has been a huge problem for me, and until now I couldn't find a good video on this. Thanks so much!

[meisamzizo]

You're the BEST teacher ever!!! I love your way of teaching and I love to see the smile on your face! I owe you a lot! Because I've learned you a lot!!! Rock On Good Teacher!

[TheDUDE101GOOD]

dude thanks i always played notes as if theyre werr chords without realizing it causing string noise

[dLoLe]

Juts practice... these things come naturally... 

[6stringzstrummin]

thank u soooo..... much!!!! i needed this lesson!!!! this is a very important lesson often overlooked. rock on good people!!!!

[rololoo]

This helped me. Thank you

[MusicToMyEars36]

i understand the technique but sumtimes when im muting the low e and d string so im playing the a and g only i get harmonics comg from the low e string and i cant mute the low e with my thumb because i haven't got the biggest hands of all

[shaunjustin13]

he's been a big help. you are so great dude! little things for big things.

[TheShorty0ne]

You're my savior, i've been doing this for a month and asking me if it could be the correct way to play...you put and end to a year full of doubts and frustrating noise hahaha...i would like to ask you where you put your hand when your playing on the 6th string, cause i rest the hand over the strings all the time and when i rise to the 6th i have a surface to rest so it feels so weird to keep it on air.

Thanks you a lot and greetings from Spain, you rock ;)

[paul113757]

Thank you very much for a great lesson, after only 30 minutes of practice I can now play at 4 x the volume clean, keep them lessons coming man and thanks again,,,,Paul.

[gunsnrosescovers]

Very Cool

[Tre00005]

Stop calling your struming hand your fretting hand. I cringe everytime you say it.

[MatsEP]

I use my right hand thumb instead of the palm to mute lower strings. When I bend, that makes me 100% sure that I'm not muting the string I'm bending, and also sure that the strings I "bend into" are muted.

Is this OK or will it become a handicap down the way?

[SalokinX]

I don't get it. If I rest my hand ON the string, it will mute ALL of them, not only the ones I'm not playing...

[thunderfart31]

thx this really helped me

[ApolloBSIV]

You da best.

[gnrcr]

I bow at your teachings.

[mortu777]

Thanks a fing lot,I ve been playing for about 1 year and I always thought that it was something wrong with my pickups or that my distorsion was to high.

[ExhaustedPenguin]

...and that is critical, mkay...

[spawnsc]

perfect thanks a ton

[dutypaidrock]

Hi,

Really interesting video, especially what you say about the picking hand being almost parallel with the fretboard. I play in exactly the same position (anything else is physically uncomfortable; I'm tall with long arms).

HOWEVER... I've been told this is wrong and the cause of the string noise I experience (especially with sweep picking). You play very cleanly, so what would you say is the crucial thing to think about for those of us with similar right hand positions?

[1954telecaster]

this guy looks pretty queer but hes absolutely right about

[TheDarkDominatoR]

Whenever I play on high gain settings it's really sensitive, when I slide my hand across the strings or just barely touch them it makes a really loud noise, almost as loud as my actual playing. Don't know if its my pickups/amp or just my bad technique but it's really annoying.

[pufixas]

nice guitar man...

[Darfaultner]

Thanks Zoolander.

[donnickos]

is 16 to late to start playing the guitar?

[HImynameis303]

@donnickos not even i started at 19 :)

[xxCAGExx]

@donnickos lol not at all dude.. istarted at 18..go for it

[95AnnieAnnie95]

@donnickos no. do it!

[utuberscansuckmybalz]

@donnickos ya man, ur ship sailed years ago bruv, lol. Nah, man its not 2 late. I began at 18 thinkin the same thing. Ofcourse i took it up jus 2 impress my girlfriend, which she was, but still cheated on me with a guy who plays bass. After that i realized how much i really enjoyed it. U should b fine

[donnickos]

@utuberscansuckmybalz  ouch that sucks for you :( but thank you very much, now i got some hope , i'm gonna follow lessons at the beginning of the next month. :')

cya!

[dbwtfst0tsdb]

@donnickos NO, its a wonderfull hobby, or whatever you want it to be, just know that its NEVER too late, IM 14 and I myself was thinking if i had started to late but nah, i just do it for fun,

[BornNonconformist]

Good stuff m8! Its not easy to master but definitely a recommended practice as string noise - especially on highly resonant guitars - can be a real nuisance.

[TheAwkwardBanana]

Same Guitar as me! (:

[AutodromoF1]

Why isn't Zakk Wylde getting any unwanted string noise in this video? He's not string muting at all. Noise gate? watch?v=rYMupc564zE

[iambeyondfake]

@AutodromoF1 Hes using his first finger by the look of it to mute unwanted noise

[SupairDup]

Ok I may sound stupid for asking this but how much of this can be solved with a noise gate or is this referring more strictly to accidentally played notes and not humming or soft string noise?

[manfredicomposer]

very helpful. Thanks

[MetalPhoenix13]

distortion is a double edged sword

[danielg2120]

Great lesson, I have been playing for 2 years but rarely hear anyone discussing string muting. Suprising, since it is obviously so important.

[ifckmepudding]

I'm curious, how do you mute strings when you are doing two-hand tapping/pick tapping? Because when I'm tapping on one string, such as the tapping in Eruption in Van Halen, I get unwanted string noise from the open strings.

[davethedm]

This and in-key bends are probably the biggest factors that separate a good guitarist from a great guitarist

[BigRed4231]

I`ve been playing for many years and somehow i have overlooked this teqhnique, it's essensial to get a nice tone, its a shame not more instructional books cover these, cus now i got problem with playing fast licks wish i could do with my b4.

[aiswat]

should I buy an acoustic or electric

[mkrulz77]

acoustic definitely

[mistasopz]

I've been muting the lower strings with the fat part of my thumb on my picking hand instead of the side of my palm that is connected to my pinky like you do. It seems to work for me but is there any reason in particular I should change my technique to try to mimic the one that you're doing? Can anyone help me?

[FarazR2]

This technique is quite a problem when trying to play open chords, since I'm so used to it after a year and a half of playing this way.

[jorgefg666]

that doesnt work so well because if you put a finger in an haarmonic it will make noise

[SBassman]

if you are managing to do that unintentionally your picking technique is severely wrong

[jorgefg666]

@SBassman no, that can happen if you know well guitars

[Tatyhlymah]

excelent teacher

[cbpk1996]

best -teacher-ever =D

[cooliscathy]

THA NK YOU! I've always been told to mute with my thumb and the tip of my fingers, put this is like a million times better! But what I don't get is like, if I wanted to only play the B and the D string, how would you go about muting the G string? It always sounds brassy when I try :P

[kretobojca]

This is what EVERYONE must know, before playing harder songs (i mean kind of metal, solos etc.)

[confezz]

thanxabunch! little things like these really makes a world of difference! =D

[ajkiller1]

Thank you so much Dave, you are my guitar idol! :D No more cheap tricks for string muting (hair bands), very well taught!

[ajkiller1]

Oh, also wanted to ask, you would use this in all styles of guitar i would think right? Even like fast legato shredding? :D

[thespleenfiend]

@ajkiller1 Hair bands FTW.

[ajkiller1]

Do you mean Guns n Roses or the actual putting a hair band on your guitar? :P

[thespleenfiend]

Hair bands on your guitar lol :D

[Bunplosion]

Where does the picking hand go when trying to pick the low e since it cant rest on any strings?

[aalexcp]

in the air

[Artur440]

Muting doesn't help me enough, i cant understand how to mute even really small noise, for example when i go from B string to E (not open) B string sometimes gets a kind of a sound like when i take my finger OFF of it even when its muted with my palm, is it normal?

[qwerty123123ify]

You dont always need to do the palm mute depends what youre playing. In Classical guitar your taught to keep you hand off the strings and body

[guitarfan84]

Muting is such an important part of technique. thanks for posting this lesson Dave.

[charon89]

thanks. This helps.

[Kadadj]

when i play metal, i get alot of feedback and unwanted harmonics:(

[sagyas]

If I block E A D with palm mute how should I block E B G

[yoitzrichard]

wonderful lesson, stuff like this is often neglected

[sagyas]

Thx, good lesson.

buuut...I have a question:

This Technique of muting noise is like anchoring, but i know that Paul Gilbert does not achor, so how does he kill unwanted sound?

[aalexcp]

anchoring is when your hand is attached to your guitar and you can't move freely. this way of muting is ok if you keep your hand relaxed and can't move your hand from the top e string to the high e string keeping it in the same posiiton.

Paul gilbert does it too. just apply just enough pressure to mute them.

[terrydummitt]

you're a really good teacher Dave...i've seen a few of your lessons on here and they are all very useful and infomative.

[boxingin]

Thanks Dave. As always your lessons rock!

[braulio9511]

ye but not that short than expert village

[rajivmo]

this technique is a bit tough, but really good and well explained

[Solarnawg]

David,

Thanks for the great lesson. I tried to e-mail request just this lesson, but the e-mail bounced.

[JimmyPage1960LesPaul]

I agree it's reall annoying when playing with distortion and effects or whatever you use great thing to know and I also agree with nedvedinho19911 you should know this when you learn sweep picking good lesson >=•)

[Leviskardsen]

The best way to mute at the bridge is to use hybrid picking. It gives you more options in your playing, and it's more precise when it comes to muting.

[Judoking96]

what excactly is hybrib picking. i keep hearing the term but i dont know exactly what it is

[Ozzie9877]

Its playing with a pick and your fingers at the same time its very common in country music

[BubbaFart]

Unwanted noise is....unwanted! lol Great lesson.

[roninwakizashi]

john madden here...now when a guitarist plays a note he doesnt want to play....thats unwanted noise....Bret Favre

[BubbaFart]

I like that comic who impersonates John Madden (can't recall his name), but he goes, "Bret Favre is the Bret Favre of Bret Favre!" lol

[EnveBeats]

Ive tried this with the Hotel California Solo and its REALLY TOUGH<< Ive gotten used 2 having my Pinky rest against the bridge pickup and am not used to have my hand laying flat,,this is a really tough transition to go through<<

[gbvb79]

great lesson, thanks

[bwalker1011]

Great lesson - one of the most annoying things about learning guitar is the ancillary noises that come from the guitar that I don't want. With high gain there seems to be alot more.

[anastu]

Great lesson as always!

[marioaran]

Hmm. I've always done this automatically.

[chriscoooley]

me too

[WelshJesus]

Awesome lesson! I always had problems muting the lower stings.

[Andybaby]

Excellent camera angle. Wish I could watch Malmsteen from that angle!

Btw how does Micheal Angelo Batio mute with his 'raised right hand' picking technique?

[hollycan]

Just watch Stevie Ray Vaughn. His hands are all over the fretboard and bridge area muting what he wants.

[Driggas]

Wow, if you can sweep pick, put this lesson into practice when you play it...makes a HUGE differance...thanks

[nedvedinho19911]

if you already using sweep, you obviously should to know muting earlier :P

[mcasuse]

wut is the best way to reduce pick noise?? I learned this intuitively as i started to progress with guitar. is there a tutorial on how to reduce pick noice when recording. thanx

[ShadoPoig]

Thank you SO MUCH for this, it's been frustrating me since I began playing guitar a year ago, especially when bending.

Not to sound mean, but I got annoyed when a guy I know who doesn't know half the guitar techniques or practice I know or have had much better tone than I do.

Now I can hopefully get going much further in mah geetar journey :D

[msuman91]

i learned this on my own ha ha thats cool....

[500passwords]

dave for president

[StopTheMoti0n]

you guys should do more etiquette and technique videos like this

[1MProductions]

Thank you very much David, you saved my life with this!

:D

[gunsnroses0987]

...but when ur muting with ur index finger for ur left hand, what if u accidentally make a harmonic

[SanctumZero]

Then you're awesome

[mikeyFear0n]

if possible use more fingers, or slightly touch the string with a finger fretting a note on the string below. also you can use your hand, it takes time but you develop it naturally.

[samn49]

It sound insane!!

[ReekoBlog]

You have to do palm muting! so the harmonic don't sound

[StopTheMoti0n]

p.m. is something different, that's when you mute [slightly] the notes you are PLAYING, while here you are muting the notes you DON'T want to play

[jamboy711]

Then your not muting strong enough, you gotta put some force onto it unlike with a harmonic

[Gunzprobish]

After playing for awhile, I have not really payed attention to this, in given time i think it will become natural for players to do this and not really think about it.

[fredramsey]

Very good explanation. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to do it, but a very good explanation :-)

[pepeledog]

I hate to admit this but I did not know that. Thanks!

[theguitaristofchoice]

David,

Thanks a lot man! I've only been playing guitar for a little bit over a year and have been experiencing this problem every so often. Thank you for finally showing me the answer on how to get rid of the unwanted string noise.

Cheers Gary

[rockongoodpeople]

Cool Gary - so glad that we can help - keep on rocking and thanks for your kind words - rock oN!

David T

[SirCassidismal]

@theguitaristofchoice couldnt agree more i feel exactly how your comment says you did and god all the wrong videos i went through to find something like this thannnnk you gary!

-Cassidy

[Sick1982]

wow, you're the first one that explained this really well! Most books/lessons don't even mention this! This really helps a LOT, great lesson!

[seekah1]

Yeah, hopefully the distortion video (and sweeps) to follow, just to show it in a more extreme setting. Hes right though, this critical technique is often left out of beginner material. I just naturally learnt it myself as I went along. One of the best teachers happening on YT

[dmsanct]

this video is not really useful if ure not using a noisy distor

[CharlesRoss2007]

actually to dmsanct this technique is very usefull even if you aren't using distortion because if you are blocking the notes you aren't hitting you can be a lot more free with your picking(you can basically strum the whole set of strings and only hit what you want too). Good for putting on a show, moving around all over the place, using huge pick strokes for a visual effect.

[Jimmywitguitar]

yes i totally understand what you mean. The guitar player in The red hot chilli peppers does this so well, and it looks so cool.

[NERDZKANDY]

you look like a gangster today lol!

[eastlakelax2]

this is really hard for sweep picking :P. it'll sound sooo gewd once i get it down though =l?:-)

[dvon21]

If you are sweeping now and don't know this than you must have skipped alot of technique :S because this is basic, you shouldn't be learning the more advanced stuff before you've mastered the basics or the result is usually a sloppy player who knows bit and pieces of songs.

[xtort1220]

Great video, your lessons are fantastic

[Blink41Sum182]

really good quality video, liked the other angle

[sakowihe75]

in my opinion, he shouldve cranked up the distorion to really show its effectiveness

[AndeDK]

Seriously i love every lesson from david, even if its stuff i allready know - just so nice experienced player telling us how to play, thats so awesome!

[TKN7]

do a lesson about metal

[nocneil12345]

yeahh pls do one :D

[FreddySeeFreddyDo]

Yeah, show us how to do this muting tecnique with some heavy distortion!

Would help me a lot! (having some heavy problems with this... -.-)

[corney93]

I like your cap :)

Are you wearing it in every video?

[ibanez1357]

It's a standard MIM strat from the late 90's, there's a video where he explains what it is.

[UnknownGuitarGod]

Great job once again.

[mannnymanny]

this really is great and you guys are great.

here is somthing syn gates does from a7x

if you are ever recording a solo put a rag over the first fret to damp the strings so they dont ring. oviusly this wont work if the solo has an open note in it.

once again great job dave you guys are awsome!!

[fenderstrat90]

I like his stratocaster! Does anybody know which model it is?

[bradg4]

Probably Fender American Standard Sunburst

[dabom222451]

i dunno it looks like there is writing under fender s it might be a mexican

[Peteworth]

Its a MIM, I have the exact same one

[Over1ord101]

Thank you SO much for this David. Damn, I've experienced this so much as of lately. Been trying to learn faster songs and you really notice this additional sound of other strings when playing these songs. Now I have something to practice and get down. This will help me. Thanks again man!

[marcusmarkmus]

when i try this, the index finger of the left hand makes natural harmonics instead of muting =P

[brucepcampbell]

Duuuude. Keep rockin'

[fullofblood]

Did you drink all your milk today?Noooo!!That's why you got so many thumbs down!