The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    I’ve been thinking and working on this for a few months now, ever sinse I upgraded to a Martin D-28. The Martin has so much more natural sustain than my previous guitars. There is just so much more sound that, in the beginng, I was really struggeling with keeping it under control. To be clear, I’m not talking about techniques like palm muting, to give perticular effects. I am simply saying that it is sometimes necessary to actively stop the the sound of a note ringing out. Rock On The Floor Guitar
    Killing a note, of course, can happen automaticly when fretting the next note on the same string, but when the next note falls on a different string, the previous note can continue to ring out muddying the overall sound. It’s this muddiness or lack of it which often seperates the better players.
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    Last edited by sophia97; 09-08-2021 at 04:28 AM.

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    I'm sure different players have found different solutions. It's mostly a subconscious thing. I had to pick up the guitar and play it to find out how I do it. Here is what I seem to be doing:

    If the next note falls on a different string:
    • Previous note was fretted: Then when you lift your finger, it'll be muted. Work on releasing the previous fret as you hit the next note on the other string.
    • Previous note was an open string:
      • Going up: Your fretting finger can mute the ringing string below. As you fret the note on the string above the open string, lightly touch the open string with the lower parts of that finger. The part of the finger of course depends on how large the skip is.
      • Going down: Your picking hand thumb, or the base of the thumb can lightly touch the ringing sting as your picking hand is moving down to attack the next note.

  4. #3

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    On the other hand, for some people it'd be hard not to mute the previous string. Depending on the player's hand size, string spacing of the guitar, picking technique, left hand angle, etc some may find it more challenging to keep the previous strings ringing (which is sometimes needed).

  5. #4

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    I'm assuming you use a plectrum. Most often it's the lower strings that muddy things up. The higher ones aren't that obtrusive, or they can be muted by the lower parts of the fretting fingers, or the three free fingers on the plectrum hand.

    I mute the lower ones with the pad of my thumb, or whatever it may be called. The pad is then also a good point of reference for the picking hand.

    Techniques for dampening the sound of notes-thumb_pad-jpg

  6. #5

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    About 20 years ago I was showing someone new to the guitar some things and they asked how I prevented undesired strings from sounding. It was a peculiar moment for me because I had never given it any thought (I had been playing for about 30 years at that time). I examined carefully what I was doing and discovered that no matter what I played (single note lines, double stops, chords, arpeggios, etc...) I used parts of both hands and fingers to touch and suppress any and all loose strings at all times. This turned out to be a very complex system which was completely invisible to me - I absolutely never gave it a thought, the whole thing being part of what my hands and fingers had learned themselves to do on their own.

    It is complex because it covers every possible thing I could play, including things I have never played before. It is based on a set of mechanical rules that I have never thought about, because they work perfectly. I assume that by listening to everything I play my ears informed my hands of any anomalies, and my fingers developed various methods of satisfying my ears. I have examined a couple of these methods in detail and there is no way I could consciously control them; they are instantaneous and automatic, a built-in part of my fingering and technique. That is to say, I did not teach my hands how to do this, but they learned it themselves... suggesting that this, and many other "micro-techniques", can't be deliberately taught but may be learned if one is patient. I think any conscious attempt to acquire this kind of thing is doomed to failure. As long as you hear the problem, your hands will gradually figure out how to solve the problem. Just keep playing and give them time to resolve it.

  7. #6

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    FWIW, there are devices, similar to hair scrunchies, that one can hang over the strings near the nut to do the job mechanically.

    I was thinking, the ringing doesn't bother me on my Yamaha acoustic nor my classical -- only sometimes on the Fender tele.

    Perhaps it's about how Long the ringing continues. A short while, and it may be a benefit: the next note is likely a scalar increment, and some lingering tone is okay.

    If it rings too long, then you can have some conflict.

  8. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by sophia97
    I’ve been thinking and working on this for a few months now, ever sinse I upgraded to a Martin D-28. The Martin has so much more natural sustain than my previous guitars. There is just so much more sound that, in the beginng, I was really struggeling with keeping it under control. To be clear, I’m not talking about techniques like palm muting, to give perticular effects. I am simply saying that it is sometimes necessary to actively stop the the sound of a note ringing out.
    Killing a note, of course, can happen automaticly when fretting the next note on the same string, but when the next note falls on a different string, the previous note can continue to ring out muddying the overall sound. It’s this muddiness or lack of it which often seperates the better players.

  9. #8

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    Ignore the cornball title of this video. Good stuff:


  10. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by pauln
    About 20 years ago I was showing someone new to the guitar some things and they asked how I prevented undesired strings from sounding. It was a peculiar moment for me because I had never given it any thought (I had been playing for about 30 years at that time). I examined carefully what I was doing and discovered that no matter what I played (single note lines, double stops, chords, arpeggios, etc...) I used parts of both hands and fingers to touch and suppress any and all loose strings at all times. This turned out to be a very complex system which was completely invisible to me - I absolutely never gave it a thought, the whole thing being part of what my hands and fingers had learned themselves to do on their own.

    It is complex because it covers every possible thing I could play, including things I have never played before. It is based on a set of mechanical rules that I have never thought about, because they work perfectly. I assume that by listening to everything I play my ears informed my hands of any anomalies, and my fingers developed various methods of satisfying my ears. I have examined a couple of these methods in detail and there is no way I could consciously control them; they are instantaneous and automatic, a built-in part of my fingering and technique. That is to say, I did not teach my hands how to do this, but they learned it themselves... suggesting that this, and many other "micro-techniques", can't be deliberately taught but may be learned if one is patient. I think any conscious attempt to acquire this kind of thing is doomed to failure. As long as you hear the problem, your hands will gradually figure out how to solve the problem. Just keep playing and give them time to resolve it.
    I think that's exactly right. For me, though, the subconcious system can fail, most obviously in solo passages. Then, I sometimes have to think about exactly how to do the necessary muting. I once read a lengthy analysis of a few bars of classical guitar much of which was focused on granular details of muting.

  11. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by JazzinNY
    FWIW, there are devices, similar to hair scrunchies, that one can hang over the strings near the nut to do the job mechanically.
    They are hair scrunchies. Fools buy them, packaged as guitar equipment, for twenty dollars or more. The wise ask their sisters.