Electric guitar + pick players: do you use right-hand muting?

[telejw]

I've been playing my Telecaster a lot more lately with just a little bit of gain. And I've also been enjoying playing in the middle- and bridge-pickup positions.

All these factors make me much more conscious of right hand muting. I'm not ham-fisting it, but just lightly keeping my right hand's meaty palm side brushing against the strings, which keeps other open strings from adding too many overtones. It's something I was much less aware of in the neck position.

Of course metal and heavy rock players mute all the time. On the other hand, a lot of flat-picking acoustic players free-float their right hand and don't mute at all. But I'm curious how many jazz players here are right-hand muting (at least lightly)?

[AllanAllen]

Yes, I mute with both hands as necessary.

[GuyBoden]

I don't mute at all, but I've used a string damper at times.

[charleyrich99]

I mute with both hands.

[CliffR]

I mute the lower strings with the side of my right hand thumb, which has the nice side effect of giving a very shallow picking depth, making string crossing easier. I mute the higher strings with my left hand first finger.

[pingu]

right hand muting
yes

[Christian Miller]

I have a floating right hand but default but playing distorted forces the issue. Getting used to it….

[James W]

Only ever used palm muting when instructed to by the music I was reading, the only example I can think of is some funk lines/riffs in the style of Nuno Bettencourt from an issue of Guitar Techniques from almost 20 years ago! I practice these for plectrum technique and they still sound cool...

[CliffR]

There’s a distinction to be made between muting the notes you’re actually sounding - a common rock/metal sound - versus muting strings that are intended to be silent - an essential rock/metal technique, and one I prefer even for clean archtop playing.

[docsteve]

I mute with whatever is handy. I like the middle and bridge positions on my Tele, too, but I have an „ashtray“ bridge cover that I rest my right hand on. Therefore I mute a lot with my left hand, or the right hand fingers.


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[BreckerFan]

I mute the lower strings with the side of my right hand thumb, which has the nice side effect of giving a very shallow picking depth, making string crossing easier. I mute the higher strings with my left hand first finger.

Pretty close to this for me. I lightly anchor my right hand where the low E meets the bridge and mute with my palm. I was a djent boi before I really got into jazz, so muting is still pretty ingrained

[James W]

There’s a distinction to be made between muting the notes you’re actually sounding - a common rock/metal sound - versus muting strings that are intended to be silent - an essential rock/metal technique, and one I prefer even for clean archtop playing.

True - and come to think of it, I do mute the (lower) strings intended to be silent with my right hand.

Having watched a few of Adam Rogers' my music masterclass videos, he seems not to do this... at least on the videos where he's using a clean sound.

[telejw]

I wonder how people who use a Benson rh picking style mute — I guess it would all be in the left hand?

Mike Moreno has an unorthodox right hand technique. It does look like he mutes (by which I mean lightly dampens other strings) with his left hand.

[Christian Miller]

True - and come to think of it, I do mute the (lower) strings intended to be silent with my right hand.

Having watched a few of Adam Rogers' my music masterclass videos, he seems not to do this... at least on the videos where he's using a clean sound.

inevitable Marty post

[James W]

inevitable Marty post

He could sound cleaner though?

[Litterick]

I wonder how people who use a Benson rh picking style mute — I guess it would all be in the left hand?

Mike Moreno has an unorthodox right hand technique. It does look like he mutes (by which I mean lightly dampens other strings) with his left hand.

Sheryl Bailey seems to mute strings by telekinesis.

[CliffR]

He could sound cleaner though?

Agreed. He uses his right hand to quickly mute at the end of a phrase, but it doesn’t seem to be muting when he moves from string to string.

This is one of the cleanest high-gain players I’m aware of. He’s using palm muting:

[James W]

This is one of the cleanest high-gain players I’m aware of. He’s using palm muting:

Cheers, Cliff. Off topic, but related to something the guy says in your video, I think I might be in the minority as being someone who finds it easier to play fast three-note-per-string scales with alternate picking rather than economy picking - because, I find, when alternate picking my wrist has a kind of momentum going but this momentum gets interrupted so to speak with economy picking when it's time to change strings...

[pauln]

Both hands, every string not intended to be sounded is damped for all chords, double stops, lines, all tempos, all styles... If I "freeze" my playing and examine I find all the strings I don't want to hear are being touched by either the left or right hand without me thinking about it, no idea how it works, the hands figured it out on their own.

I also very lightly damp just about all I pick on the wound strings for tone, also don't know how the hands learned that... right hand damping is never close to the bridge.

[jzucker]

Yes, muting with the right hand is essential. I cover some of that in this video...

Pat Metheny - Essential string muting technique for jazz guitarists - YouTube

[rpjazzguitar]

In chord melody I do think about damping and include it as part of the arrangement. Mostly, I do it with the left hand, by letting a finger lean on the offending string.

In playing melody I don't think about it much, but I'm probably doing some unconsciously. I'll be aware of it if I'm using open strings. Not the most common thing, but I play a few heads where putting a note on an open string helps me get the thing up to speed. I'm not likely to play open strings in a solo.

In comping, I may use either hand.