Palm Muting Guitar - Right Hand Exercises For Better Technique
Guitar right hand exercises for palming seems to be the first and most logical step to teach as opposed to left hand palming.
The right hand generally plucks the strings to make the sound.
How long and loud the string sounds will depend on how intense the palms pressure is applied.
Palm muting guitar creates volume and tone in different degrees.
In order to learn palming we must go through different phases and degrees of palm pressure.
Remember that palming occurs both during or after the strings are plucked or strummed.
Try these 5 steps to become better at palm muting.
Keep in mind that with guitar, right hand exercises in palming are for more advanced students although the beginner guitar students should be introduced to palming without forcing the issue.
1.
Pluck and palm One String Simply pluck a string, listen for the tone, and then use the bottom area of the palm to stop the note completely.
The 'fat of the hand is used here and will become very effective in deadening the sound completely.
Don't try any thing fancy yet.
Just take any string and pluck it with a full tone.
Make sure you hear the tone first so you know what sound is being deadened.
Sometimes the student will pluck and start palm-muting guitar without even producing much of a sound.
So, don't rush this step.
2.
Start with a dead note This time you are going to take your right hand and place it on the string before you play anything.
See if you can feel the string with the fat of your hand.
This step is the opposite of step 1.
When you find an appropriate position that allows you to deaden the sound completely and at the same time pluck with the pick, then do so.
What, no note? Of course not...
but listen to the sound you are creating.
It comes out as a thud or percussive sound.
Learn to do this with alternate picking.
Make each pluck even as it may be awkward at first.
Soon you will become comfortable with this and be able to create rhythmic thuds that will become more significant later on as you improve at your guitar right hand exercises.
3.
The slow go.
Now you will hit an open string or strings and bring your palm in slowly where the string does not yet deaden completely.
Here it is vital that you put your fatty tissue very close to the bridge.
The closer you are to the bridge, the less effective the palm will become.
If you palm away from the bridge and more so over the pick ups [electric] or the sound hole [acoustic], then the effect will be too devastating and stop altogether.
In this case as you are placing pressure very close to the bridge, you can hear the note and it will have a tiny bit of sustain.
4.
Playing scales In step three, you placed your palm very close to the bridge.
Now is the time to learn both palming and scales together.
Yes, you need to do your scales! By the way, anyone out there who is anxious to learn sweeps, you are going to have to learn scales and palming first.
Listen to the new tone you are creating.
Change up your scales with a free picking stroke and see how the sound differs.
You are now beginning to see the value of right hand palming.
5.
The "Good Night New York" OK future rock stars, here is your big stage wave goodnight to the audience.
Assuming you know a chord, finger any major chord that uses all the strings.
Even beginners can do this one without a chord; just use the six open strings.
What you are going to do is first strum the strings up and down like crazy.
You are pretending that you are on stage and looking out to a big New York audience at Madison Square Garden.
Yes, it works for any big city arena...
just makes sure you know what city you are in when you are touring.
This is done on your big showstopper-ending chord of the night.
You strum like crazy on the chord and raise your right hand high up into the air while the chord is sustaining.
You shout "Goodnight New York!" and you bring your picking hand down to strike once more, quickly and sharply, and then almost in the same motion you bring your palm to the strings somewhat away from the bridge and create a dead silence.
Now you listen for the audience screaming for more.
Then you can wake up and start practicing your guitar.
Right hand exercises in palming should be a vital part of your practice regiment.
Gene Petty
The right hand generally plucks the strings to make the sound.
How long and loud the string sounds will depend on how intense the palms pressure is applied.
Palm muting guitar creates volume and tone in different degrees.
In order to learn palming we must go through different phases and degrees of palm pressure.
Remember that palming occurs both during or after the strings are plucked or strummed.
Try these 5 steps to become better at palm muting.
Keep in mind that with guitar, right hand exercises in palming are for more advanced students although the beginner guitar students should be introduced to palming without forcing the issue.
1.
Pluck and palm One String Simply pluck a string, listen for the tone, and then use the bottom area of the palm to stop the note completely.
The 'fat of the hand is used here and will become very effective in deadening the sound completely.
Don't try any thing fancy yet.
Just take any string and pluck it with a full tone.
Make sure you hear the tone first so you know what sound is being deadened.
Sometimes the student will pluck and start palm-muting guitar without even producing much of a sound.
So, don't rush this step.
2.
Start with a dead note This time you are going to take your right hand and place it on the string before you play anything.
See if you can feel the string with the fat of your hand.
This step is the opposite of step 1.
When you find an appropriate position that allows you to deaden the sound completely and at the same time pluck with the pick, then do so.
What, no note? Of course not...
but listen to the sound you are creating.
It comes out as a thud or percussive sound.
Learn to do this with alternate picking.
Make each pluck even as it may be awkward at first.
Soon you will become comfortable with this and be able to create rhythmic thuds that will become more significant later on as you improve at your guitar right hand exercises.
3.
The slow go.
Now you will hit an open string or strings and bring your palm in slowly where the string does not yet deaden completely.
Here it is vital that you put your fatty tissue very close to the bridge.
The closer you are to the bridge, the less effective the palm will become.
If you palm away from the bridge and more so over the pick ups [electric] or the sound hole [acoustic], then the effect will be too devastating and stop altogether.
In this case as you are placing pressure very close to the bridge, you can hear the note and it will have a tiny bit of sustain.
4.
Playing scales In step three, you placed your palm very close to the bridge.
Now is the time to learn both palming and scales together.
Yes, you need to do your scales! By the way, anyone out there who is anxious to learn sweeps, you are going to have to learn scales and palming first.
Listen to the new tone you are creating.
Change up your scales with a free picking stroke and see how the sound differs.
You are now beginning to see the value of right hand palming.
5.
The "Good Night New York" OK future rock stars, here is your big stage wave goodnight to the audience.
Assuming you know a chord, finger any major chord that uses all the strings.
Even beginners can do this one without a chord; just use the six open strings.
What you are going to do is first strum the strings up and down like crazy.
You are pretending that you are on stage and looking out to a big New York audience at Madison Square Garden.
Yes, it works for any big city arena...
just makes sure you know what city you are in when you are touring.
This is done on your big showstopper-ending chord of the night.
You strum like crazy on the chord and raise your right hand high up into the air while the chord is sustaining.
You shout "Goodnight New York!" and you bring your picking hand down to strike once more, quickly and sharply, and then almost in the same motion you bring your palm to the strings somewhat away from the bridge and create a dead silence.
Now you listen for the audience screaming for more.
Then you can wake up and start practicing your guitar.
Right hand exercises in palming should be a vital part of your practice regiment.
Gene Petty