Muting strings.

[tomkatzz]

I'm a beginner (January '07). I'm having problems with unwanted notes when I lift my finger off of a string.

I play right handed. My question is, do you guys mute with the heel of the hand holding the pick? Or is there another technique?

thanx

[NyteOwl]

Yeah. more often than not you will mute strings with the heel of your right hand, but at other times you'll find you will need to "deaden" certain strings with your left hand. It all depends on what you're playing, and as you progress you will learn what works best in any given situation. Hope this helps.

[angus99]

Lots of good stuff on muting here.

http://www.ibreathemusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12557

Good luck.

Angus

[jelloman]

I almost always mute with the edge of my right hand when i play. at least i keep my palm close to the strings near the bridge so i can drop it on when i stop playing.

be careful not to pull fingers off strings sideways but rather lift straight off string. pull-offs are great for soloing and neat chord tricks but will allow unwanted notes to ring out.

keep at it and don't get discouraged or frustrated. remember we all have the same number of fingers and guitar strings. they may play better than you but there is nothing special about them.

[rotren]

Most of the muting I do is with the left hand. I have a funk lesson on my site that explains a bit of this - http://www.dolphinstreet.com/guitar_video_lessons/lesson-55.php

I'll make a new video on muting specifically soon.

[lhallam]

The Eric Johnson Hot Licks DVD has an explanation and visual examples of how he does it.

EJ shows pretty much what the other guys are saying, use both hands depending upon the situation.

Classical gtr has it's own set of rules. Tricky stuff.

[Luke]

For two handed tapping I use a wooley hair scrunchee. While I am sure people will feel that this is cheating, when you are just starting out anything to keep you motivated in my book. Keep in mind, no open strings with the scrunchee.