Recommended reading

The Technique That Changes Everything

Tuition
By published

A technique that can transform the playing of beginner guitar players.

In this short but very useful video, Paul Davids demonstrates how muting strings can make a big difference in the power of your performance.

“How is it possible that you can immediately hear it when a skilled guitarist is playing?” Paul asks.

“Well, a lot of it has to do with hitting the strings like a boss, instead of like a wuss.

“You really need to be able to play a random note on a random string with a random finger, and then hit all the strings but only hear the note you’re fretting. The muted sound of the other strings will make your note sound full and rich, with lots of attack.”

Paul presents a primer on how to mute strings and demonstrates the power of the technique by playing a variety of guitar riffs with and without muting, so you can judge the difference for yourself.

Take a look, and visit Paul’s YouTube channel for more.

Christopher Scapelliti
Christopher Scapelliti

Christopher Scapelliti is editor-in-chief of Guitar Player magazine, the world’s longest-running guitar magazine, founded in 1967. In his extensive career, he has authored in-depth interviews with such guitarists as Pete Townshend, Slash, Billy Corgan, Jack White, Elvis Costello and Todd Rundgren, and audio professionals including Beatles engineers Geoff Emerick and Ken Scott. He is the co-author of Guitar Aficionado: The Collections: The Most Famous, Rare, and Valuable Guitars in the World, a founding editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine, and a former editor with Guitar World, Guitar for the Practicing Musician and Maximum Guitar. Apart from guitars, he maintains a collection of more than 30 vintage analog synthesizers.