Muting when playing hammer-on/pull-offs
Greg Jones
Do you guys have any suggestions on how to mute when performing
hammer-on/pull-offs ala Holdsworth or Richie Kotzen?
I have a great hammer-on/pull-off technique that is underutilized
because I can't keep the adjacent strings quiet when performing it.
Thanks,
Greg
Matt Feiszli
> because I can't keep the adjacent strings quiet when performing it.
Say you're playing on the B string, doing a pull-off with the third
finger->first finger. If you need to, you could mute the high E by
resting the side of your first finger against the string, and you could
gently mute the lower strings with your right hand palm. It shouldn't
require a lot of pressure to mute; if you do, your technique is probably
too agressive. Hammer/pull stuff requires a pretty light touch.
-Matt
Dennis Sarlis
you're playing, mute the strings below that string with your picking
hand palm, and any strings above mute with your index finger of your
fretting hand. This works pretty good with notes on adjacent strings.
If you start combining string skipping (like that Holdsworth guy) with
hammer/pulls, you can use the same technique, but you run the risk of
hitting the string(s) in between. You could mess around with quickly
muting the in-between string with your picking hand palm, but I'm pretty
sure Holdsworth (from what I've seen live) just plays clean enough to
avoid the noise.
Also, on the fretting hand, I find keeping the finger tips close to
perpendicular to the string makes things cleaner, and changing that
angle can get you different dynamics; from soft (flatter angle) to
biting (taller angle).
Gear wise, I find moderate gain levels work better in the long run. A
lot of gain can make things easier and speedier, but you're really just
blowing by the notes so fast you can't hear the mistakes (or the cool
stuff that can be mistakes!!). At a lower gain level, you can also
shape the notes a lot better, making the whole thing sound more
dynamic. Skinnier strings make life easier (ala Holdsworth), but a guy
like Kotzen uses heavier one's (.10's or .11's) and still pulls off a
nice vibe.
Hope this helps, and remember..... experiment, experiment,
experiment.....
Stay Crazy,
Dennis
Greg Jones wrote:
> Do you guys have any suggestions on how to mute when performing
> hammer-on/pull-offs ala Holdsworth or Richie Kotzen?
>
> I have a great hammer-on/pull-off technique that is underutilized
> because I can't keep the adjacent strings quiet when performing it.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Greg
Steve
>
> I think a pretty conventional technique is depending on what string
> you're playing, mute the strings below that string with your picking
> hand palm, and any strings above mute with your index finger of your
> fretting hand. This works pretty good with notes on adjacent strings.
That is *the* basic technique.
Two additional points:
1) The fretting fingers can also mute
the string below as well as the ones above --In case you
can't get your palm there in time (skipping strings).
This requires slow practice and concentration on exact finger placement.
2)The fingers of the picking hand can mute the strings *above* the fretted
string. (Either touching the tips to the strings, or using parts of the bent
fingers on top of the strings). With this technique you can mute ALL
the strings, except the one being picked. This is great when bending notes.
With real fast passages and skipping strings the fretting fingers have
too contribute to the muting.
The (overlapping) combination of all 4 muting-devices will cover most all situations.
The Eric Johnson "Total Electric Guitar" video demonstrates string muting
quite well.
Steve
Dennis Sarlis
a hybrid picker, is plucking the string with any other picking hand finger (besides index
and thumb). Works great for grabbing that quick one octave arpeggio, and keeps very
clean.
Stay Crazy,
Dennis
Steve Sklar
perpendicular to the fingerboard as possible. This minimizes unwanted
contact with undesired strings.
Steve
Matt Feiszli wrote:
>
> > I have a great hammer-on/pull-off technique that is underutilized
> > because I can't keep the adjacent strings quiet when performing it.
>
Ray Wood
Dennis Sarlis wrote in message <369BB300...@newbridge.com>...
>You could mess around with quickly
>muting the in-between string with your picking hand palm, but I'm pretty
>sure Holdsworth (from what I've seen live) just plays clean enough to
>avoid the noise.
During an interview of Stanley Jordan done years ago, he
suggested a combination of low action and a capo clamped
on the first fret just tight eough to mute sympathetic vibrations.
An interesting view of hammer-on/pull-off technique can
be had from watching Steve Vai play "Tender Surrender"
on his "Alien Love Secrets" video tape. The guy is weird as
heck but his techique is awesome.
Ray Wood
tgmi
At bride with palm.
Greg Jones wrote in message <77gaf2$7mi$6...@mailgate2.lexis-nexis.com>...
>
>Do you guys have any suggestions on how to mute when performing
>hammer-on/pull-offs ala Holdsworth or Richie Kotzen?
>
>because I can't keep the adjacent strings quiet when performing it.
>
>
>Greg
>
Dennis Sarlis
neck at around the 2/3rd position. It works, and you need a lot of fretting
hand strength to do it. He pulled the Tender Surrender solo live pretty much
note for note.... I kinda wished he improvised it instead, but it was amazing
to witness regardless. Can't be imposing jazz sensibility onto a rock
performance!! Another guy that has great left hand strength is Tuck Andress,
but for a totally different application.
Stay Crazy,
Dennis
Mark Goodwin
wrote:
>
>Do you guys have any suggestions on how to mute when performing
>hammer-on/pull-offs ala Holdsworth or Richie Kotzen?
>
>I have a great hammer-on/pull-off technique that is underutilized
>because I can't keep the adjacent strings quiet when performing it.
I don't get most of the other responses. To heck with muting strings,
just practice using a lighter touch.
Mark
Jake
these posts. It seems the string above the hammer-on-pull-off isn't
getting inadvertantly hit due to the slightly upward angle of my
fingers. The same angle seems to mute the string below. I have fat
fingers, by the way. Hmmmm....
>
>Do you guys have any suggestions on how to mute when performing
>hammer-on/pull-offs ala Holdsworth or Richie Kotzen?
>
>I have a great hammer-on/pull-off technique that is underutilized
>because I can't keep the adjacent strings quiet when performing it.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Greg
>
Greg Jones
|> Dennis Sarlis wrote:
|> >
|> > I think a pretty conventional technique is depending on what string
|> > you're playing, mute the strings below that string with your picking
|> > hand palm, and any strings above mute with your index finger of your
|> > fretting hand. This works pretty good with notes on adjacent strings.
|>
|> That is *the* basic technique.
I know the basic technique but it doesn't work when doing a lot of
string crossings while performing hammeron/pulloffs.
Greg
John Sheehy
>I know the basic technique but it doesn't work when doing a lot of
>string crossings while performing hammeron/pulloffs.
What I do sometimes when I find myself getting sloppy is to play a lot
of staccatto. In your case, what I would do is play the last note on
each string staccato, with an emphasized silence as you end each note,
and then quietly get to the next string. Then, you can lengthen the
notes to a normal duration, once you have control of note "endings".
--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>>< ><<>
John P Sheehy <jsh...@ix.netcom.com>
><<> <>>< <>>< ><<> <>>< ><<> ><<> <>><
Chip of Known Space
wrote:
>Do you guys have any suggestions on how to mute when performing
>hammer-on/pull-offs ala Holdsworth or Richie Kotzen?
I have never had to think about muting, but if I've been playing
acoustic alot, and not having played with a high gain sound for
awhile, it takes a few minutes to get the "sensitivity" to the strings
back. Instead of worrying about it maybe try playing at a relatively
high volume for awhile, with enough gain that it gets messy fast so
you're *forced* to clean up things.
If I'm doing alot of legato things, lots of hammers, my right hand
mutes the bass strings and the G string, and my right pinky will mute
the high E apparently when my left hand palm isn't... when I'm playing
the bass strings, my pinky rests across the treble strings, and I arch
the first finger so that it just brushes the unwound strings as I
rotate my hand. Hmmm... There's a transitional point in the middle,
but I'm not sure exactly what happens at that "hand-off" point.. I'm
too sleepy right now to pick up my guitar so.....
If you're having to think about it, I would suggest playing at a high
enough volume for awhile that your body instinctively tries to "fix"
the problem.. Or at least I think that's how I learned it...
Chip McDonald
]]] Chip McDonald - ch...@mindspring.com
]]] "Try to be reasonable whenever possible"
]]] http://www.mindspring.com/~chipm/chip.htm
]]] Musician, voracious reader, overly contemplative thinker, punching bag for fate.
]]] "People think I'm in my own world; that's ok, they know me there" - J. Hodgson
Chip of Known Space
wrote:
>I know the basic technique but it doesn't work when doing a lot of
>string crossings while performing hammeron/pulloffs.
Your right hand pinky has to flop down onto the unwound strings as you
play lower.