Guitar strumming for beginners: hard to learn, easy to perform. Muting the strings on a guitar Normal strumming on a guitar

Muting the strings is one of the most important techniques used to play the guitar. If you want to achieve a pure sound, get rid of unnecessary interference and noise that arises when extracting sounds, then you need to learn how to properly mute the strings.

Notation on tablature

On tablature, palm jamming is designated “R.” M. "or "RM", dotted or dashed line - duration of jamming. If the heights of muted notes can be distinguished, fret numbers are written, otherwise the symbol “X” is placed. If this symbol is present, but there is no indication of palm muting, then it is necessary to mute this string with the hand holding the frets. To muffle extraneous sounds on an electric guitar, we recommend using a volume knob or pedal. During large pauses of more than 8-10 seconds, this method will help to avoid extraneous noise.

Muting the guitar strings with the right hand

Palm muting is a technique for muting strings during sound production with the edge of the palm of the right hand, which allows you to reduce the amount of extraneous noise in the performed parts. This technique is also used in short pauses to avoid feedback. Palm muting is used on both classical and electric guitars. This technique is very often used by guitarists in any genre that uses an overdrive effect on an electric guitar.

Muting the strings on an electric guitar produces a warm, dull timbre similar to the sound of a double bass.

When playing high notes in passages, you can reliably mute the strings by placing your thumb or the edge of your palm on them. When changing the position of the left hand, the strings must be muted completely with the right hand at the bridge. To do this, lean the edge of your palm against the strings with palm mute, covering large area. Move your fingers at the same time and try not to touch the strings with your left hand fingers when changing positions.

How to mute strings with your palm

What matters first is the amount of palm pressure applied. The stronger it is, the stronger the jamming, the effect appears, percussion, the notes are less recognizable. With low pressure during contact, a slight dampening is created.

The most common method is to mute the strings with the edge at the bridge. The further the hand is from the bridge, the harsher the jamming. However, this method of playing the guitar also has disadvantages:

• To mute the strings, it is necessary to make unnecessary movements, which is an obstacle for some techniques;
• The guitarist's hands often sweat while playing, as a result of which the sweat accelerates the corrosion of the metal bridge;
• Also, pressure on the bridge can sometimes affect the guitar's tuning.

Muting the strings with the left hand

Muting the strings with the left hand seems quite difficult at first. You can try this technique on the E5 chord: pinch the fifth and fourth strings at the second fret with your index finger. Since we don't need a barre, we pinch the strings with only the first knuckle of the finger, the other fingers come into contact with the strings and mute the unused strings.

Dumping

A guitarist must be able to not only mute the strings correctly, but also control the duration of notes. This jamming technique is called “dumping” (from the English damp - jamming), designated “D”. This technique is very important when playing because the fingers of the left hand do not control the duration of the notes. Damping is also necessary when the next note needs to be played in a different position, which requires moving the slide. If you see a “D” sign, then the sounded string should be muted.

Power chords with muted strings

(power chords) – chords consisting of the root and fifth tones of the same scale. For example, the A power chord is written as A5, and the C power chord is written as C5, and so on. Power chords are played on an electric guitar with an overdriven sound.

Since there are strings that should not sound, it is necessary to use the muting technique. For example, in the above tablature of the A5 chord, the first, second and sixth strings should not sound. Also during simple fight The string muting technique is used. First, the fingers clenched into a fist straighten and strike a chord, and then the palm muffles its sound.

String muting technique exercise

We offer you a series of exercises to develop the palm muting technique. Perform them slowly, pay attention to the positioning of your hands, since muting the strings on a guitar is one of the most important fundamentals of guitar playing.

Exercise 1. Play downstroke.

Exercise 2. Play with alternating strokes.

Exercise 3. The first two notes are downstroke, the third is upstroke.

Exercise 4. The main thing here is correct technique games.

Exercise 5.

Exercise 6.

Exercise 7.

Exercise 8. Try to arrange the strokes yourself.

Four- the simplest guitar strumming. At the same time, they can play 90% of all songs.
It's played like this:
down – up – down with mute – up

Let's play down thumb. Up with your index finger. Marked with an asterisk jamming.

How to play jamming?

You clench your palm into a fist and straighten it so that you hit the strings with your nails. At the same time as you strike with your nails, you need to place your thumb on all the strings. The nails make a click, and the thumb muffles the strings.
Once you've learned jamming, play with it. fight four described above.
Video: Fight four and jamming the strings

For working out battle four play the band's song Kino-Pack of Cigarettes
Chords Em Am C D.
One beat for each chord.
Do not hurry. Spend as much time on this strum and these chords as you need to play with confidence and not have to worry about where to stick your fingers. Some people need a week, others a couple of months, it doesn’t matter.

Also practice the standard sequences with this fight:
Am Dm E Am
Dm G C Am
Em C G D

Six- the second easiest fight. And the most popular.
They can also play 90% of all songs. In many songs fight six sounds more driving than fight four.
In addition, thanks to the presence of pauses, this battle can be played much faster than a four-man battle.

It's played like this:

To better understand how to play it, play this structure:
down-up-down-up-down-up-down-up
Those. just down and up 4 times, each blow of the same duration.

And then throw out 2 blows from it, the second and the fifth (these are up and down blows).
But don’t just throw them away, but run them through with your hand without touching the strings. This is called idle hand.
Those. the hand always moves up and down with the same frequency, sometimes it just doesn’t play, it moves idle.
This principle is based not only fight six, but also many others.
It's more clear in the diagram:

• Black arrow - strike the strings
• White arrow - idle (hand moves, but does not play)
• Down arrow - play down, up arrow - up, respectively

The second way to understand this fight:
We break it into 2 parts and work on them separately:
1) down-up idle-down-up
2) down idle-up-down-up
Now let's combine both parts.

Practice battle six thoroughly using our already favorite sequences:
Em Am C D
Am Dm E Am
Dm G C Am
Em C G D
Play the same fighting six song Cinema-When Your Girlfriend Is Sick
Chords G Em C D
In the chorus C D G Em
One strum for each chord

As we can see, in the lead and in the chorus the chords are the same, it’s just that in the chorus the sequence starts with the C chord

Let's add jamming to battle six.
How to play jamming is described above in the four-man battle.
As we already know, six taking into account pauses it is played like this:
down – down – up – up – down – up

Jam on the second and fifth strike (downward strikes)
It will turn out like this:
down – down with mute – up – up – down with mute – up

Jamming is marked with asterisks.
The muffled impacts will occur after the same amount of time, i.e. they will keep the rhythm.
Yes, in fact, it is easily noticeable if you count the number of shares from one asterisk to another.
It is equal to four.

Even in the Middle Ages, brave, desperate young people marked by Cupid sang serenades to their loved ones under the windows. As time passed, musical instruments were added to the compositions, the leading position among which was occupied by the guitar. Oh, this six-string mistress of the hearts of millions! Its sounds heal spiritual wounds. It brings people together age groups, cities, countries and even continents. It is thanks to the guitar that we have amazing rock bands (it’s somehow hard to imagine a musician playing frantic rhythms on... a harp).

How to study? Where to begin?

The first "fight" is the easiest one

It is believed that the simplest strumming on the guitar is the one that the student will learn the fastest. In general, there are several fairly easy options. One of the simplest is the following: we hit the strings downwards with our finger, a short pause (just to take our finger away from the strings), then up again, but with a plug, and the last one is the “downward strike” element. It can be shown schematically like this:

Down _ Down _ Cap _ Up_ again Down _ Down _ Cap _ Up, etc.

Fight "eight"

The second on the list of easy strumming on the guitar for beginners is performed in the following way: with the index finger of the leading hand we draw down the strings in order twice, followed by two similar movements from bottom to top without breaking away from the strings or stopping. This is followed by a down-up combination.

This one for beginners looks schematically like this:

Down _ Down _ Up _ Up _ Down _ Up and again from the beginning.

Sometimes a seventh move can be added for rhythm - striking the strings downwards. At the same time, initially (during the study process) there may be absolutely no jamming. Then, gradually, they can be added.

Then the diagram will change slightly:

Down _ Down _ Cap _ Up _ Up _ Down _ Cap _ Up.

This guitar strum for beginners is also called “universal” or “figure eight”. The last name appeared as a result of calculating the number of movements that must be performed for one combat cycle.

In order to “hone” the technique, you must follow the rules:

• do not rush;
• count;
• train.

With practice comes skill. Combining with techniques works out quite well for those who have trained for a long time and become proficient in the art of playing this magical six-string instrument. The plug when playing with a strike can be performed either with the thumb or with the edge of the hand - it all depends on the method of performing a particular composition.

In order to learn how to play the guitar: strumming, picking, or a combination, you can turn to the same resources for help: a tutorial or friends who have perfectly mastered this art.

Abstract: If you have not yet learned how to play in combat, this article will help you! After reading this article, you will learn to read and play guitar strumming. Recommended for beginner guitarists and for those who don't know how to read a strum.

Guitar fight- This is the simplest and most common way to play the guitar. Combat is used in huge quantities, and there is a great variety.

Guitar strumming - symbols

The battle is usually denoted by three rows of symbols:

• First row and symbol: I– is a designation for the actions of the index finger of the right hand. The ^ sign means an upward strike, v - naturally downward, and the X sign means that we should hit the strings down and muffle the sound of the strings with the edge of the palm.
• Second row and symbol: P– designation of actions for thumb right hand. If you see a ^ sign next to the letter P, then you need to pluck one bass string (bass strings are 6.5 and sometimes 4). That is, you touch a string and stop on the next string (thinner). Symbol | means that you need to do an action such as sliding your thumb down the strings, hitting several bass strings.
• Third row and symbol: L– Describes the game with the left hand. Symbol designations: v – at the moment of striking with the right hand, the strings should be tightly clamped. x – the strings are released (that is, the fingers simply lie on the strings), when the strings are struck, a muffled sound is obtained. ^ - press the strings well, make a blow and then slowly release ( note: this sign applies only to the strings that you strike (play) with the index finger of your right hand).

In each row, there is a - symbol, which is responsible for the duration of the blow.

Examples of battle designation:
I-^--v---v-x-v-^-v---
P-^-----------^-----
L-v--v---v-x-^-v-^---

Got it? If yes, great! If not, then read it again, then we will try to play in combat!

Learning to strum the guitar

And so, we take the guitar (In the last lesson, we talked about that). We hold down any and try the battle that we described above.

The first meaning of the letters I - ^, P - ^, L – v. Therefore, we need to firmly press the strings, pluck the bass and hit it up. Further, the value of I becomes v, P is empty, L is v. That is, we pinch the strings well and strike downwards with our index finger. Further I – x, P – empty, L – x. Therefore, we need to hit the strings (on which our fingers simply rest) and the plug with the palm of our hand.

This is how the battle is read and played. There is nothing complicated about this, the main thing is to train your fingers!

Greetings, dear guitarist, most likely, if you are interested in today’s topic, namely, the question of how to properly mute the strings on an electric guitar or, regular guitar, - acoustic guitar, then most likely you are a beginner guitarist. This topic is very popular among beginning guitarists, because jamming gives the sound of chords and songs brighter shades and adds variety to them.

What is jamming? Jamming is a special technique of playing the guitar that imitates percussion instruments. With the help of muting, the guitarist, as a rule, creates a rhythmic pattern of the guitar composition by hitting the strings or the soundboard of the guitar.

Of course, it is quite difficult to describe the jamming process in the text, but I will still try to cope with this task. Also, below in the text you can watch a video lesson on this topic, perhaps you will better perceive the information from the video.

Also, jamming is very often used by guitarists performing “heavy” music.. Almost all known guitar riffs are performed using muting. So, if you are going to play heavy guitar riffs on your electric guitar, then the information in today's lesson is a must-learn.

Technique

First, let's clench the fist of our right hand (the hand that performs the jamming) so that so that it is ideal for performing muting:

• Bend your fingers (all except the thumb) so that the pads of the third phalanx of the fingers are tightly pressed against the pads of the first phalanx. At the same time, we do not bend the joints located at the base of the fingers, they remain straight;
• We bend the thumb in the area of ​​the second phalanx and press it tightly to inside palms;
• As a result, you should end up with a kind of “half fist”, which is what you will use to perform the jamming technique.

So, right hand ready for jamming, now we proceed directly to its execution, this is done as follows:

• We pass our “half fist” along the strings from top to bottom, muting the strings. Try to mute while playing some chords, this will allow you to understand the whole performance technique, so to speak, in action.

If it is difficult for you to understand the above text description of how to perform this technique, then below you can watch the video lesson, after reading which, I am sure, the questions that arise will disappear by themselves.

Exercises

In order to learn how to do jamming efficiently and correctly, I recommend that you regularly do the following exercise:

• Take any chord on the guitar (whichever one is more convenient for you, it doesn’t matter when performing the exercise);
• Run your fingers along the strings from top to bottom twice (i.e. just play the chord twice);
• After playing a chord on the guitar twice, mute it;
• Repeat the above action cyclically (i.e. in a circle). Play slowly at first (until your playing is smooth), then increase the tempo until you can perform this exercise at maximum speed.

Video lesson

Below you can watch a video tutorial in which the author tells and shows how to properly perform jamming. If you have questions after reading the material above, then after watching the lesson presented, I have no doubt that they will disappear.

That's all for today, I hope you have learned how to mute your electric or acoustic guitar well. If you have any comments, thoughts or questions about the material presented, feel free to voice them in the comments to this entry (located below). I will try to answer them as quickly as possible.