Beginner
Beginner
- Develop a better sense of muting with both hands.
- Understand to play within a rhythmic pocket.
- Learn what it takes to riff like James Hetfield.
Open-string notes are arguably the most magical sounding notes available on the guitar. However, there are times when those are precisely the notes we don’t want to hear. We might only want to hear the strings directly beneath our fingers. That’s where muting comes in. It’s equal parts sleight-of-hand magic and surgical precision, but mostly it’s just the result of a clever approach to technique.
What is Palm Muting?
The most common style of muting is palm muting, where you place the side of your palm against the string close to the bridge to achieve a more chunky, percussive sound. One of the absolute masters of palm muting is Metallica’s James Hetfield. In this video below, check out how tight he is with the muting.
The fretting hand has some muting responsibilities as well. It’s in charge of keeping things clean on the fretboard and allow the picking hand to make larger motions if necessary. That will be our focus here. I want to show you how to keep your strumming hand moving while preventing any unnecessary noises—or pollution.
The funkiest rhythm players—Prince, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Nile Rodgers, Al McKay, Jimmy Nolan, Cory Wong—know all about this. Jazzers like Wes Montgomery and George Benson use fretting-hand muting extensively in their brilliant octave work as well.
The basics of the technique amount to laying the portions of your fingers that you’re not using across the remaining strings in order to keep them quiet. Not silent. Just quieter. You’ll hear a percussive attack across the string in addition to the notes that are being played.
Ex. 1 is a deceptively tricky technique that looks and sounds way easier than it really is. Even when you’re playing single notes, all the strings are being strummed the entire time. Take a listen.
Ex. 2 consists of our utilitarian A minor blues (A–C–D–Eb–E–G) scale. While this will be played one note at a time, we’re strumming all the strings so that we hear the intended note as well as a strong percussive sound alongside it. This makes for a big tone and, by constantly strumming alternating up and down strokes, it allows you to stay firmly in the rhythmic pocket. It’s almost like organic quantizing: You can’t play out of time because the strumming hand always chugs along in time with the basic groove, be it an eighth-note shuffle, a 16th-note funk—whatever. First, let’s hear the scale being picked one string at a time.
Ex. 3 features the blues scale with each note played as consecutive 16th-notes using alternate strumming. This is the most basic form of this technique. Practice this ascending as well as descending through the scale. Focusing on one pair or even a single string can be helpful in clean execution.
The purpose behind using this method of muting is to make your notes have more authority: Own what you play. It also allows your playing, whether melodic or rhythmic, to sit in a serious pocket. The same groove that you infuse in your best chordal rhythm playing is injected into single-note or octave playing too.
Ex. 4 features the lead part playing octaves on the 5th and 3rd strings. How many times have you heard this? Think: Smashing Pumpkins, Green Day, Foo Fighters—it’s a long list.
Another classic use of this technique can be found in the Michael Jackson hit “Billie Jean.” The driving octaves playing the 5 of the chord make for an effective part where the song goes to the IVm chord (Ex. 5). Once you get the hang of using this muting technique, your drummer friends will see you as much more of a rhythmic ally.
The quarter-note comping over a Bb blues in Ex. 6 features most of the strings being muted via the fretting hand while the strumming hand focuses on laying down a strong backbeat rhythm. You can use not only your fretting-hand’s fingers but also your thumb over the top to mute the 6th string. Remember to lean into beats 2 and 4. This works with an overdriven blues tone or on steel-string acoustic when going for more of a hot club jazz manouche vibe.
Hopefully you’re grasping the many uses and contexts in which this valuable, yet surprisingly under-utilized, technique can be employed. It takes practice to get it right but it pays you back in major dividends. Other players will be looking at your amp and pedalboard to see how you get such an amazing tone—but it’s your fingers, as usual, that hold the secret.
Uncovering the soloing secrets used by one of modern blues’ masters.
Chops: Intermediate
Theory: Intermediate
Lesson Overview:
• Combine major and minor pentatonic scales.
• Learn how to connect arpeggios using chromatic passing tones.
• Understand how to better craft a 12-bar blues solo.
Click here to download a printable PDF of this lesson's notation.
In the three or so years I’ve been writing this column, I’ve been able to cover some big names and some unsung heroes, but none have been more requested than the fabulous Matt Schofield.
Bursting onto the scene in 2004 with his first trio record, The Trio, Live, Schofield showed little of the Brit-pop that his hometown of Manchester, England is known for and instead demonstrated a phenomenal connection with the classic blues sounds of the ’60s. Since then, he’s released four studio albums and a pair of live records that have catapulted him to prominence.
Schofield’s sound is unmistakable as he blends influences from players like Robben Ford, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, and Albert King. We’ve touched on his exquisite sense of melody before, but here we will dig into a pair of 12-bar solos that will illustrate how Schofield mixes pentatonic, Mixolydian, blues, and even Lydian dominant scales.
At first glance it might sound complicated, but the thing to remember is that you’re touching on specific flavors of each scale rather than seeing them as one big scale. Let’s start with Ex. 1, a straight-ahead blues progression in Bb. We open things up with the Bb minor pentatonic scale (Bb–Db–Eb–F–Ab), but add in the 6 (G). Some might say the 6 comes from the major pentatonic scale, but Robben Ford has been known to refer to the minor 6 pentatonic—where you swap out the b7 for the sweeter-sounding 6.
The key is to try and establish a “relationship” with these notes. Don’t think too much about what scale they’re from or what the correct scale might be. Think about how the note sounds, how it makes you feel, and if you like it. There’s nothing to stop you from playing the b9 over a dominant chord. Schofield does it all the time, Stevie Ray did it all the time, and Scott Henderson does it all the time. If that’s the melody you hear, and you play the note with the care and attention it needs, play on!
After the minor pentatonic-inspired phrase over the Bb7 in Ex. 1, we leave a bit of space to let the solo breathe. When the Bb7 returns we move to classic Bb blues scale (Bb–Db–Eb–E–F–Ab) territory. It’s a nice blend of what you’d expect while building some tension leading into the Eb7. Don’t underestimate even the simplest phrases. It’s not accidental that these notes fit so well. Schofield knows exactly what chord he’s playing over at any given time.
In the sixth measure we shift up to a pattern that looks a lot like the Eb major pentatonic scale (Eb–F–G–Bb–C), but with the b7 (Db) added for a little interest. This resolves perfectly to the Bb7 chord with some Bb major pentatonic (Bb–C–D–F–G) phrasing. It’s very cool how Schofield will start in minor and blues territory, but give the audience some major-sounding variations.
Over the F7 we’re using the F blues scale (F–Ab–Bb–B–C–Eb) to resolve nicely to an Eb Mixolydian (Eb–F–G–Ab–Bb–C–Db) sound. We also include a b3 (Gb) to build some tension before resolving to the 3 of Bb (D) on beat 1 of the next measure. Finally, we close out this solo with a triplet-based lick that touches on a pair of major triads (Bb and Eb) while ending with an essential blues cliché.
Click here for Ex. 1
Ex. 2 has some slightly trickier vocabulary, but still starts in classic territory with minor pentatonic and blues-scale phrasing. Measure 4 ups the difficulty with a slippery Bb triad arpeggio, which then moves down to resolve to the Eb major pentatonic scale for that chord, but you’re not stopping as you continue down for the resolution to the Bb blues scale.
In measure 7, we build on the ending lick in Ex. 1, but this time we slide up to lead into the V chord (F7) before shifting down into the Eb7. There’s a hint of the Eb Lydian dominant scale (Eb–F–G–A–Bb–C–Db) with the A on the 1st string, but we quickly move back to the Bb blues scale by the end of the measure.
Click here for Ex. 2
With that out of the way, here’s a backing track for you to practice these short solos over. Remember though, these aren’t to be seen as self-contained solos to be played in this one context. Go out and play bits of them in your own solos, add your own parts, adapt them, and find your own voice. I’m sure Matt would approve!From crying pedal-steel sounds to aggressive, bluesy squeals, bending a string is all about feeling.
Chops: Intermediate
Theory: Intermediate
Lesson Overview:
• Learn to emulate the sound of the pedal steel guitar.
• Understand how to create chords using bends.
• Develop licks in the style of Roy Nichols and James Burton.
Click here to download a printable PDF of this lesson's notation.
Generally speaking, bending a string is about the bluesiest thing you can do on guitar. It’s all over the place now, but guys like T-Bone Walker were among the pioneers who really developed it into an expressive device. Even great old-school country guys like Grady Martin and Owen Bradley would likely credit their usage of bending to the older blues cats.
There are many styles of bending—every player does it differently. It’s the closest way to emulate the human voice with a guitar. Having said that, each bend truly has a unique nature of its own. But there are some conventional bends and patterns that you will find used across the board. One of those is demonstrated in Ex. 1. Licks like this are staples of country guitar. They’re absolutely essential.
Click here for Ex. 1
Roy Nichols and James Burton were among the first generation of country pickers to regularly include bending in their style. People did little half-step bends here and there, but not too many players went for that real in-your-face aggression. Bending the 3rd string was not really done all that much in country music before the Louisiana-born James Burton. A Burton-style bend would sound something like Ex. 2. The lick basically outlines a C7 chord.
Click here for Ex. 2
In Ex. 3 you can see an example of a Roy Nichols-style bend. Nichols was all about playing with notes “outside” the norm and wasn’t afraid to twist up the rhythm a bit, either. He was an essential part of the West Coast “Bakersfield” sound and one of my favorite players. The influence Burton and Nichols had on country guitar is immeasurable, but their use of bending is a good place to start listening.
Click here for Ex. 3
The crying sound of the pedal steel is synonymous with country music. Guitarists have been attempting to emulate the sound of a pedal steel for decades. In Ex. 4, you can see a very basic approach to copping the sound. Basically think of creating a triad and approaching a chord tone with a bend. After that, the possibilities are endless. Here, you’re creating a D major triad but pre-bending the E up to an F# (the major 3). Use your 4th finger to hold down the root (D) and 5 (A) on the 1st and 2nd strings, respectively.
Click here for Ex. 4
You can also emulate a steel guitar by bending single notes the way steelers do. In Ex. 5, we finger a series of second-inversion triads and then bend up to the top note from a whole-step below. This works great for ballads. But if you stray from the road less travelled, you can start to maybe sound like a steel. Or Jeff Beck!
Click here for Ex. 5
Ex. 6 is a lick that can be used on either a I or V chord. Here, you’re bending the 3rd string up a whole-step, bending the 2nd string up a half-step, and pre-bending the same interval to bring things back down. If you use your bridge pickup and pick between the neck pickup and the neck, you can get a very steel-like tone that’s similar to Don Helms or Kayton Roberts.
Click here for Ex. 6
The next lick (Ex. 7) works great for kicking off a tune in D. You’re pre-bending the major 7 up to the root in a relatively speedy manner. The bend needs to imitate a pedal moving a string up to a pre-determined note. It really shouldn’t be buttery smooth and full of vibrato like most bends played by guitarists we all know and love.
Click here for Ex. 7
I love bends—use them all the time. Players like Roy Buchanan, Jerry Garcia, Mike Bloomfield, and Clarence White all had unique ideas when it came to stretching strings. That’s what I try to take from them most. Emmylou Harris once said, “Style is only a product of your limitations.” An elegant and articulate style is the most important aspect of playing for me.
Clarence White’s influence comes out in Ex. 8. White’s use of the B-bender built into his Tele was an essential part of his electric playing. You would always hear him bend the 4 up to the 5 on the 2nd string while letting the top string ring out. To this day, it’s bad to the bone.
Click here for Ex. 8
The final lick (Ex. 9) is more of an aggressive Mike Bloomfield-type of deal. Very angry, but it still works with some smooth vibrato. The first half-step bend up to the 5 (E) is something I first heard from Roy Nichols, but I then discovered that Grady Martin and Hank Garland had used it as well. The half-step bend to the root on the 2nd string comes straight from Garcia. That’s simply his thing. The rest of the lick includes concepts I’ve concocted over the years. I’m a huge fan of finding bends that are head turning, but most importantly, musical.
Click here for Ex. 9
I hope you’ve learned a thing or two and have found some inspiration from this! Bending is what gives us a huge part of our musical voice as guitar players. I can’t over-emphasize how important it is to go back and listen to how great players approached bending. But most importantly, keep listening to how you’re doing it. The key here is to cultivate and nurture your own style.