Blues in A - 1st attempt at a palm mute!

Ray_UK

Blues Newbie
Thanks to Wayne for a good suggestion I tried this with a palm mute, I haven't really got anywhere with muting so far so it is fun to try. This isn't absolutely 'there' I fluff quite a few notes concentrating on trying to mute but not too much. I'd really like some feedback on whether I'm generally getting too much or too little mute.

Oh yeah, I chucked in a quick change to help me not miss the count of 4 identical bars at the start!  ;)

http://www.4shared.com/audio/7rPwZkvO/BluesInAPalmMute.html
 

ndjordjevic

Blues Newbie
The frist chorus was really good, in a second one I think you have missed one bar if I'm right and messed up the rhythm.
 

Ray_UK

Blues Newbie
Listened again... you're right Nenad. I don't know why I do that, I have to concentrate more there.
 
M

MandyC

Guest
I think the muting was OK at the beginning of the recording but was maybe a bit much in the second half.
I think its one of those things that takes time to get the balance right and I guess it also depends on the music. I've had a go at playing some Motorhead with really heavy palm-muting but that is almost like percussion. I think the blues in A needs to ring out a bit more but I'm no expert.
Nicely played anyway :cool:
 

Ray_UK

Blues Newbie
Thanks Mandy - part of the trouble in trying something new, for me anyway, is that I concentrate so much on doing it that I don't 'listen' properly :)

I can see that the first half was better in every way... I should have stopped there :)
 

stratogeezer

Blues Newbie
Ray..the important thing is we are learning by practicing and recording our efforts.
By doing that we are constantly moving forward.
Good going.
 
M

MandyC

Guest
Thanks Mandy - part of the trouble in trying something new, for me anyway, is that I concentrate so much on doing it that I don't 'listen' properly :)

I can see that the first half was better in every way... I should have stopped there :)
That's part of learning, and we do it in the hope that one day we won't have to concentrate so hard!
As long as we can always see things that need improving or can be done differently, we carry on learning. Once we stop doing that, forget it, we'll never get any better. (I'm not saying we have to be obsessive about it though, it's supposed to be fun!)
I think you're doing greatt, trying something new and being prepare to demo it. I haven't tried palm muting this one, I'll have to give it a go.
Rock on Ray :)
 

MikeS

Student Of The Blues
Staff member
The Blues progression will become second nature over time, so just keep at it and it will just "feel" right.
I think your mute of the V chords might be a bit too much, but it's all about the sound that you want to produce, so only you can actually tell if that is what you were trying to achieve.
 

Ray_UK

Blues Newbie
Thanks Mandy & Mike... I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying the journey :) Thank goodness I'll never stop learning or having more to learn  [smiley=beer.gif]
 

wgabree

Blues Newbie
Lots of great feedback for you Ray!  What at first requires concentration and effort later becomes second nature through the magic of Practice!  :cool:  Great job!
 

Ray_UK

Blues Newbie
Thanks Wayne & thanks for the idea, it's another thing I can do a little of each day as part as my routine in order to get a better grip on it :)
 

Steve G

St. Simons Island, GA
Nice going Ray.  You've definitely got the palm muting concept down & you'll be able to fine tune it as you move along.  Well done.  I still think your 14 bar version was pretty cool & now you've got an  11 bar version as well.  You're quite a trailblazer my friend [smiley=beer.gif].
 
L

Lame_Pinkey

Guest
Palm muting (with the pick hand) is interesting in itself.If we are too far past the bridge , like over the pick ups, we  pretty much have dead strings.Just on top of the bridge itself, where the strings lie across the saddles ( giiddee up  ;D) we get a hollow kind of sound.Some guitars may feel better than others because of different bridges & how you personally find them.
Main thing as Strat said Ray by doing this you have started learning something new & will only improve on by continuing to do so , well done to you mate  ;)

LP
 

Ray_UK

Blues Newbie
Thanks LP... this attempt was pretty much 'on' the bridge & it's exactly as you say :)

I do like to try things before I 'need' them if you get my drift, like the barre chords, that lesson is still 2 away from where I am so I'm getting ready for it :)
 

Cynicure

Blues Newbie
Good job Ray...

You have pretty much got the muting okay for most of this exercise, but it gets a just little too much just about two thirds of the way through... if you find this happening just quickly reposition your right hand a little closer to the bridge.

Although I realise this wasn't the primary purpose of your exercise, I hope you won't mind if I suggest that you could also stand to hit the strings a bit harder (ie, a bit more demonstratively; I'm not saying you should always play heavily; but experiment with it from time to time, especially with 'twelve-bars'; it a good way to give you a range of variety of 'tone' and more expression in your playing: just don't be scared to hit the strings; once you break a couple you'll know what's too hard!) and you might like to experiment with choppier rhythms too, like the one in 'Hideaway'... Remember, variety is the spice of life!

Incidentally, I used a lot of palm muting in my version of 'Hideaway'; all of the double stops are muted, 'cause I tried it without and Genevieve just rang out far too much, so I decided to mute it; gives it character, don't you think?

Anyway, keep it up Ray; you're doing well! Have another beer:

[smiley=beer.gif]
 

Cynicure

Blues Newbie
Oops crikey, sorry Ray... I just realised this was recorded in May... by now my advice to you on this may well be superfluous; please feel free to ignore it... if indeed, you should happen to read it in these old 'back pages'... I sometimes still get a bit lost on this site... it's so big!

[smiley=beer.gif]
 

Ray_UK

Blues Newbie
All input is good input Dave & I thank you for it. I haven't done much with this since then but your thoughts are spot on because I'm looking at all the pieces I play & thinking I need more expression. I'm hoping that at least in part this is because I'm still learning to actually 'play' & that the expression will come out more later on when I'm not concentrating so hard on just getting the right sounds to come out in the right places  ;D

It's all good, I got past my frustrations of a day or so back, it'll come together one day :)

Have a beer mate!  [smiley=beer.gif]
 
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