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Master Fast Palm Mute Guitar
Palm muting as a technique is more versatile than a lot of guitarists
give it credit for. With technical precision, speed palm muting alone
has given genres like thrash metal its trademark raw aggression and
chaotic atmosphere. This lesson will show you how to really play like Megadeth, Metallica, Sepultura, Slayer and a whole generation of speed/thrash metal bands that used fast palm mute guitar
as the driving force behind their music. I mean, when you chug out a
fast palm muted riff, even without drums, it's immensely satisfying!
First, make sure you know beginner palm mute guitar here!
Also, take a lesson in fast guitar picking in metal for some good primer stuff.
This lesson is about exercising pin-point accuracy and fast, technical rhythm
using the palm mute guitar technique, so take your time, as it's a
playing technique that requires reasonable mental and physical
endurance. There'll be drum tracks and practical exercises for you to
work (well, play...) with towards the end. So let's take a look!
By the way, I advise you turn the gain/distortion right up on your amp/effects box for the best sound...
The foundations of fast palm mute guitar
Assuming you already know the basics of palm mute guitar (so you'll know it's not actually your "palm" which does the business here!) we need to look at picking techniques to build up that driving rhythm and speed.
First, there's the basic down stroke which gets you that percussive, muted sound:
Click the diagrams in this lesson to hear!
You'll find that with practice you can build up speed with your downstrokes. Use a metronome to help gradually build up speed with this.
Now, a lot of guitarists make the big mistake of
listening to, say, a fast thrash track and assuming all the palm muting
is done using
down picks only - well, you might be able to on the faster riffs for
about 3 seconds, then your wrist will seize up and start to ache, slow
down and become sloppy. It won't be able to handle the endurance.
To get around this, we can simply add an upstroke
to the pattern, so the motion needed in your picking hand is reduced
and you'll be able to execute fast palm mute guitar for longer (and
eventually as long as you need).
For alternate picking, I find if I hold the pick
too close to the "nib" your thumb can get in the way when coming back
up for the upstroke. Anyway, what really matters is that you play around and find which pick position is best for you! Also think about the plectrum thickness - some people prefer hard picks, I prefer softer picks.
Click diagram to hear an example
Remember to keep your hand rooted to the spot, muted across all 6 strings, and use your wrist as a pivot point to drive the action.
This is a form of alternate picking used with palm muting. Keep playing around until you get the sound you want.
When we add the upstroke in, it's a lot cleaner to just hit one string
- preferably the bass note of its relative chord/powerchord - it's this
bass note that really gives the driving rhythm some melodic definition
(the bassist will help with this too).
TIP: Some guitarists like to put in as much physical energy as they can, meaning wider
and more solid pick sweeps, and this does add a sharper and more
percussive element to the palm muting. I personally try to keep the
pick sweeps as small as possible (without sacrificing the firm pick
strokes) because it's generally good practise to be as conservative as possible (not politics!) with the physical side of things. This means your endurance will keep longer.
OK, I think we've covered the foundations of fast palm mute guitar here, so when you're ready, let's move onto building accuracy, a crucial element of speed rhythm guitar in metal.
Fast palm muting - building accuracy!
The more extreme sub-genres of heavy metal can use very technical drum
rhythms, so the guitarist has to be prepared to chop 'n' change at the
crash of a symbol. This most commonly involves mixing fast palm mute
with regular bursts of non-muted strumming to give your riffs texture
to compliment the drums.
It's all in the wrist - the key to accurate palm
mute rhythm guitar is discipline with your picking wrist! You need to
apply and release tension appropriately - but try to relax
overall and let the natural flow of the rhythm dictate your picking
movements. Practice and time will get you there. It's as much mental as
it is physical.
Also, make sure you listen to a variety of metal
that uses this technique (I assume you like this style of music and
will own some), and listen with headphones
for clarity - when you listen, picture yourself playing along, even
move your wrist in sync. This is when air guitar actually becomes
useful (although you'll still look like an idiot! It won't change
that!).
Using the alternate picking palm muting technique
from above, try the exercises below - first listen to the slow example,
then the quicker example.
As always... build up speed with a metronome!
Alternate picking fast palm mute exercise
Follow the upstroke/downstroke arrows!
Slow example - Faster example
At first, some guitarists find alternate picking more
difficult on the higher strings (e.g. powerchords with the root on the
A string) because you have a string below and
above you to avoid accidentally picking - the space for your pick
sweeping has been reduced, and therefore requires more accuracy. You
can do two things:
1) Try to narrow down your picking sweeps to concentrate your
up-down movements into the smallest space possible - this is what I do
:o)
2) Just block out the string below by touching it (effectively
muting it) with one of your fretting hand's fingers (e.g. overlapping
them onto the string slightly).
OK, now let's try an exercise over a simple drum
track. The double bass technique is used a lot in heavy metal drumming,
and as a guitarist, you can compliment this by timing the attack of
your palm muting with the rhythm of the bass drum - this sounds awesome
if done accurately...
Example - Backing drums
Now, sometimes, especially when playing a riff around
more than 1 string, it makes sense to just use downstroke palm muting,
otherwise we will lose the direction we need in our picking to help
execute the riff accurately and cleanly - example...
Example - Backing drums
So all down picks in that riff.
TIP: when using only down picks I find it helps to hold the pick
as far towards the "nib" as possible so you get the full support of
your thumb behind the pick. This will help keep the picking clean and
firm, adding to the effect of the muted sound.
The reason I mentioned not to hold the pick at the nib for alternate picking is because your thumb might obstruct the upstrokes if it's too far down.
Maybe now we should move onto more technical fast palm mute guitar rhythms!...you are still awake aren't you?
Getting more technical
As mentioned before, it's the mixing of fast palm muted
riffs with rhythmic bursts of chord/powerchord that gives heavy metal
guitar its unique and energetic sound (that, along with high
gain/distortion of course). We can, of course, be as technical as we
like with this (it's all down to what you think sounds good).
Try the exercises below, first listening to the slow version, then the
quicker version, and finally the drum track which you can play over if
you like. With both exercises, try and think about your pick position
from the diagrams earlier on, and also when to release your "palm" from
the strings to allow those non-muted bursts. You have to be quick with
this, because as soon as the palm muting starts again, your hand needs
to be back on the strings, in place.
Don't forget the metronome to start with!
Slow example - Faster example - Backing drums
Below is a little something inspired by Fear Factory who use pinpoint rhythmic palm muting in a "machine-like" way...
Slow example - Faster example - Backing drums
Hope you enjoyed it
I hope this lesson has helped you build up your speed to execute
fast palm mute guitar. If you head back to the main metal guitar
lessons page (link below) you'll find more palm mute related lessons
such as death metal and thrash guitar lessons.
Until then, happy thrashing :o)
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