How to Use Palm Muting Techniques for Metal Guitar

You may have never heard of it, but palm muting is actually a popular technique in metal guitar. To be fair, though, the rockers churning out grooves on "Gods of Metal" usually don't refer to their techniques by name. But for those who look to emulate the old school of metal guitar, or those who want to tread new territory, palm muting can come in handy. Here are some ways to get the technique into your metal guitar styles.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Start out with the basic palm muting experimentation. Rest your hand just in front of the bridge on the guitar. Don't press down, just rest it there lightly, and play a few chords. Listen to how the sound becomes "muted."

2. Amp up your effects. Palm muting sounds best in metal guitar when your ax is configured to that any string action produces a maximum of sound. Get your distortion and gain up to ear-pounding levels and try some palm muting for great percussive sound.

3. Palm mute notes. You can do this as part of a "rake" technique, where a staccato palm mute resolves to a loud, screaming high note, or just as a series of clicking or echoing sounds to add a ghostly quality to your play.

4. Palm mute chords. Mute the bridge and strum through chords with your right hand, you'll hear the crunchy sound of muted chords rumbling from your amplifier.

5. Use "special attacks." Here you're either revisiting Hendrix territory or going someplace new and unusual. You can use all kinds of approaches to the strings with palm muting including e-bowing, pounding on the fretboard with your left fist, or even (be careful) playing with your teeth. Get your own string attack gimmick for on stage.