Muting the 6th String

[LeDave]

Originally Posted by zmf

Excellent classical technique.
Pretty soon you'll get sloppy like the rest of us and start using thumb wraps.
They're actually useful, depending on what you're playing.

Had no idea this was called classical technique or even knew there was a term for this. I can't rest the fretboard on the gap of my thumb and pointer finger, it doesn't feel right. This 'classical' technique is all I've ever used.

[mercy]

using a thumb pick will put your hand right down on the wrapped strings. I call it Atkins picking but most call it Travis picking even though Travis pickers nowadays dont usually play the way he did.

[MartinGibsonFan]

Originally Posted by fakedrummer

You could put a small piece of foam right below the 6th string at the bridge right in front of the saddle since for that blues sound you probably need all the notes played

This is probably the best suggestion to mute the 6th string (E)

Personally, i grab the guitar neck like a beer bottle.



Personally, i find the classical rules imposed on the fretting hand quite restrictive. I found early on, if i wanted to advance and enjoy guitar playing to

DITCH

Classical rules



MGF

[zmf]

Originally Posted by LeDave

Had no idea this was called classical technique or even knew there was a term for this. I can't rest the fretboard on the gap of my thumb and pointer finger, it doesn't feel right. This 'classical' technique is all I've ever used.

Since you're a relative newbie coming along quickly, I thought I'd ask just what you meant.

Since your technique is "correct", I wouldn't suggest you change it. For my style of play, I don't use much it unless I'm going for a clean barre chord, or a tough partial.

Since you're working on "Wagon Wheel", you might watch how some of the folks playing it on youtube are holding their fret hands.

[MartinGibsonFan]

(Wagon Wheel) Definitely not kosher classic technique



MGF

[BillyMays]

Originally Posted by MartinGibsonFan

For staccato and muting i use my fretting hand, although i do some palm muting with my picking hand.

Muting the 6th string (Low E) should be pretty straight forward.

I use my thumb for that, for the classical technique, it might not be a slam dunk, since that hand position is discouraged.

MGF

I'm currently being instructed in classical by a gentleman named John Stockdale and he specifically has been instructing me how to mute the 6th by using my thumb. He says that it is one of the only times the thumb should be visible while playing classical style.

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by BillyMays

I'm currently being instructed in classical by a gentleman named John Stockdale and he specifically has been instructing me how to mute the 6th by using my thumb. He says that it is one of the only times the thumb should be visible while playing classical style.

"should be visible" ?

[zmf]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

"should be visible" ?

Lest you be properly caned.

[MartinGibsonFan]

Mute the 6th string stealthily



SO the classicists don't notice



MGF

[BillyMays]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

"should be visible" ?

As my instructor says, your thumb pad should be centered on the back of the neck at about a 45* angle allowing your knuckles to be parallel to the fretboard.

[bufflehead]

Originally Posted by ascotia

Using your thumb or the tip of your finger while it's fretting the A string ought to become second nature over time. It's really quite simple, and no device will ever be better than your own hands

This is how I do it, especially by using the tip of the finger on the A string. If the A string is open, use the thumb. Or just learn how not to strike the low E, which is not hard when you're palm muting.

[mikethebook]

Good idea! I'll give that a try. Yes, I still want to play the 6th string just muted.

[NormanKliman]

If you keep your thumb behind the neck (what you guys are calling “classical” technique upthread) and keep at it, you can do nearly everything, including bends, and you'll be able to do a lot more with your fretting hand.

However, muting the sixth string is going to require a workaround.

You can use a bit of foam, as fakedrummer suggested, and I came in here to suggest putting a short piece of pipe cleaner or cable (insulated wire) under the sixth string just after the nut or capo (Freebird!!!).

If you’re going to be fretting those muted notes, you can press right on the fret intead of behind it, and that will make a muted sound. Another thing you can do is to use the side of your thumb to mute the string after your play it. Just to be clear, I mean playing a rest stroke on the sixth string, in which your thumb come to rest on the fifth string, and then you bend your thumb at the first knuckle after the nail so that the flesh on the other side of your thumb (other side from the other fingers) mutes the sixth string. It’s not the same as playing an already muted string, but you can cut it short quickly.

I’d recommend that any guitar player stick with the classical technique because it lets you do a lot more once your fretting hand gets strong. But I don’t want to get preachy about it because, as I’ve said here before, lots of players do just fine with the thumb wrapped over the neck, with thumbpicks, etc. But I do think most of them would be a lot better off if they got used to keeping the thumb behind the neck.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by mikethebook

Thanks for your reply. I would rather not have to use the thumb if I don't have to and I suddenly realise that the piece I'm working on right now requires the muting of the lower three strings.

I guess you don't actually mean "muting" in the sense of stopping them vibrating altogether (by accident). That's the usual purpose of the fret hand thumb wrap on the 6th, eg when strumming C or D chords.

I guess you mean damping them while picking them so the notes are shortened? As in the bass style in Travis picking? That seems much more likely, and is a right hand technique. It can't be done with the fret hand. You can get (or make) foam pads that will sit under the strings beside the bridge (I think some old Gretsch electrics used to come with them fitted), but I recommend working on your right hand technique to be able to do it that way. Sometimes you want those strings to ring - you don't always want them damped the whole way through a piece.

Here's a Gretsch with a string mute fitted - I'm guessing they could be adapted to only touch the bass strings:

[mikethebook]

Thanks for the thoughts. JonPR you're right. Damping is a better word and it is in Travis picking I'm trying to do it. I'll try fretting on the fret as Norman suggests rather than behind it and also using foam pads or the like. I don't really want to invest time in learning to do a palm mute just yet so I prefer the idea of the pads.