Sssh, I'm Palm Muting

This is one of those posts that experienced guitarists may want to skip. Or they may want to read it and smirk at my naivete. But either way, l'm not ashamed to say that until I took lessons, I was oblivious to palm muting.

Palm muting involves resting the heel of your picking hand on the strings -- not too heavily, not too lightly -- back near the bridge as you pick. The result is a chunkier sound, like that chug-a-chug-a-chug thing you get with a good Chuck Berry song.

I've been having fun with palm muting lately with both the Telecaster and the Alvarez, although the technique is most often used with electrics and power chords. Whichever, it gives a song a whole different texture, makes it something new.

Palm muting is a basic element of rock 'n' roll and blues and, like I said, despite decades of listening, I had no idea it was going on. The great thing about starting from zero is that everything is a revelation, even the things in the palm of your hand.