how do you avoid unwanted noise?

[dreddy2]

when i'm playing a moderatly fast solo i seem to make unwanted noise. and by noise i mean that the strings adjacent to the one i'm plucking starts to ring; this is especially true when you have section that involves lots of bends: so if i bend the g-string, i am forced to touch the d-sting and it makes some ringing, then when i move up from g-string to b-string, it basicly sounds like a muted pull-off, but i don't want anyone to hear this. so how do you prevent this sort of thing? what kind of technique do you have to use? i try to use my fretting hand to mute the strings whenever possible, but you just can't do it when u have a fast solo.

[zenlikethat]

i have this problem too. i can't offer you any advice, because i'm suffering from it myself, but i would like to say that you're not alone and indicate that i'd like the question answered as well.

sometimes when i play, often during solos with a lot of bending like you said, the other strings tend to make a LOT of noise, especially in a high gain or high volume setting (but that seems to follow logically). sometimes it seems like no matter how hard i try or how easy the thing i'm playing is, i can't stop the adjacent and other strings will make tons of noise. i'll be playing a simple melody on one string and then stop, and for some reason a bunch of other strings will be ringing and i'll have to silence/mute them.

is this a flaw in my technique like i think it is? could my guitar/amp setup be contributing to the problem? what can be done to make remedying this easier?

[phantom]

To play really clean a combination of left and righthand muting is necessary.
You should fret the strings in a way that the adjacent strings are softly touched with your fretting finger. no matter at what speed you play. In order to do that, the finger are laying kinda "flat" on the fretboard.. compared to a more classical way where you play more pointy with the fingertips.
the lower strings should be muted with the right hand.
I don't know if i could explain it properly.. if you would sit in front of me i could easily bend your fingers and you'd understand completely ;).

it is a bit of re-learning your technique, but i'd say it really is important to be able to play clean and to get rid of unwanted noises.. no matter what it takes. Start slow and then speed up - as always :)

[EricV]

I completely agree to what Phantom said.
In addition, when doing bends, you can use your right hand fingers ( the ones that are not holding the pick ) to touch and thereby mute the adjacent strings. Imagine it like a "tunnel" with the string you´re playing and bending in the middle.
Some players even do it like this: when playing the G-String and bending it, they´re muting the B-string with one of their fingers, and pick the G-String with an upstroke. Once the pick clears the string, it touches and rests on the D-String, thereby muting it.

So just like Phantom said, it´s all a matter of muting with both hands.
Eric

[Padawan]

As being said you can here the unwanted noise especially when using distortion, so I'd recommend you practise with distortion.

[Rock_Rocket]

Hi there,

I highly recommend the "tunnel"-approach Eric just described. According to my teacher's advice, when doing hammer-on's, pull-off's and bends I always mute by using the "tunnel" and upstrokes. That way I can dial in as much gain as I want and no noise does occur. Whenever I use quite a bit of distortion and want to hold a note for a while, add vibrato etc. I employ the "tunnel-technique" + upstroke, too.

Check it out! Maybe Eric can take a picture of this rh while using that technique. Unfortunately I don't have a camera around at the moment.

Best regards!

Julian

[curiousgeorge]

To play really clean a combination of left and righthand muting is necessary.
You should fret the strings in a way that the adjacent strings are softly touched with your fretting finger. no matter at what speed you play. In order to do that, the finger are laying kinda "flat" on the fretboard.. compared to a more classical way where you play more pointy with the fingertips.
the lower strings should be muted with the right hand.
I don't know if i could explain it properly.. if you would sit in front of me i could easily bend your fingers and you'd understand completely ;).

it is a bit of re-learning your technique, but i'd say it really is important to be able to play clean and to get rid of unwanted noises.. no matter what it takes. Start slow and then speed up - as always :)

I thought it was generally seen as being better technique to use your fingertips if you want to develop any kind of speed... :confused:

[Padawan]

I'm attracted to Britney, but not as much as before when she hadn't spat out a kid...

:eek: ...:D :D :D

[EricV]

Check it out! Maybe Eric can take a picture of this rh while using that technique. Unfortunately I don't have a camera around at the moment.

Hey Julian,
good to hear from you. Hope all is well.
Anyway, I am not sure whether the pics I took are gonna help, as I´d need a better camera and someone to actually take the pics while I demonstrate the technique to get good quality pics.
But maybe, the two low-quality shots I took are gonna help anyway.
Here they are:

http://www.ibreathemusic.com/forums/eric/tunnel1.jpg
As I said, low quality, but I think you can see that my thumb and index finger are holding the pick, and it´s resting against the D-string ( I just picked the G-string with an upstroke and let it rest on the D-string in order to mute that string )
Also, my middle finger is reaching out and touching the B-string, thereby muting it. The G-string is "in the tunnel"
Note that I usually only do this when I bend a string. When I i.e. do fast picking, the middle finger is curled in as well.

http://www.ibreathemusic.com/forums/eric/tunnel2.jpg

I was trying to get a better close-up here. This time I picked the D-String with an upstroke, and rest the pick on the A-string, while my middle finger mutes the G-string. I can also use the other fingers to mute the B- and E-string.

Hope this helps, and thanks again to Julian for his input on this !
Eric

[Schooligo]

to add to all the excellent advice on this thread,

I recommend this excellent article by EricV,
http://www.ibreathemusic.com/article/62

I have found it to be very helpful!!! :)

[Mateo150]

To play really clean a combination of left and righthand muting is necessary.
You should fret the strings in a way that the adjacent strings are softly touched with your fretting finger. no matter at what speed you play. In order to do that, the finger are laying kinda "flat" on the fretboard.. compared to a more classical way where you play more pointy with the fingertips.
the lower strings should be muted with the right hand.
I don't know if i could explain it properly.. if you would sit in front of me i could easily bend your fingers and you'd understand completely ;).

it is a bit of re-learning your technique, but i'd say it really is important to be able to play clean and to get rid of unwanted noises.. no matter what it takes. Start slow and then speed up - as always :)

where were you when I asked the same question like a month ago about bends....:mad: Great explanation, its almost like fretting 2 strings at a time with the index finger. Its something that needs to be practiced, and hopefully it'll happen out of habit when you need to do it, and the other times hopefully you'll just use your fingertips. At least thats what I'm hoping will happen.

Experiment with different fingerings with hammer on and pull offs... helps me sometimes

[dreddy2]

Note that I usually only do this when I bend a string. When I i.e. do fast picking, the middle finger is curled in as well.


when you do fast picking, is your middle finger doing the muting or your fretting hand? how do you decide when to use which? :confused:

[schummy13]

It takes a lot of hours to be that clean,and you're the only one who can criticize your self and see the problems of your playing and look for the defects, so you can correct it.I am just a begginer who is spending most of time tryiong to void noises.Some effects will show more the problems,\as well high volume.So in my way to do,i use Eric' Johnson's techinique,which, you just go ahead and hold one string to each finger.So you'll have low e with your 3rd finger,bstring 2nd finger,gstring will be hold your index finger,that can also move to your d string,.So it's a long way to do it.That's what i am doing.That's why Eric Johnson is one of the cleanest players of all time.You should whatch his instructionals videos,for at least that point.Your left habd is very important also to be a clean player!

[schummy13]

high e 4th finger
B 3rd finger
g 2nd finger
d 2nd finger
a your right hand
low e Palm or your left thumb if you can do it

[SchecterDamien]

Eric,

Thanks for validating what my guitar instructor has been teaching me for the last few months.

He has been trying to tell me not to be afraid to actually "play" the guitar - meaning resting my right hand right on the bridge/strings and using it to mute the unplayed strings. He wants me to create a "looking glass" with my fingers on my right hand (all the finger nails line up) and then use it on the strings to mute the unplayed strings. The strings that are being played are in the "tunnel".

When playing strings 1 and 2, the fat part of my thumb mutes the other strings. When playing 5 and 6, my pinky and ring fingers mute the other strings. When playing strings 3 and 4, my pinky and fat part of the thumb mute the other strings.

I also handle many of my barre chords this way, resting on the bridge to mute the unplayed strings (especially the fat part of the thumb on 6 when it is not needed).

It is not an easy thing to get used to but I now understand why. I have found it harder to play this way on my Fender Strat than on the Schecter Damien I have with the floyd rose (the floyd gives me a good place to rest my hand).

I realize my description was kind of basic (that the right hand will move alot when playing), but it is the starting point he is trying to teach me from...